Edwin Mieczkowski (CFA 1959)

2009 Alumni Achievement (Merit) Award

After completing his master's degree in fine arts at Carnegie Mellon, Mieczkowski moved to New York and founded the Anonima group with fellow alumnus Frank Hewitt (CFA 1958) and Ernst Benkert. In 1964, TIME magazine featured the group's exploration of the interplay of color, intensity, and geometric form and their effects on human visual perception, introducing the term "Op Art" to the world. Mieczkowski later taught at the Pratt Institute and Cooper Union, followed by 39 years at the Cleveland Institute of Art. In 1998, Mieczkowski and his wife and fellow fine arts graduate, actress Chloe Pollock (CFA 1952), moved to California, where he is creating representations from the new sciences, especially biomedicine and biotechnology.