Robert Brinkerhoff was born in Okinawa to American parents and raised in Virginia. Since his arrival at RISD in 1996, his teaching has focused on illustration concepts classes and the synthesis of illustration and design. As an illustrator and designer, Brinkerhoff’s clients have included corporations, institutions of higher learning such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University and Brandeis University, and regional and national magazines. His illustrations have stood out in numerous competitions sponsored by the University and College Designer’s Association (UCDA), the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Society of Illustrators, among others, and appeared in annuals such as Print,How and American Illustration. He has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has been awarded artist residencies in the US, Italy and the Republic of Ireland. Brinkerhoff has served as both the head of Illustration and chief critic for RISD’s European Honors Program in Rome.
Academic areas of interest
Editorial illustration
Corporate and institutional illustration
Illustration/graphic design history
Artists' books
Design process
Painting
Interdisciplinary studies
Writing/criticism
Courses
Summer 2024 Courses
ILLUS 1505-01 / LAS 1505-01 - *GREECE: TRUTH, BEAUTY, GOODNESS: ILLUSTRATING MYTHOLOGIES IN CONTEMPORARY GREECE
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIllustration
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Illustration
Period Summer 2024
Credits 3
FormatSeminar
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ILLUS 1505-01 / LAS 1505-01
*GREECE: TRUTH, BEAUTY, GOODNESS: ILLUSTRATING MYTHOLOGIES IN CONTEMPORARY GREECE
In this combined studio/liberal arts course, three interrelated philosophical ideas—Beauty, Truth, and Goodness—frame the study of mythologies in contemporary Greece. Cornerstones of western philosophy and art, Beauty, Truth, and Goodness are concepts that hail back to classical Greek traditions of art, literature, philosophy and cosmology. For contemporary Greeks, however, this legacy is both a blessing and a curse, one that, while identifying Greek culture as central to the western tradition, both erases the complexities of their history and lived experience and dooms them to be forever overshadowed by their “glorious” classical past. This class therefore examines the rich history of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness as particularly complex and thorny myths that continue to be addressed and problematized in the contemporary Greek literary and visual lexicon. We will do so by looking at a range of material that attests to the enduring influence of classical models in the contemporary arts – from theater to statues and unique folk tales of good and evil on the Cyclades islands— set against the backdrop of some of the country’s greatest monuments and natural surroundings. By framing Athens, Delphi, and Naxos in discussions and illustration projects about three great ideas of western philosophy, the course considers the intersection of mythology, philosophy, literature and visual art.
Students must complete an application through RISD Global to be added to this course. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required, good conduct standing, and permission of the instructor. GPA, Student Conduct Standing, and standing with Equity and Compliance will be verified and may preclude a student from participation, either before or during the term. Most courses are open to first year students with approval from the Dean of Experimental and Foundation Studies.
Elective
ILLUS 1505-01 / LAS 1505-01 - *GREECE: TRUTH, BEAUTY, GOODNESS: ILLUSTRATING MYTHOLOGIES IN CONTEMPORARY GREECE
LevelUndergraduate
UnitIllustration
Subject Literary Arts and Studies
Illustration
Period Summer 2024
Credits 3
FormatSeminar
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date
ILLUS 1505-01 / LAS 1505-01
*GREECE: TRUTH, BEAUTY, GOODNESS: ILLUSTRATING MYTHOLOGIES IN CONTEMPORARY GREECE
In this combined studio/liberal arts course, three interrelated philosophical ideas—Beauty, Truth, and Goodness—frame the study of mythologies in contemporary Greece. Cornerstones of western philosophy and art, Beauty, Truth, and Goodness are concepts that hail back to classical Greek traditions of art, literature, philosophy and cosmology. For contemporary Greeks, however, this legacy is both a blessing and a curse, one that, while identifying Greek culture as central to the western tradition, both erases the complexities of their history and lived experience and dooms them to be forever overshadowed by their “glorious” classical past. This class therefore examines the rich history of Truth, Beauty, and Goodness as particularly complex and thorny myths that continue to be addressed and problematized in the contemporary Greek literary and visual lexicon. We will do so by looking at a range of material that attests to the enduring influence of classical models in the contemporary arts – from theater to statues and unique folk tales of good and evil on the Cyclades islands— set against the backdrop of some of the country’s greatest monuments and natural surroundings. By framing Athens, Delphi, and Naxos in discussions and illustration projects about three great ideas of western philosophy, the course considers the intersection of mythology, philosophy, literature and visual art.
Students must complete an application through RISD Global to be added to this course. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required, good conduct standing, and permission of the instructor. GPA, Student Conduct Standing, and standing with Equity and Compliance will be verified and may preclude a student from participation, either before or during the term. Most courses are open to first year students with approval from the Dean of Experimental and Foundation Studies.
