Painting by John Slorp
“Horimon Wind”
Scott County Minnesota

On May 21, 2011 board emeriti John Slorp died. John was a founding board member of The Center for Cartoon Studies. He served as president of Minneapolis College of Art and Design from 1990 to 2002: previously he served for eight years as president of Memphis College of Art. He helped get CCS up and running and served as a mentor to CCS President Michelle Ollie. Following are CCS’s co-founders remembrances.

….

I met John Slorp in the fall of 2001 while giving a lecture at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. After the talk we spoke at length and hit it off. When he asked me to consider teaching at MCAD I gave it some serious thought. I might be living in Minnesota right now if he hadn’t announced his retirement that year.

When I dove into the planning of CCS, John and I spoke at least once a week. To have someone of his experience and insight offering me guidance was truly a gift. He was also the person who introduced me to the school’s other founder Michelle Ollie.

John liked being a contrarian and wouldn’t hesitate challenging me at every turn. We had many vigorous debates that he always conducted with a generous and mischievous spirit. I greatly valued his opinion and it was a great comfort to me that I could call him anytime and he’d be ready with whatever was needed: encouragement, probing questions, or sage advice. He will be missed.

— James Sturm

Mostly, I will miss John’s humor. I always got a sense that a handful of us really understood it.

I learned a lot from John Slorp about art, teaching, learning, and interconnectedness of them all. The importance of nature in study, and the opportunity art colleges have in providing new pathways for learning and exploring. I miss our diner breakfast talks, where we would brainstorm and process ideas, talk about designing new models and programs. John was never short on ideas, always eager to talk about them, and always wanted to hear mine.

I will miss him dearly.

— Michelle Ollie

Tags: Cartoon Studies, drawing, John Slorp