photo courtesy of John Tibbettshone and begins to interview him
the famous musician was wearing nothing but a towel. He followed Tony Bennett into his dressing room during a photo session when the singer wasn't wearing anything. Sissy Spaceck took Tibbetts' microphone during an interview, switched the tables, and started interviewing him. And to this day, his interview with Gary Busey still leaves Tibbetts wondering what the actor was talking about. Tibbetts drew from all of these experiences to create the portraits currently on display in the Union.
The medium for Tibbetts' portraits is a technique called gouache, a watercolor technique that uses both wash and opaque applications. His portrait of Arnold Schwarzenegger, which was done during the press for Conan the Barbarian, uses the gouache technique. Tibbetts says he used Sepia tints and earth tones to capture the roughness of Schwarzenegger's character.
Schwarzegeiger's classroom
Chuck Berg, professor of film and friend of Tibbetts, says Tibbetts' portraits suck viewers in, inviting them to contemplate the person pictured and themselves. "John's portraits capture something of the animus of his famous subjects that allows us to look deep into each subject's soul, inviting us to speculate on the nature of that individual as well as human kind at large."
advance can take more than 400 portraits over the years, and he continues to paint portraits of celebrities and friends. Some of his portraits are housed at Oldfather Studios and others are yet to be framed and matted. The portraits show the meticulous attention Tibbetts gives to his art; the enthusiasm to draw them stems from his first passion — film. It's easy to understand why Tibbetts chooses to paint famous faces after
The time it takes to paint these portraits varies with the medium Tibbetts decides to use and with the circumstances surrounding the painting. He says that on-the-spot portraits can take as little as 15 minutes, whereas images executed in advance can take several weeks to create.
hearing him describe why movies are so important to our society.
"They can confront and provoke us, shake us up, grab us by the scruff of the neck and compel us to witness our life and times in ways that force us out of the box," Tibbetts says.
box, tibbetts says. Tibbetts began his love affair with film by watching films on television but said he was never content to just watch movies. He had always wanted to talk and learn more about them.
Former student, Dotty Hamilton, knows this from watching Tibbetts in action. "He is extremely knowledgeable and inquisitive about a wide variety of subjects," Hamilton says. "He's a renaissance man."
sainte man.
Tibbetts' love for film has manifested itself in many ways over the years. He's written and illustrated nine books including The Encyclopedia of Filmmakers and The American Theatrical Film. To his colleagues all his experience makes Tibbetts a valuable authority on film and other arts.
"John is one of the country's leading film academics," Berg says. "By virtue of his intelligence, a wonderful memory and with his encyclopedic mastery of film's 100 year history."
Jim Welsh, Tibbetts' friend and longtime collaborator, says throughout all Tibbetts' interviewing adventures, his enthusiasm for his subjects has never wavered.
"I am privileged to have such a good friend and colleague as John Tibbetts," Berg says. "He's truly a gentleman and scholar, and in the argot of the street, a hell of a guy."
ably because they like to be a teacher and a friend. Tibbetts adventures in film, art and journalism have made him into a man of many stories and talents, but all come second to what he has become as a teacher and a friend.
slam for his misuse. "It's that 'aw shucks' Kansas charm," Welsh says. "He just exudes intelligent interest, bordering on passion, and really gifted people respond to that, understandably because they like to appreciated."
"They can confront and provoke us, shake us up, grab us by the scruff of the neck and compel us to witness our life and times in ways that force us out of the box."
John Tibbetts, KU film professor, on the importance of movies