Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

In the beginning was the fig leaf. The first garment. Eden couture. “Our students always start with a leaf-inspired project because that is the beginning of fashion,” quips Jeigh Singleton, director of the Fashion Design program in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. “It is the original inspiration for color, line, shape, structure, texture — all the things that we think of when we think of clothing.” On May 1, those qualities and more will be on full display as part of the Sam Fox School’s 82nd Annual Fashion Design Show.

Based in Cologne, Germany, conceptual artist Cosima von Bonin is among the most influential yet elusive artists of her generation. At once playful, seductive and satirical, her wide-ranging creative practice interweaves sculpture, installation, video, textiles, performance and electronic music with a diverse network of collaborators. Beginning Friday, May 6, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present Cosima von Bonin: Character Appropriation, the artist’s first solo museum exhibition in the American Midwest.

At recent Board of Trustees meetings, the following faculty members were appointed with tenure or promoted with tenure: David T. Curiel; Mary C. Dinauer; David C. Queller; Joan E. Strassmann; Patrick Lawrence Burke; Feng Chen; Gammon M. Earhart; Justin Fay; Michael D. Frachetti; Denise P. Head; Joseph M. Jez; Jennifer M. Kapczynski; Nan Lin; Tabea A. Linhard; Francis N. Lovett; Liang Ma; Igor Marjanovic; Robi D. Mitra; David E. Reichert; Guillermo Rosas; Gillian Kay Russell; Lori Watt; and Jie Zheng.

During the 2011-12 academic year, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will mark the centennial of its College of Architecture and Graduate School of Architecture & Urban Design as well as the 50th anniversary of the Master of Urban Design program. On April 1 and 2, the Sam Fox School will preview festivities with “Architecture at 100: Architectural Education at Washington University in St. Louis,” a series of informal talks, roundtable discussions and alumni reflections.

Design is a problem solver. Design is a provoker, a test lab for change. Design is a tool for breaking old patterns and discovering new ways of thinking. So argues Alan Webber, cofounder of Fast Company, the pioneering magazine written for and about progressive business leaders. At 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 4, Webber will deliver the annual Eugene J. Mackey Jr. Lecture for the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. The talk is co-sponsored by the Olin Business School. 

Ackert Walkway is an important University City pedestrian corridor, running north from Delmar Boulevard to Vernon Avenue and connecting the Loop arts and entertainment district with the surrounding Parkview Gardens neighborhood. On Saturday, March 26, six multidisciplinary teams from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will present design concepts for revitalizing the walkway as part of a public art workshop titled “Ackert Walkway: Designing for the Future.” 

The SGC International is the largest printmaking organization in North America, with thousands of members in all 50 states, Canada, South America and Europe. Next week, the SGCI will bring more than 1,200 printmakers from around the world to the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, which is hosting Equilibrium, the organization’s 2011 conference. 

The Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will launch its annual Kemper Presents Concert Series with a performance by the Pernikoff Brothers March 4. The series, designed to showcase the talents and diversity of contemporary St. Louis musicians, will feature seven local acts working in a variety of styles and genres, from indie-folk and a cappella to American roots music and lush, melancholic jangle-pop. 

In an age of computer graphics and 3-D rendering, South African artist William Kentridge employs the simplest materials imaginable — paper, charcoal and pastel — to create animated films that explore apartheid, colonialism, human rights abuses and other sobering topics with breathtaking insight and poignancy. At 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 2, Kentridge — whose work also includes prints, books, sculpture, collage, etching and performing arts — will receive the Dean’s Medal from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. 

Rafael Moneo is arguably the most celebrated Spanish architect working today, known for innovative modern buildings that deftly navigate even the most challenging urban sites while preserving and respecting the existing environments. At 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28, Moneo will discuss his work for the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts’ spring Public Lecture Series.