In 1991, Anchorage artist and teacher Hugh McPeck received a heart transplant. From that time, and for the next 23 years, he considered every day a gift. He filled his days teaching sculpture at the University of Alaska Anchorage, training horses and making art.
McPeck died in Anchorage on Sept. 18, 2014, at age 66. A group of his students, colleagues and other artists will take part in a show honoring McPeck, "Hugh," on display this month at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art.
The multidisciplined McPeck showed bronze casts, wood sculptures and drawings in local galleries, faculty shows and venues both here and Outside. He was a frequent exhibitor in the National Birds in Art shows at the Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. In 2012, he arranged to bring the entire show to the University of Alaska Anchorage's Campus Center Gallery.
One of his most prominent sculptures is the large bronze bear and raven installed at the corner of Fourth Avenue and E Street. Another is the wood timber pedestrian bridge connecting O'Malley Elementary School to the municipal trail system, built in 1985 as part of the 1% For Art program.
McPeck was born in Syracuse, New York. He studied drawing and sculpture at the Art Students League of New York, the Kendall School of Design in Michigan and Michigan State. He received his Master of Fine Arts from Idaho State University in 1976 and shortly after began his years of teaching in colleges. His career included work as an adjunct professor at Alaska Pacific University and Mat-Su Community College.
He took over the UAA Sculpture Department upon the death of the iconic Anchorage sculptor Ken Gray, becoming an assistant professor in 2001 and associate professor in 2006.
At the news of his death, an area outside the UAA sculpture lab soon became filled with photos, messages and memorabilia. Current and former students, faculty and friends posted their remembrances. Almost all contributors mentioned his sharp wit.
His wife, Ann Gabler, said he often combined creativity and humor to make a point. "Sometimes we didn't know whether to laugh, cry or run for cover after one of his provocative remarks. Over the years, I grew more and more to appreciate his clever sense of humor, which often had a twist that I didn't discover until later."
UAA art history professor Charles Licka described him as the "consummate trickster." He recalled one incident in which Licka parked in the sculpture-loading zone and McPeck placed an official-looking -- and potentially expensive -- parking ticket on his windshield. Seeing Hugh in the studio, Licka asked him about it. "You should be more cognizant of the time you spend there," was the deadpan reply. Informed that it was only 10 minutes, Hugh replied, "Well, you art historians are quite forgetful about time and you should be more careful." Upon returning to his office, Licka opened a one-word email from Hugh McPeck: "Gotcha."
Artist and longtime UAA Art Department head Mariano Gonzalez was a colleague and friend. He said McPeck transformed the UAA Sculpture Department into an exciting and coherent program in which he was proactively involved in mentoring his drawing and sculpture students.
"Hugh and I shared many values which seem contradictory," Gonzales said. "We both respected the military but abhor war. We both owned firearms but were appalled by the NRA and its minions and the gratuitous killing of animals. We were both religious, but not to the detriment of our humanity."
At a memorial gathering at UAA on Sept. 22, 2014, which would have been his 67th birthday, his sons, Sean and Seth, recalled being summoned by their father for truck rides into the mountains. They were always told to bring some stuffed animal toys. "All he did," they reported, "was look for trap lines." With each sighting, the trap was sprung and a stuffed animal was put in place.
Cole Robbins is a former student of McPeck and now a UAA adjunct professor of sculpture herself. She wrote, "For 14 years I was guided by Hugh McPeck with a sense of direction that focused on the importance and necessity of creating art. He taught me that sculpture takes time, dedication, persistence, and hard work. Our conversations always find their way into my memories as I sand away another surface, paying attention to the grain."
Former student Enzina Marrari is now curator of the municipal 1% For Art program. She said she learned artistic discipline from McPeck. "And to push myself to create things I didn't otherwise think I could. I found my voice as an artist. I think he knew it before I did. He had this kind of magic."
UAA professor Garry Mealor worked with McPeck for over 20 years. He would have to enter Hugh's Life Drawing class to access props for his own. As Garry describes it, "The 10-second walk changed me. What happened in his classes was more than a transfer of information. He taught by example and his classes were electric. I left Hugh's class and sat on the floor out in the hallway. The sad fact was I would rather be in Hugh's class than my own. We talked about this over the years and his critiques of me were heartfelt, if not life-changing, and sometimes brutal, the latter of which I cherish."
Mealor is showing a watercolor/graphite work called "Always Open" in the IGCA exhibition. The title refers to Hugh's drawing lab supply cabinet.
"It is the first painting I have ever done while crying," Mealor said.
Don Decker is an Anchorage artist, teacher and writer.
HUGH, a group exhibition in memory of art professor Hugh McPeck, will be on display at the International Gallery of Contemporary Art, 427 D St., through Feb. 28.