Ezra Jack Keats / Kerlan Memorial Fellowship Research
Grant-Funded Fellowship
Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature | University of Minnesota Libraries
I am the recipient of the 2024 Ezra Jack Keats / Kerlan Memorial Fellowship funded by the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation. My research in the Kerlan Collection of Children’s Literature at the University of Minnesota Libraries will involve archival work with picture book collage illustrators and will culminate in creative experimentation, a picture book pitch, and a written publication.
Modern Graphic History Library Exhibit Curation
Curation, Exhibition Design, & Copywriting
Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts | Washington University in St. Louis
I curated an exhibition focused on the theme of creative rebellions in the graphic design and illustration work of Seymour Chwast as part of a larger archival project in the D.B. Dowd Modern Graphic History Library in the fall of 2022. The exhibition was on display at the John M. Olin Library at Washington University in St. Louis from December 3, 2022 to February 12, 2023.
Henrietta Hochschild Children’s Book Collection Blog
Blog Writing
University Libraries | Washington University in St. Louis
With the goal of connecting students, faculty, and researchers to the Henrietta Hochschild Collection of Children’s Books housed in the Rare Books Special Collection at Washington University in St. Louis, I have written several blog posts highlighting specific authors, genres, and illustration styles. The most recent post discusses the ubiquitous animal tale genre within the children’s book field.
Newman Exploration Travel Grant
Grant-Funded Research
University Libraries | Washington University in St. Louis
With generous funding from the 2022 Newman Exploration Travel Grant, I traveled to Milan, Italy in June 2022 to investigate the work and legacy of Italian designer Bruno Munari and Italian educator Maria Montessori and their shared focus on the creation of sensory-focused objects for children. My research will inform my masters thesis project as well as scholarly writing projects.
TL;DR Zine Archive
Exhibition Catalog Copywriting
Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts | Washington University in St. Louis
Under the supervision of Shreyas R. Krishnan and Aggie Toppins, I served as copywriter for the TL;DR Zine Archive project at Washington University in St. Louis focused on the collection and exhibition of zines that use design and illustration to make inquiries about visual culture. I composed catalog entries for each zine, contributed to the front matter, and served various proofreading functions throughout the project.
Picture Book Club
Program Development & Research
Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts | Washington University in St. Louis
With funding from the Sam Fox Chair’s Fund, I started a picture book club at Washington University in St. Louis aimed at the critical analysis of Caldecott-winning children’s picture books. The books acquired will serve as a reference library for students in the Illustration and Visual Culture Program. My blog will serve as a repository for critical research-based essays on each book.
Sam Fox Graduate Student Travel Grant
Grant-Funded Research
Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts | Washington University in St. Louis
With grant funding from the Sam Fox School, I traveled to The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts in August 2022 to study the picture book art of Eric Carle, Lio Lionni, and Simms Taback and the ways in which their previous careers as graphic designers influenced their aesthetic and conceptual approach to illustration for children. This research will inform scholarly writing projects.
UPPERCASE
Magazine
Essay Writing
Issues 49, 54, 55, and 56 | Editor Janine Vangool
I regular write personal and research-based essays for UPPERCASE Magazine about practice-oriented topics at the intersection of the visual arts and psychology, including the psychology of pattern, using collage to overcome perfectionism, and self-help trends in visual content.
Issue 49: The Psychology of Pattern
Issue 54: Abstract Beginnings
Issue 55: Inspiring Vulnerability
Issue 56: A Colorful Harmony
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Ridolfi, D. “The Myth of a Storybook Life: A Review of Virginia McGee Butler’s biography of Ezra Jack Keats.” The Common Reader, (2023).
Ridolfi, D. “Illustrated Poetry in the Henrietta Hochschild Collection of Children’s Books.” University Libraries Blog. Washington University in St. Louis, (2023).
Ridolfi, D. “Margaret Wise Brown’s Celebration of the Seasons.” University Libraries Blog. Washington University in St. Louis, (2023).
Ridolfi, D. “A Colorful Harmony.” Uppercase 56, (2023): 70–75.
Ridolfi, D. “Animal Tales in the Henrietta Hochschild Collection.” University Libraries Blog. Washington University in St. Louis, (2022).
Ridolfi, D. “Our Abstract Beginnings.” Uppercase 54, (2022): 16–19.
Ridolfi, D. “Inspiring Vulnerability.” Uppercase 55, (2022): 80–83.
Ridolfi, D. “The Psychology of Pattern.” Uppercase 49, (2021): 32–35.
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Ridolfi, D. R. “Layers of Power: 19th Century Scrapbooks as Complicated Sites of Material Resistance in the Industrialized Age .” Paper to be presented at the Materiality of Resistance Symposium, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, California, 2024.
Ridolfi, D. R. “Overlooked Rebellion: Postmodernism and Social Protest in the Picture Books of Seymour Chwast.” Paper presented at the Blind Spots Illustration Research Symposium, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 2023.
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Flat Out Rebellion: The Rule-Breaking Career of Designer-Illustrator Seymour Chwast St. Louis, Missouri, December 2022–February 2023