In 1987, when I first arrived at Memphis College of Art to teach, I was accosted at the front desk by some guy who started talking to me about camping on a deserted island off the coast of Mississippi!! I had barely acclimated to my new surroundings and being from the northeast, had a serious case of culture shock, so I thought the guy was a nut. For those of you who don't have history with MCA, that guy was Bob Riseling, a Painting/Foundations faculty member and founder of the Horn Island program which has now run for thirty-three years. Bob is since retired and is a member of the Emeritus faculty. Besides his teaching, Bob is best remembered for Horn Island and other college sponsored trips. He passionately believed students needed to get out of the classroom and expand their view of the world through travel and and he did his best to make it happen. It is no exaggeration to say that Bob made Horn Island a unique feature of the MCA curriculum through sheer force of will and hard work. Amongst those who followed him to the island he is legend. It is again, no exaggeration to say that he changed many people's lives. Cheers, Bob!
Bob Riseling in front of "Palmetto" acrylic on canvas (one of his many Horn Island paintings)