By Evan Babbitt ('25)
UPDATED: OCTOBER 8, 2024 7:32 PM EDT | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED OCTOBER 4, 2024 11:50 AM EDT
The Ortlip Gallery will host a reception for the Ted Murphy Legacy exhibition on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The show is composed of 77 alumni artists and includes over 80 pieces—ranging from landscapes to abstracts, and watercolors to fabrics. It celebrates Professor Ted Murphy’s 38 years of teaching art and art history at Houghton University.
“It means a great deal to me,” Prof. Murphy said. “It is visual evidence of not only my influence on past students but our entire department’s.”
According to the Gallery Director, Linda Knapp, about 80% of the alumni represented in the show are full time artists. Murphy also notes that 12 of the alumni shown are now professors as well.
“Many are professional artists,” he said. “Some just manage to continue to work despite their complicated lives with family and their other work. It is gratifying to see such outstanding work from these wonderful people.”
One of the alumni presenting work in the show, Jeff Babbitt (Class of ‘96), recalled: “It was during Painting I class with Murph when I decided I wanted to major in art. Murph was the perfect combination of hilarious and brilliant. He was a true connoisseur of the liberal arts, seamlessly blending literature, history, and culture into classroom discussions and everyday conversation.”
Knapp noted that a flood of people wanted to be in the show when asked, which stands as a testament to Prof. Murphy’s presence in the classroom.
“[Murphy] is really adept artistically and has created a safe space for generations of students to find their calling as artists,” Knapp commented. “He has influenced people by his works, but more greatly by who he is—not flashy, but by his daily interactions and listening ear.”
People are flying in from the Netherlands and California to come to this show, Knapp added.
“Houghton has [had] a rich art tradition here long before I arrived,” Prof. Murphy said. “The artist that preceded me fought the good fight to make Art matter.”
Prof. Murphy finished his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1980 at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, and then received his Master of Fine Arts in 1983 at The Ohio State University. Before coming to HU he was an assistant professor at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine.
“[T]o be a teacher you must have students. But nowhere is it required that we like them,” Prof. Murphy noted. “Just teach them.”
Many who came into the art program were glad to be able to study art seriously and have many mediums to work with. Prof. Murphy feels blessed to have students who he loves and appreciates.
“In the twilight of a career,” he said, “every person is aware of the question Henry James said we should all ask. “Was it worth it”? I believe it has all been worth it. It has been a very privileged life here in Houghton. Nancy and I raised our children here and by their reports they each also love this place. God has blessed us beyond measure.”
Prior to the beginning of the show’s reception will be an open panel discussion hosted by alumni artists at 4 p.m. in the CFA Recital Hall. ★
