Gropius, the school's founding director from 1919 to 1927, wanted a new educational model, even a new understanding of art.
ITC, however, was set up with $225,000 in seed money from MIT professors, including Nicholas Negro Ponte, founding director of the MIT Media Laboratory and co-founder of Wired magazine.
Brian Wallace, founding director or red Gate Gallery, discovered Xie's work in mid 2008, and immediately identified him as one of the most promising young artists he had seen.
