Back door of a gratifying career
When I first arrived in Toronto, newly removed from the Peace River country of northern Alberta, I lived, by chance, very close to the Art Gallery of Ontario.
This was very lucky for me and it became one of my favourite places in the city. The context was that before I came to Toronto, I had probably never seen an actual painting or met an artist. The word design was used as a synonym for decoration if it was used at all.
By Paul Epp
There isn’t much value placed on the visual arts in a frontier community. I had never taken an art class because none were ever offered. But I was soon more than intrigued.
After a few months, I moved within the neighbourhood and now I was within sight of the Ontario College of Art. I watched the students walking to school with their projects and eventually I approached the school as well. I asked at the admission office how one went about becoming a student.
I was told it was simple: I would need to bring in my portfolio for an interview. Laughter met my question as to what a portfolio was. I hate being laughed at and I slunk away, embarrassed. But I was soon taking life-drawing courses at a private school. I envied the students I had been watching.
Sometime later, a chance conversation with the friend of a friend informed me of the design school that had recently opened as part of Sheridan College. The rumour was that since they were new, they would take almost anybody. I ended up going there.
Quite a few years later, when I was operating my own Industrial Design consultancy in Toronto, I would get graduates of OCA approaching me with their portfolios, looking for work. I felt that they were so uninformed about the realities of the business side of design that I contacted the Chair of the ID program.
I already knew Claude Gidman and we had a friendly conversation. When he suggested that I become part of the solution, I was both surprised and challenged. That was the beginning of my subsequent 23-year association with the school that became OCAD University.
You might say that I entered through the back door.
The new course that Claude identified for me to teach was called Design Economics and Marketing. That was all that I taught for many years but eventually I took on other courses as well.
By the end of my time there, I had taught almost every course that was offered in ID, at least once, as well as courses for other design programs and even for the Liberal Studies Faculty.
Ultimately, I was the Chair of the ID Program and that made the requirement to be part of the solution much more critical. As I’ve gone through the motions of saying goodbye to the school, I’ve been reminded of many points of connection.
I see the furniture that I donated and the equipment that I managed to procure. I see the books in the library that I requested. I reflect on the current curriculum which I helped form.
I think of all the meetings that I went to and the fact that some of them were eventually productive and that beneficial changes were made. Of course, there are the many students that I got to know as a teacher and the faculty that I worked beside as well as the administration that made the school run.
I’ll miss all of them, although I’ll admit, some more than others. OCAD University is a very important institution in Canada. It has had, as its students, most of the artists and designers that have made a significant contribution to how Canadians see Canada and themselves, as well as the material culture that collectively constitutes our built environment.
I’ve been lucky to have been part of it.
The fact that I managed to make my way from a far corner of the northern bush to a position of responsibility there is my proudest accomplishment. But now it’s time to move on.
I’ve retained a position as an Adjunct Professor, for research purposes, but I won’t be teaching there any more. Goodbye OCAD.