Abstract
Archives contain records and documentation of people who are considered to be of importance in their fields. If deemed irrelevant or unimportant to the historical development of a discipline, a person’s body of work may not be collected by an archive. For this reason, many women have been excluded from the history of graphic design. The ratio of men to women represented at most graphic design archives heavily favors men, although women have been active in the field. However, there are a few women whose work is represented in archival collections. Some female designers have worked successfully to be included, while others have seen their efforts go unnoticed. Elaine Lustig Cohen represents the latter, despite the collection of her work being included in the Rochester Institute of Technology Graphic Design Archive. This thesis examines the relationship between the representation of a woman in the history of graphic design textbooks and the availability of her work in archives. This thesis will investigate the question of whether a woman can be considered part of the graphic design history without her life work being collected in an archive, and if a collection in an archive determines her spot in graphic design history.
Publication Date
6-2014
Document Type
Thesis
Student Type
Undergraduate
Degree Name
Museum Studies (BS)
Advisor
Tina Lent
Advisor/Committee Member
Kari Horowicz
Recommended Citation
Moltrup, Megan, "Recovering the History of Graphic Design: The Voice & Vision of Elaine Lustig Cohen" (2014). Thesis. Rochester Institute of Technology. Accessed from
https://repository.rit.edu/theses/9229
Campus
RIT – Main Campus
