RISD librarian to discuss the “birth of camouflage”

Claudia Covert, reader services librarian at the Rhode Island School of Design, will present a brief history of science, world events, technology and art that led to the birth of camouflage during a presentation scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6 in the McKillop Library.

The presentation will include a brief history of concealing coloration and different forms of camouflage, including the advent of dazzle camouflage and its role in the war at sea. There will be a special focus on accounts of dazzle camouflage from the World War I era, and the Rhode Island School of Design’s collection of dazzle camouflage.

Covert joined the Rhode Island School of Design in 2004 and has been instrumental in identifying and digitizing the school’s collection of dazzle ship plans. In 2009, she received a grant from the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities to fund the RISD Library “Bedazzled” exhibit and the “Artists at War” symposium, where she presented her paper “The RISD Collection: The Known and the Unknown.”

Because of her expertise, Covert has been interviewed by publications such as Military Times, USA Today, the Associated Press, The Providence Journal and Core 77.