CONVERSATIONS
Lynn Whitelaw, founding curator of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, Tarpon Springs, Florida
Artist Craig Rubadoux
Craig Rubadoux, Internationally acclaimed artist and close friend of Frank Rampolla.
Roundtable Discussion from the Remembering Frank Rampolla Exhibit at Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art. Members of the panel include:
Ron Rampolla, (Son)
Fiore Custode, (Friend + Colleague)
Lynn Whitelaw, (Curator)
Robert Sindelir, (Friend + Gallery Owner)
Eric Lang Peterson, (Art Collector)
Bruce Marsh, (Friend + Colleague)
Tom Kettner, (Former Rampolla Student + Printmaker)
Discussion topics include:
Frank Rampolla as a man + artist from those who knew him best.
An insider look into Frank Rampolla’s history, education, and training.
The legacy of his work and as an educator
Personal stories + photographs of Frank Rampolla
Students of Frank Rampolla from the mid 1960’s
Dani Matthews Roach
1.) What year did you study with Frank Rampolla and what was the title of the class?
I had drawing and painting under Mr Rampolla. My first assignment was to draw an apple. Being from a small southern town, never having an art class, I was so terrified that I begged a 2nd year student to draw it for me. She finally gave in, and I am sure he knew I did not draw that apple, but he didn’t give up on me. He gave me courage to try.
2.) What do you remember about Frank Rampolla? What sticks out in your memory about him?
His dedication to his painting. I was in riverside dorm, and he would walk down the hall every night on his way to his studio and then back to his apartment late that night. He always looked at the floor all the way down the hall because we were all in some form of undressed. If we walked out into the hall, he would look away immediately.
Mrs. Rampolla was also wonderful. She was like a mother to us. I needed that kind of caring being so far away from home for the 1st time.
3.) How were you influenced by Frank Rampolla’s teachings or his artwork?
First, he taught me dedication to my art by example. Having him for painting and drawing, I learned all the fundamentals of drawing and painting that gave me the power to go forward with confidence. He once told me my work reminded him of Pierre Bonnard, I had to go to library to see his work. I was thrilled beyond belief that he saw him in my work. His gentle soul was so different from the power and dark side of his work.
1.) What year did you study with Frank Rampolla and what was the title of the class?
I studied with him for three years 1963-1965 at Ringling School of Arts. Then the summer just before he died I went up to Tampa and studied Intaglio with Frank, because they didn’t have any printmaking at in Sarasota.
2.) What do you remember about Frank Rampolla? What sticks out in your memory about him?
His passion. His enthusiasm. I remember I had a history class with him where he was so taken away when he visited Italy and had seen Michelangelo’s pieces. When you were in a class with him he wouldn’t want to talk much. He would say “Go Paint. Just Go Paint”. That was what importnant. Just go do the work.
3.) How were you influenced by Frank Rampolla’s teachings or his artwork?
Frank Rampolla is in every line I draw.
He is always looking behind me. I think sometimes “he’s not going to like this but that’s okay”. I am influenced in everything. I’m still working with the figure. Especially the hands and feet––which are really important to me. I’m still struggling with the figure. It’s been a constant all my life. There has never been anything else but the figure. I haven’t strayed an awful lot I guess.
I remember when I was in art school and I was trying to do a self-portrait at the time. I was trying to do something really “tight” and I remember he didn’t like that at the time. I was really afraid to go “tight” in my artwork for a long time because I knew he just wouldn’t like it. Then the last couple of years I thought I’d try it. To figure out what is a challenge for me. I was going really tight in my paintings. I still go back in forth. I’m taking a breather now, but I’m really excited to see what happens when I go back to paint (loose) again.
1.) What year did you study with Frank Rampolla and what was the title of the class?
I was only a student at Ringling briefly, 1965-66, but my Drawing classes with him shaped the way my line falls on paper even today. I found a pleasure in fluidity and modeling of a form that would not likely have come to me on my own, or at least I have always credited Frank Rampolla somehow with that freedom of of expression.
2.) What do you remember about Frank Rampolla? What sticks out in your memory about him?
I have a very distinct recollection of his physical presence: his stature, the smooth skin of his arm reaching across to correct or point to areas needing change and, oddly, his ears (which were somewhat hairy!). Of the instructors I had, he was the one I remember as the most authentic -an artist in all he said and did.
3.) How were you influenced by Frank Rampolla’s teachings or his artwork?
The way he honored the human form and the visceral impact of his images made me realize the cathartic power behind honest expression in one’s work. This can be frightening as well as empowering, and I wrestle with those forces to this day.
I have worked in the art conservation field for the last 35 years and produced mainly fiber-related artwork personally. I’ve recently returned to figure drawing, using the most basic materials: graphite, charcoal, and gouache. Anything that comes from my return to what I first loved will always be through to the door he opened for me so many years ago.