Alumni Spotlight: A Conversation with Art Historian Robert Hobbs
School of Art Alumnus Robert Hobbs has led a career that many art historians could only dream of. In the years following his graduation from UT in the 1960s, he has written nearly sixty books and curated dozens of exhibits, working closely with artists ranging from sculptors Alice Aycock and Robert Smithson to painters Lee Krasner and Robert Motherwell. Hobbs’ recent projects include investigations into the work of Chris Dorland, who uses computer programs and AI to explore the ways that technologies transform reality, and Kara Walker, who is internationally known for her candid investigation of race, gender, sexuality, and violence.
Reflecting on his years at UT, Hobbs said, “People used to discuss majoring in the humanities because it is enriching, but just as importantly it encourages students to think critically. Critical thinking,” he pointed out, “enables people to be viable as the world around them changes dramatically.”
One of Hobbs’ most recent books on artist Kara Walker (New York: Karma, 2023)
Hobbs grew up in Blount County, TN in a family with a strong UT connection. His father, Charles S. Hobbs, served as head of the Animal Husbandry-Veterinary Science Department from 1941 until his death in 1971; Charles was known for his research on the genetic effects of nuclear fallout on beef cattle rounded up near Los Alamos. Robert’s mother, Corrine Clay Hobbs, was a teacher and coloratura soprano. Although their vocations were different, both his parents firmly agreed on the importance of education for their five children.
“It was essential for them,” Hobbs said. “And it has been crucial for me.”
Hobbs being interviewed in Robert Longo’s studio, NYC
As a child, Hobbs was an avid reader, who developed an interest in acting while studying at Maryville High School. He intended to study theatre at UT, but found himself more involved in the Art History electives he was taking. “Although UT was known as a ‘top party school’ in the 1960s, the caliber of the professors in the School of Art drew me to them,” he said.
“I found professors actively producing their own work were much more open to students who challenged some of the truisms in their fields” Hobbs reflected. “They looked at things in fresh ways.”
Among them was Dale Cleaver- the first trained art historian in the department – and Kermit “Buck” Ewing, for whom the School of Art’s onsite gallery is named. Hobbs recalled Ewing’s efforts to show students the kind of work that contemporary artists – such as Pop artists Roy Lichtenstein and Claes Oldenburg – were exhibiting in New York, even though bringing such pieces to Knoxville was costly.
“It was crucial for someone growing up in East Tennessee,” he said. “Ewing wanted to bring students aesthetically into the present.”
Other fond memories of UT include working with fellow students Lynne Walker and Elsa Fine, both of whom went on to have distinguished art historical careers.
People used to discuss majoring in the humanities because it is enriching, but just as importantly it encourages students to think critically. Critical thinking enables people to be viable as the world around them changes dramatically.
Robert Hobbs
“Learning wasn’t only in the classroom,” Hobbs said. “We were teaching each other, and each brought different experiences to their understanding of art.”
In 1969, Hobbs left UT to pursue museum work. His first job was Curator of Education at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC, where his duties included teaching a nine-month art history class for prospective docents (who would bribe museum guards to let them study after hours and insisted that Hobbs give them exams). From there, he earned a PhD from UNC Chapel Hill, studying under noted art historian and critic Donald Kuspit.
After receiving his doctorate, Hobbs accepted a teaching position at Yale University. He enjoyed teaching – and would go on to faculty and curatorial positions at Cornell and Virginia Commonwealth University, where he held the Thalhimer Endowed Chair – but he recognized early on his love for research and writing.
Installation Views, “Robert Smithson, Sculpture,” Retrospective Exhibition curated by Robert Hobbs, Whitney Museum of American Art, 1981
Hobbs’ ideas for projects come to him in a myriad of ways. In the case of his book on Earth artist Robert Smithson, it was out of a desire to delve deeper into a challenging artist.
“Oftentimes, I undertake a topic because I don’t understand it,” he said. “I pursued Smithson’s art because of the complexity and timeliness of his thought.”
Some book subjects have emerged from chance encounters, suggestions from friends and coworkers in the art world, and marathon gallery explorations – often in the company of his wife, gallerist Jean Crutchfield – to find art with that undefinable quality: stickability.
“If I wake up the next morning, and find I’m still thinking about certain pieces, then I want to know more about them,” Hobbs said.
The artworks of Chris Dorland and Ben Durham – subjects of Hobbs’ two current projects – made such an impression. He is currently finishing Chris Dorland: Future Ruins (forthcoming from Milan: Skira, 2024) and is already at work on another about Durham, a Kentucky artist whose large drawings explore social injustices in Appalachia.
“They come from totally different worlds,” Hobbs said of Dorland and Durham. “Sometimes I work dialectically by moving in diverse directions.”
Although his research has enabled him to become acquainted with some of the world’s most renown artists—often carefully studying and discussing their work alongside them—Hobbs said that there isn’t any one project that has interested him above the rest.
“There are a great number of artists I’ve enjoyed working with, in very different ways,” he said. “But I usually get really wrapped up in whatever I’m researching, so I’d say that I’m most interested in the artists I’m currently writing about.”
Now in the sixth decade of his art history career, Hobbs has no intention of slowing down.
“I’m still very active, researching, publishing, curating, and consulting” he said. “And hopefully, will be able to continue as long as I live.”
Learn more about Hobbs’ and his body of work on his website: https://roberthobbs.net/biography.shtml.
All images courtesy of Robert Hobbs. Headshot by Christopher Little.