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Arthur Orr was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1951. My interest in drawing started as a child throughout my years in high school. I was the editorial cartoonist for the high school newspaper. After high school, I entered the Louisville School of Art in 1970 and finished with my BFA degree in 1974. In August 1974, I moved to the San Francisco Bay area to be involved with other artists/creative people that I had heard about. I met Samuel Steward who inspired me to be more creative in writing. Mr. Steward was a writer who knew Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. The most creative person I ever met was a young Robin Williams who inspired me to study improv acting. Things that I picked up from watching Robin and acting class later came in handy when I entered graduate school taking performance art classes. During my stay in the Bay Area I studied painting at the Academy of Art College. I returned to Louisville in 1979. From 1980 to 1982, I was a graduate student at the Ohio State University. I received my MFA degree in the summer of 1982. From 1984 to 2002, I taught at Louisville’s Jefferson Community College. The Chairman of the Department, Rose Marie Crask, was a great teacher I enjoyed working along side with. Her passing in 2002 meant the loss of a dear friend and mentor.
In 1994, I married Debbie Maryman in Louisville. She has been my number one supporter and inspiration during our new adventure move to Florida. In December 2002, we moved to Navarre, Florida and to a new change. In June of 2003, I became involved with Troy University’s distance learning program. It is a unique opportunity to teach from my computer many students who are based all over the world. In 2004, I became a University of West Florida adjunct faculty teaching VAE (visual arts experience) courses. I currently teach Special Topics at Okaloosa Walton College in Niceville.
My artwork has its influences with Picasso, Klee, Avery, and others. I like to refer to the whimsical drawings as “Surrealism with a smile.”
aorr@troy.edu • 334.670.3391
TROY|Department
of Art and Design | Malone 132 | Troy, Alabama | 36082
334.670.3391 | 334.670.3395 fax | e-mail |
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