Victor Schmitt
Courtesy of Western Regional Archives
FOCUS
Art/ Design/ Craft
ROLE
Student
ATTENDANCE
1944 - 1949
BIRTH
1927-04-11
Milwaukee, WI
Conrad Schmitt was a student for winter 1944 to spring 1945, and spring 1949.
Before BMC he attended Marquette University High School, 1941-1945. He stated that he always planned to attend BMC because of "Sister Betty" but was inducted into the Army. Also on his application, to the question "How long do you expect to attend the college?" he shared “Indefinitely.”
Relationships
Sister: Elizabeth Schmitt Jennerjahn
Sister: Elaine Schmitt
Brother: Rupert Schmitt
Black Mountain College Project
Mary Emma Harris interviewed Conrad in 1992 and the transcript is available from Appalachian State University under The Mary Emma Harris and Black Mountain College Project, Inc. Oral History collection.
Topics: Schmitt siblings’ enrollment at BMC – family stained glass business – Zabriskie class Psychodynamics of Creativity – hitchhiking with Marvin Daniels – Josef Albers class – work program – Max Dehn – work instained glass with Albers – treatment for alcoholism
Courses Taken
Winter Quarter 1944-1945: Matter and Energy with Hansgirg, Introductory Mathematics with Dehn, Psychology and Esthetics Zabriskie, Drawing with Albers, Design with Albers.
Spring Quarter 1944-1945: Painting with Albers, Drawing with Albers, Design with Albers, Small house design with H. Wood, Introductory Mathematics with Dehn.
Spring Semester 1948-1949: Painting with Albers, Drawing with Albers, Color with Albers, Reading with Olson, Style and Structure in Music with Bodky.
Author
Amanda Hartman
Amanda Hartman is the creator of BMC Yearbook, serving as the lead director, engineer, and researcher. She holds a MLIS in archive/ collections management, MA in art/ museum education, and BA in design. After working in museums and archives for a decade, she made the transition to tech and is now a software developer specializing in applications for museums, archives, and higher education.
Her interest in Black Mountain College began while working as a digital archivist with the Asheville Art Museum's BMC archive collection. She transcribed and digitized over 1500 documents created by the college. While working closely with these archives, she began independent research on the interracial program and Negro Week activities BMC, writing biographies of lesser known students and staff members. That research transformed into this BMC Yearbook project.
