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An Adventure of Mine*
Textiles and Clothing Class (T&C 145)
THE CAMERA ENTHUSIAST
As as boy, I grew up on a farm in conservative, rural American. As I graduated from high school, I had acquired a interest in photography. I was interested in all aspects of it: Taking the pictures, developing them in the dark room, mixing of the various chemicals, mounting and framing of the prints. I even got interested in how the human brain and the eye work together to provide us with the images we see.
At college, I became very active in the Camera Club of the Men's Residence Association. I spend many nights in the club darkroom until the wee hours of the morning - sometimes finishing just in time for breakfast.
While I spent a lot of time playing with photography, it was just my major hobby, as my college major was Engineering. I had no formal photography training. I had never taken a class on the subject.
THE TECHNICAL JOURNALISM SCHOOL
The Technical Journalism school on campus had a well-known class on photography. Everyone spoke very highly of it. So I decided I would take it as one of my elective courses.
My objective was to learn how to compose pictures better.
When I tried to sign up for the class, however, they gave me a hard time.
"We have limited darkroom space for laboratory work," they said. "We have to give our Technical Journalism majors priority."
"Oh, certainly," I said understandingly. "Just please put my name on the standby list for the course."
"No," they said, "We are not going to do that."
"But why not?" I asked.
"Because you already know too much," they said. "Why, you are even President of the local Camera Club."
THE HOME ECONOMICS COLLEGE
The same design principles which apply to photography also apply to painting, sculpture, architecture, fashion, etc.
There was a Home Econonics College at the university. Traditionally, most of its students were women. However, a growing number of men were enrolling in that college to study such things as Hotel and Institutional Management.
Every college had its own set of "core curriculum" classes that were mandatory for all students in that college, regardless of one's major.
"Textiles and Clothing - T&C 145" was one such class in the Home Economics College. It was a class in basic fashion design - women's clothing - and was mandatory for all college freshmen - except the men. (They had the men in the college take another elective class instead.)
Now along comes me - asking to take the class.
GETTING PERMISSION
"Well, you will have to get approval from the Head of the Department," said the instructor.
I went to see the Head of the Department.
"You will have to get approval from the Dean of the College," she said.
I made an appointment to see the Dean. (It did help that my mother was a graduate of the Home Economics College and a personal acquaintance of the Dean.)
"Well," said the Dean, "I don't know of any good reason why we can't let you take that class. So, unless the head of the department has a strong reason, it is ok with me."
Returning to the Head of the Department, I relayed what the dean had said. Perhaps the department head squirmed slightly, but she could not think of any reason to say anything other than, "Well, as long as the instructor agrees."
Without any objections from the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College, the instructor had little choice but to say, "OK."
THE CLASS
T&C 145 consisted of two-hours of laboratory class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Six hours a week: Twenty-five young, freshmen girls ... and me.
There was also a weekly lecture class every Saturday morning for an hour and a half. In addition to holding a full faculty position at the university, the instructor for the Saturday class, was also a professional model.
For those Saturday lectures, the lights were often turned off while the instructor showed slides: to seventy-five young, freshmen girls ... and me.
There were a number of fashion-related magazines that were required reading for the class, such as "Seventeen," "Glamour," and "Cosmopolitan."
The class focused on fundamental principles of artistic design.
- Color
- Texture
- Balance
- Rhythm
- Proportion
It was different than my engineering classes. It was lonely having to study all by myself.
EPILOGUE
I did learn some basic design principles that have proved useful to me. More importantly, I came away with a very deep appreciation for the value of alternate perspectives as a means of studying a subject.
I might have learned a lot more from the Textiles and Clothing class, except it was not until the next year that I "discovered girls."
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