Jim McHugh ’66 Dazzles
It’s always an exciting moment when an alum returns to campus, especially if they’ve been away for a few years. The buzz of nostalgia and curiosity that spreads across the student body is palpable, and everyone is eager to hear what the alum has been up to since they graduated. Such was the case when Jim McHugh, a former student of Besant Hill, kicked off Family Weekend a few years ago.
As part of the Master Class and Distinguished Speaker Series (DSS) event, Besant Hill featured multiple-award winning photographer and alumnus Jim McHugh. Jim met with students from digital media and art classes to discuss everything from his work (including photographing Beatrice Wood on multiple occasions) to getting started in a career in photography. His DSS event was filled with laughter as Jim recounted his many adventures photographing celebrities ranging from Clint Eastwood to David Hockney. Jim has been honored by the United Nations with the IPC Professional Photography Leadership Award and won the International Photography Awards’ First Prize for Fine Art Photography in 2007, as well as the George Eastman House Award for Best of Show in 2008 for architectural imagery of Los Angeles.
Jim attended the master’s program at the UCLA Film School. He went on to become one of the original contributing photographers to People magazine, an official photographer for the Grammy Awards, and a contributing photographer to Architectural Digest. He is renowned for his large-format Polaroid images of Los Angeles, urban land- scapes monumentalizing that which is now invisible and derelict. These pictures were first exhibited at Timothy Yarger Fine Art in 2010 in a show of Jim’s work titled Let’s Get Lost: Polaroids from the Coast.
Jim is critically acclaimed for his series of artist portraits, which include Ed Ruscha, John Baldessari, and David Hockney, and he has published several books on artists. In 2011, the Yarger gallery presented Los Angeles: 40 Artists – Photographs by Jim McHugh in partnership with the Getty Museum’s Pacific Standard Time program celebrating art in Los Angeles from 1945 to 1985. Presently, Jim is working on several collaborations with Los Angeles based “street” artists. The Besant Hill School students, faculty, and staff were captivated by both Jim’s charismatic personality and his stunning images.
Raymond Neutra ‘57 | Neutra and Nature Inspires Students
A few years ago, alumnus and former HVS board member Raymond Neutra ’57 treated Besant Hill students, faculty, and staff to a presentation on his late father, renowned architect and author Richard Neutra, and his use of natural elements as central to the environments he designed and the technologies he used to fuse indoors and outdoors.
Raymond was influenced by his father’s concern with physiology and design, pursuing a research career in environmental medicine and epidemiology; he sees environmental design and public health as closely related. He has been giving this presentation to colleges and universities across the state and was asked by the Ojai Valley Museum to present as part of their monthly masters series.
Raymond graciously agreed to present to the Besant Hill community and spent extra time with their students interested in pursuing architectural design. An interesting discovery was also made — the designs of the new faculty houses (to replace those lost in the Thomas Fire) bear a striking resemblance to his father’s designs, incorporating lots of windows and features that blend and make use of the natural indoor and outdoor environments.
Raymond’s presence was a testament to the enduring legacy of Besant Hill School and the impact that its alumni can have on the world.
