Writer and design historian, Dr. Molly Rottman, will discuss her groundbreaking research on the life and work of Frank Alvah Parsons and his student, successor as president of the school, and lover, William M. Odom. During Parsons’ life and tenure at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art (Parsons School of Design’s previous name), he was an impactful design educator, prolific public lecturer, and the author of three books. In Parsons’ writings and teachings, he discussed color theory, the effects of sentimentality in decoration, and the relationship between psychology and design. But design seeped into all aspects of Parsons’ life, using it as a tool to communicate his private identity. Parsons also used the school as a site for queer community during the early-20th century, attracting numerous queer teachers and students alike. While Parsons’ legacy has arguably endured through the university, he has largely been forgotten after his death in 1930. Due to his and Odom’s sexuality, their papers and personal effects do not live in any institutional archive. After researching Parsons for a decade, part of this work has entailed creating my own archive of his life and understanding how to bridge the gaps that still persist today.
Dr. Rottman is a writer and design historian whose work explores the intersections of education, aesthetics, and cultural identity. Molly began the research that sparked her current work when she worked at Parsons as Associate Director of Academic Communications. She holds a doctorate in Education from the University of Cambridge, where she completed her dissertation on Parsons, ”Designing American Taste: Frank Alvah Parsons, Queer Pedagogy and the Development of Applied Art and Design Education in the 20th Century.” Molly has spent the past decade researching The Tastemakers, her debut biography about Frank Alvah Parsons, William M. Odom, and Van Day Truex.
The discussion will be moderated by Professor Anya Kurennaya.
