Thank you, Robert Hunt
As the renowned illustrator retires after more than 25 years of teaching at CCA, we honor and appreciate his contribution to our college and our lives.
On a cold Wednesday night in November, we gathered in CCA’s Nave to honor a legend with alumni, faculty, friends, and family. Former students brought their children and their spouses. The room hummed with reunions and joy as we viewed a slideshow of smiling students, group trips to New York, gorgeous landscape paintings, and countless illustrations. It took the crowd 30 minutes to settle enough to start.
We were all there to thank Illustration professor Robert Hunt for his teaching, his generous way with all of us, and for the gift of his images over decades of dedicated work.
A class trip to New York. Courtesy of Robert Hunt.
Over nine formal tributes, we saw Hunt through the lens of colleagues and collaborators, students and mentees, all of whom grew to be devoted friends over time. As Dean of Design, Helen Maria Nugent said, “A virtuoso, extraordinary teacher, and a legend; he’s shaped the heart, the soul, and the reputation of CCA.”
Dreamworks logo. Courtesy of Robert Hunt.
You may know Hunt for his Dreamworks logo, but we know him for his generosity and rigor. Fellow Illustration professor Brian Stauffer added humor to that list, remembering how, at a hard moment in his career, Hunt buoyed him with teasing and care. “Life and illustration are hard,” said Stauffer, “but worth it. Why would anyone want it to be easy? Thank you [Robert], for inspiring me to do my best.” Assistant Chair of Illustration Shannon Taylor, who was also Hunt’s student, described him pushing her past what she thought she could do. “He will give you firepower to improve your work and yourself. This was the moment where Robert Hunt fundamentally changed me.”
The cover of a New Republic Magazine from December 2, 2009. Courtesy of Robert Hunt.
Minnie Phan (BFA Illustration 2014) made us laugh as she recalled pulling a knife in his class (to sharpen a pencil), but ended by describing how he unlocked her discipline, and made a career in illustration real for her. “Robert asked me to pause and think critically. He advised me to ‘approach art at times like a scientist. Have your control and your experiment. Pay attention to each mark, to how paint mixes, how colors react to one another. Do this until you’ve learned something, then apply that to your painting.’ At that moment, something clicked. I realized art wasn’t just something I felt my way through, it was a craft I could master; a skill I could hone.”
Bringing new members into the world of illustration is a calling for Hunt. He and professor Adam McCauley dedicated their teaching to guiding new illustrators and instilling sustainable professional practices. “Illustration has cultural and aesthetic value, and students needed the tools to understand the value of their labor and build ethical, sustainable careers,” explains McCauley.
Student painting in the outdoors. Courtesy of Robert Hunt.
Professor Randy Chavez described Hunt’s life as a masterpiece. We can learn how to draw from him, but we can also learn how to live in creativity, in kindness, and in generosity. Ashley Yazdani (BFA Illustration 2008) echoed this when she described Hunt helping her find the advocate who saved her husband’s life, years after he had been her teacher, but well into a lifelong friendship. When Yazdani called him during her graduate program to do an assigned interview, she asked him what skill a teacher needed most, and his answer was perfect: compassion.
Anne Frank. Courtesy of Robert Hunt.
At the celebration, Hunt told us a story about an animation he made that imagined Anne Frank in another reality, one without war and bigotry. Her face ages from the iconic smiling child we all know to a wise old woman who got to see the beautiful world over a lifetime. Hunt was at an opening that featured this piece, and saw a man looking at it, quietly crying. “That was a moment that made all the things—the struggle, the late nights, the everything—worth it. It was one of my greatest moments as an artist. Tonight is another.”
Thank you, Robert Hunt, for all you have given us. As Shannon Taylor said, “you leave a Robert-sized hole” in our school, but you will always fill that spot in our hearts. We wish you a well-earned, wonderfully rich and free next chapter, with more time for painting and family, and hope you will visit us often.
A group photo from Robert's celebration party. Courtesy of Michael Wertz.