Ever since he was a kid, Matt McHugh knew he loved making art.
“Art has been a family thing for really my whole life. I never felt pressure to make art," McHugh said. "The materials and inspiration were always there."
While some of his siblings found art to be more of a hobby, McHugh knew he wanted to make it a part of his career. Initially studying as an art undergraduate at Colorado State University, he later discovered his passion for teaching. He applied for a teaching instructor position at Purdue University.
Fast forward to now, McHugh’s love and passion for art and teaching inspires him to not only teach students here at the University of Northern Colorado, but also create works of his own.
“The topics I like to explore tend to be really philosophical topics like time and mortality," McHugh said. "I’ve explored those in different ways for a long time and honestly, I think that it just kind of comes from my own existential angst."
One of the ways McHugh has explored these concepts is through the inclusion of paleolithic cave art in his works to represent the vastness and history of time. His intrigue for time and mortality comes from his personal battle with ankylosing spondylitis, a severe and progressive form of spinal arthritis.
While some would see the permanent and progressive nature of the disease as devastating, McHughfinds motivation from it.
“I think it actually creates some sense of urgency with my work in that I know my body is probably going to be capable of less every decade or you know maybe even every year,” McHugh said.
His constant struggles with the disease, which began during his undergraduate years, have allowed him to better understand the challenges that his own students might be going through outside of school.
“For my whole adult life, I’m trying to navigate how do I deal with work and college and making my art and you know, relationships and friendships and all that stuff at the same time as managing this disease,” McHugh said.
McHugh believes thatthis more empathetic approach to teaching creates a space where his students feel freer to express themselves. While students certainly learn a lot from him, McHugh feels like he is constantly gaining inspiration from their works of art.
“They can really bring a lot of new insights that I just wouldn’t think of because I just have my ways of doing things and it’s really exciting to see different forms of visual thinking,” McHugh said.
Despite all the obstacles he’s faced and continues to face, McHugh’s passion for art continues to motivate him to create new works of art and pass his skills on to students.
