Laurel: What was the initial reception of the site? Both within the School of Art and then elsewhere?
Dan: In the very beginning, it won a design award from the AIGA (a graphic design trade group) not long after it launched. Many designers were inspired by it. Probably around a year after it launched, students began, among other things, using the site to create a fake school within a school. Students started something called the “Department of Anthology,” which was a bootleg film series, and a number of “office hours” sprang up. That is, appropriated official, or quasi-official, language took over in some unexpected parts of the site. That was interesting, in an ironic way, that it bestowed power or language of power on the students.
Ayham: You mentioned in a previous interview that art.yale.edu’s audience is both current students and prospective students. And the site is a channel connecting the two. The interesting ways students use the site tell the public about the culture at Yale's School of Art. I’d also like to hear from everyone else: How has the site provided an image of the culture of the school? What kind of expectations did it set? And did the school meet them?
Personally, for me, the site did a lot in communicating the spirit of the school. It may not have been completely accurate, but it did communicate something "more” than other institutions of its type did.
Also, please feel free to be negative.
Dan: Yes, I also don’t want to make it sound like I have only positive things to say about the site.
Bryce Wilner: My experience before coming here was that I really enjoyed the site’s energy. I did notice that it gives a good overview of what graphic design at Yale is like, but that’s only one of the four graduate majors. I often wonder what other departments’ experience of the site is because I don’t see as many sculptors, photographers, and painters.
Kyla: My first impression of the site was that I thought it was very overwhelming. In good way! It got me really excited to browse throughout the pages. I remember going through all the links of most of the current students and was expecting to see what each of them had done to their pages. Unfortunately, most of them left their pages blank. Which made me question about the approaches they were taking in sharing their work. Nonetheless, I think it’s a great way to get to know at about the culture and community at the School of Art.
Lucy Lindsey: I would say the site does not really provide an accurate idea of the work being produced by students in the entire school.
The main impression from the site is how incredibly different it is from any other school site. I've heard people say the site is particularly potent given Yale’s status as a school, that is, in juxtaposition to the prestige, the history, and the Ivy League status.