| Walt Cotten - RIP 3/9/08 http://www.sdsuniverse.info/people_content.asp?id=63840
My photography professor from San Diego State, Walt Cotten, died on February 12th, 2008. He was am enormous influence on me in college and he is one of the reasons I teach art today. 3 of the 6 art classes I now teach involve photography.
I remember specifically one day outside of the litho classroom when he told me that sometimes the mundane can be very interesting and that he enjoyed my work. I had taken photos of a vacuum cleaner sucking up pieces of styrofoam and a mannikin head! The themes he introduced me to as a point of departure still interest me today. I drove around more in my car and took more photos because of him. He inspired me to produce more, think deeply about the work...he made me push myself. He was a true artist and teacher.
I remember the day Andy Warhol died because Walt announced it in class. 1987.
I have thought of Walt over the last 20 years when walking or on road trips. I remember assignments like "Suspect Terrain" and "Evidence" taken with my little plastic Diana camera and I remember feeling so proud when he asked to have one of my black and white lithos for his "collection." He was a major reason that I was at UCSB...his letter of recommendation was a key to my acceptance to the MFA program in 1990.
I am very sad about his death, but I know he inspired many people in his 30 years at SDSU.
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