{"id":6193,"date":"2012-11-26T11:21:47","date_gmt":"2012-11-26T16:21:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=6193"},"modified":"2014-01-25T18:10:02","modified_gmt":"2014-01-25T23:10:02","slug":"longtime-art-professor-bruce-rigby-to-retire-at-the-end-of-the-semester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/?p=6193","title":{"rendered":"Longtime art professor Bruce Rigby to retire at the end of the semester"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Bruce Rigby (right) with his wife, Mary, and their son, Jason, at the opening of “Bruce Rigby: Recent Work,” which was on display in TCNJ Art Gallery
earlier this semester.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Professor Bruce Rigby<\/strong>, who for the last four decades has guided and inspired thousands of art students at the College, will be retiring this December.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about time to retire; I\u2019m done,\u201d Rigby joked, before adding: \u201cI\u2019ve spent two-thirds of my life teaching art. It\u2019s time to do something else.\u201d<\/p>\n

After completing his BA in art at the University of Bridgeport, and his MA in drawing and MFA in painting at Northern Illinois University, Rigby came to the College to teach two-dimensional design, color theory, painting, and drawing in 1972.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started here in the seventies, when it was full of free expression,\u201d he said recently. \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of advancement since then, and I\u2019ve seen how art develops as the generations change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rigby\u2019s departure will be felt throughout the department, said colleagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one has committed more to the care and development of our curriculum and our students,\u201d said Professor of Art History Lois Fichner-Rathus<\/strong>. \u201cNow that Bruce is going on to other things, there has been, understandably, a lot of reflection on the ways in which he has served as a mentor and role model to generations of art majors. And of course that is exactly what he has been; there is none finer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBruce defines the ideal first professor: an exacting and demanding teacher with an unwavering good nature, sense of humor, energy, enthusiasm, and sensitivity,\u201d added Lee Ann Riccardi<\/strong>, chair of the Department of Art and Art History. \u201cWhether working with beginning students unsure about the direction their careers should take or with advanced students who need serious critique, he has been dedicated to enabling their personal and artistic development.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
“Holman Hall” by Bruce Rigby<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of those former students, Matthew Pembleton \u201912<\/strong>, had this to say: \u201cAlmost every art student entering TCNJ had to take Color Theory with Professor Rigby. Though it was challenging, I think we all remember what we learned and were able to apply it to other classes. Some of the best memories and stories certainly came from his engaging, thought-provoking, and entertaining
\nclassroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo teach effectively, you\u2019ve got to know yourself and your subject,\u201d said Rigby.\u00a0 \u201cI love art, and I love teaching it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rigby maintained an active artistic practice while teaching at TCNJ. His work has been featured in more than 185 exhibitions nationwide, including 20 one-person shows and, most recently, a month-long exhibition in TCNJ Art Gallery in commemoration of his retirement. His paintings are in the collections of the New Jersey State Museum, Trenton City Museum, and numerous corporate collections.<\/p>\n

While Rigby will be missed, his inspirational, humorous, and infectious ways will not soon be forgotten. He left current students and those yet to come with this advice: \u201cAlways be true to your own ideas, goals, and self. Create with passion, work hard, and be the best you can be with whatever you choose to do in life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Professor Bruce Rigby, who for the last four decades has guided and inspired thousands of art students at the College, will be retiring this December.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":6194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-december-2012","category-on-campus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/195"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tcnjmagazine.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}