Victor Babu Tribute: From the Past Masters Presentations during the 2021 Virtual NCECA Conference

By Mo Dickens. I was friends with Victor for 20 years. He was a most impressive individual, as an artist and as a teacher. And as a storyteller. The presenters were tasked with paying tribute to our departed friends in five minutes or less. So for background I will tell you that Victor was born in The Bronx in 1936 and died in Kansas in the spring of 2019. He attended the New York State College of Ceramics in Alfred, NY, for undergrad and for his MFA. He was a veteran of the US Army. He taught for a couple of years at the U. of Texas in Austin and then moved to the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri where he taught from 1968 – 2001. At his retirement party during the 2002 NCECA in Kansas City more than 200 former students showed up to swap stories and sing his praises. With good reason. I dedicate this video to Victor's beloved family, especially nieces Barbara Shola and Victoria Babu. I must be one of the few people in the clay world who knew of Victoria before Victor! In general, EG Schempf made the images of Victor's artwork and I made the images of Victor's students. Thanks EG! Thanks Former Students! Your Bro in KC,MO

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