Contacts: Gloria Gottschalk, New School University, (212) 229-5667, ext. 239
Carole Schaffer, Parsons School of Design, (212).229-5314
Clinton Kuopus, Parsons School of Design, (212).229-8987

(December 15, 2000, New York, NY) On Tuesday, January 23, 2001, "Eating Disorders in a Disordered Culture" a traveling exhibition of visual, audio and written stories about eating disorders, will open at Parsons School of Design in the Aronson Galleries at 66 Fifth Avenue at 6:00 PM. The exhibition will run through February 16 and is the work of artists Robin Lasser, Associate Professor of Photography at San Jose State University and Kathryn Sylva, Assistant Professor of Design at the University of California, Davis. Following the opening reception, from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM in the Parsons Auditorium at 66 Fifth Avenue, there will be a panel discussion with the artists and a licensed therapist regarding public art and social responsibility. The exhibition will be launched in mid-January with a series of subway posters donated by Eller Media.

The exhibit combines text with powerful visual imagery in order to convey the personal experience as well as the cultural pervasiveness of eating disorders. The narratives and images are used in posters, prints, etched plates, and sculptural pieces. An installation of a "Secret Appetites" dining table enables visitors to listen to recordings of women and men describing their own experiences with eating disorders.

Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and compulsive eating affect an estimated 5 million to 8 million Americans. As many as one quarter of American college-age women are estimated to experience eating disorders. Complications from anorexia and bulimia can lead to death. The exhibits and related media strive to generate public awareness of eating disorders.

The project will been traveling to the Sweeney Art Gallery at the University of California, Riverside; and Boston College Museum, and University of California Davis for a public art campaign. These displays may include billboards, poster campaigns, banners, and brochures.

The "Eating Disorders in a Disordered Culture" project also includes a Web site, www.eating.ucdavis.edu that includes images from the exhibitions as well as some 150 stories from around the world.

The work has been published in Sculpture Magazine, ArtPapers, Artweek. CameraArts, Chronicle of Higher Education, L.A. Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle. A billboard from the project also appears in Joan Jacobs Brumberg book, Fasting Girls; A History of Anorexia Nervosa. The project is also included in a major catalog published by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Berkley University press titled, Made in California: Art Image and Identity 1900-2000.

Parsons Exhibitions demonstrates the School’s commitment to excellence and innovation in art and design. Two galleries, open to public, are scheduled year-round with exhibitions by professional artists and designers, Parsons faculty, and Parsons students.

Parsons School of Design is one of the largest degree-granting colleges of art and design in the nation. Currently enrolled are 2,400 undergraduate students, 380 graduate students, and 2,500 non-degree students from all 50 of the United States and from 60 countries. Parsons’ main campuses are in New York City’s Greenwich Village and Midtown Manhattan. In addition, Parsons has affiliate schools in Paris, France; Kanazawa, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; and the Dominican Republic.

Undergraduate degrees are offered in Architectural Design, Communication Design, Design Marketing, Fashion Design, Fine Arts, Illustration, Integrated Design Curriculum, Interior Design, Photography, Product Design. Graduate degrees are granted in Architecture, Design and Technology, Lighting Design, Painting, Sculpture, and the History of Decorative Arts.

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