blue birthday for lenny, good bye my old friend . . .

today, february 4th 2010 would have been lenny bacich’s birthday.
blue birthday for an old friend, i will miss you dearly . . .

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the one & only, leonard • len • lenny bacich has left school for the last time

greetings pratt id community, colleagues & friends,
a number of the id / 3d faculty have called me tonight to inform me that our creative compatriot, colleague & friend, lenny bacich has left school for the last time. i don’t have many details at this time but what i do know is that lenny went out in a grand style, in keeping with his entire life. just less than a week ago we had a wonderful rrk venue (thanks to tucker & all), where the community that lenny so loved & nurtured over many years was out in full display with alumni, faculty, students & friends & this community is where lenny called his home & his passion. once we have a moment to send out more detailed information the department of industrial design will plan a memorial on lenny’s behalf . . .

as always+matthew

Matthew Burger
Chair
________________________________
The Industrial Design Department
Pratt Institute
200 Willoughby Avenue
Brooklyn, NY. 11205
718-636-3631

pratt announcement: the institute mourns alumnus & professor lenny bacich.

the institute mourns the loss of leonard “lenny” bacich, a longtime professor of industrial design who died on february 3 at age 67. lenny was popular among generations of students he taught in 3-d design courses and graduated from the institute with a bachelor’s degree in industrial design in 1963 and a master’s degree in industrial design in 1971. he was also a former faculty trustee.

lenny was among the most admired industrial design educators in the country in 2006, according to monthly architecture and design journal design intelligence. a student of influential design educator rowena reed kostellow, lenny continued teaching her design principles as coordinator of the 3-d design curriculum. his 3-d design courses introduced first, second and third year students to the materials, techniques, and ideas that comprise the three-dimensional world of “made” objects and natural forms through the exploration of basic abstract components such as plane, mass and space.

lenny initiated pratt’s exchange program with bauhaus university in wiemar, germany in 2004, which offers students from communications design, fine arts, industrial design and digital arts disciplines the chance to study abroad in the spring. as part of the program, pratt welcomes exchange students from the bauhaus each fall. lenny was on sabbatical in spring 2009 to teach at the bauhaus and participate in the school’s commemoration of its 90th anniversary celebration.

lenny epitomized the rigor and magic of great teaching. he taught our most esoteric abstract courses and simultaneously created an understanding in his students of the value their individual creative life.

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