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Thursday, December 29, 2011

I read the news today, oh boy......


James Rizzi 1950-2011

I was very saddened to read this morning that artist James Rizzi has died at the young age of 61. We have Rizzi-themed artwork hanging all around my school right now, and I'm sure my students will be shocked by the news. Here's a link to a nicely written obituary.

Goodbye, James, and lets hope that your heaven is filled with buildings that are smiling and happy, with symbols of peace and love and goodness everywhere. And maybe some beeping cars filled with laughing people, and congestion and bridges and skyscrapers to make you feel like you are in your beloved New York City. Rest in Peace, James.
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8 comments:

  1. Kristyn DeMintDecember 29, 2011 at 4:42 PM

    Phil, I just found out about this today too. I am so very sad.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousDecember 29, 2011 at 4:47 PM

    How sad.....I was looking forward to teaching a lesson about Rizzi to my students and being able to tell them that we were actually studying a living artist which we rarely do. I feel sad that the world has lost another great artist and humanitarian.

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  3. kszwahlDecember 29, 2011 at 5:58 PM

    I have seen all sorts of lessons with James Rizzi as the inspiration. It is hard to see a contemporary artist pass. Will still have to do a lesson on him this spring.
    Thanks for passing this on to us.

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  4. Christie - Fine LinesDecember 29, 2011 at 7:20 PM

    Thanks for letting us know. How sad:( -- he was so young!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownDecember 29, 2011 at 9:22 PM

    Thank you for posting this. What a loss for us. So young. I never talked to him but saw his skype interview with a class and was touched that he took the time out of his life and was truly interested in talking with kids. I always thought highly of him for that.

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  6. PhylDecember 29, 2011 at 9:34 PM

    Kristyn, since your class did that wonderful Skype interview and spent time communicating with Mr. Rizzi, this must be especially devastating news for you and your students. Thanks for being the person who brought my attention to this joyful artist that I previously had known nothing about.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kristyn DeMintDecember 30, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    Honestly, I am not sure how I go about telling the kids. Any advice? We still talk about Mr. Rizzi on a regular basis. He was a huge inspiration to many. I emailed his rep. and they plan to keep his art alive and want to continue to encourage art education.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Snippety GibbetJanuary 1, 2012 at 8:06 PM

    That's so very shocking. You totally introduced me to his work.

    ReplyDelete

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