Tom Hudson, a familiar face around the art school campus as Dean of Instruction from 1977 through to his retirement in 1987, passed away in England on 28 December 1997. Among his many accomplishments at the Vancouver School of Art and Emily Carr College of Art was his involvement in bringing the 1978 Children's Art from Great Britain Exhibition to Vancouver. The event was sponsored by Emily Carr and was the impetus for a long-running series of exhibitions of children's art which began in 1979/80. In 1986, Hudson was Curator of International Young Art, an exhibition which coincided with Expo 86 and involved the creative work of the children from fifty-two nations. Hudson commented in the catalogue which accompanied the 1979/80 exhibition that "[c]reative activity is more than a mere cultural frill, it is a crucial factor of human experience, the means of self-revelation, the basis of empathy with others; it inspires both individualism and responsibility, the giving and the sharing of experience." Hudson's devotion to the process of education carried on into retirement through the development of telecourses in conjunction with Emily Carr and Open Learning. These courses, which continue to be shown on B.C.'s Knowledge Network, deal with Hudson's conception of the foundations of art education: Colour: An Introduction (1987), Mark & Image (1988), and Material & Form (1991). A fourth course, which offers Hudson's contentions about the importance of Cubism and which is called Understanding Modern Art, was completed at the end of 1994, just prior to Hudson's return to his native England. An introductory note in Understanding Modern Art states that the fact "these telecourses have won international awards for excellence and are being used by a large number of colleges, universities, and individual instructors across North America and in Australia attests to their excellence". Educated in England, Hudson worked internationally as an artist/educator, was an examiner in art education for the University Institutes of Education, and for 10 years explored "The Creative Process" as part of a summer school in Wales. Hudson, as an artist, worked with a wide range of materials and performances.
Michael Clark |
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