Returned by Place
Ray Hudson Retrospective Exhibit
June 4 through September 4, 2004
Opening Reception 7:00 pm on June 4 at the Museum of the Aleutians, Unalaska, Alaska with special guest Ray Hudson
Co-Curated by Ray Hudson, the Museum of the Aleutians, and Carolyn Reed
Ray Hudson is well known in Unalaska, and in wider circles, for his woodblock prints which he started producing in 1973. Ray’s prints and related artwork have been widely collected in the community of Unalaska by local residents and also statewide and nationally. One of the aims of this exhibit is to bring together many of the pieces which now reside with families in homes in Unalaska and show them collectively in the museum. This is an opportunity for the entire community to share Ray’s work on the fortieth anniversary of his first arrival in Unalaska.
The exhibit will also represent some of Ray’s current work which he has been working on at his home in Vermont. Ray traveled to China in 1990 to study different techniques of woodblock printing and he has incorporated these into his current work. Original prints reproduced in Ray’s newest book “Moments Rightly Placed” will also be included in the exhibit.
Apart from traditional woodblock prints, Ray is also well known for related creative artworks, such as woodblock print ornaments and pins. Ray has also experimented artistically with the actual woodblocks themselves, using them to create varied forms of sculptural art, such as several large collage relief pieces which hang in public spaces in the town of Unalaska. Examples of all of these can be seen in the exhibit.
In addition to Woodblock printing, Ray also learned the art of woven grass basketry while in Unalaska. Ray studied the traditional art of Aleut basketry in Unalaska under his teacher Anafesia Shapsnikoff. He produced his own baskets and woven grass artwork, and also wrote several articles on the subject (see Ray Hudson biography for details). Ray does basket weaving to meet his own needs. In his words “Weaving is the place I always return to”. He does not sell his woven work and has never shown it formally and we feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to exhibit some examples of his woven basketry in the “Returned by Place” exhibit.
This exhibit spans forty years of creative work in printmaking, sculpture and basketry and reflects the spirit of an important Alaskan artist who began his artistic journey in the community of Unalaska. We hope that you can come and experience his works with us at the Museum of the Aleutians.
Born in Seattle in 1942 and raised in Yakima, Washington, Ray Hudson came to Unalaska in 1964 to teach first and second grades. Until his retirement in 1992 he taught a variety of grades and subjects. From 1965 to 1973 he studied Aleut basketry with Anfesia Shapsnikoff. In 1973 the Alaska State Council on the Arts sent Nathan Jackson to Unalaska to teach courses on woodblock printing and jewelry making. Ray took the woodblock class and made his first woodcut at that time.
From 1973 to 1990 Ray worked exclusively with oil inks, using a brayer and (at times) a press. In 1990 he studied for 6 weeks with Lu Fang, at the China National Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, The People's Republic of China. Since that time Ray has worked primarily in water-based printing. This technique involves applying watercolors to the woodblocks with a brush and printing on thin damp Chinese paper.
Ray’s woodblock prints have been exhibited at several local shows at Unalaska, including a showing at Nicky’s Place of 120 prints made from 1973 to 1995. A one-person exhibit was held at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Petropavlovsk, Russia. In 1997 a work was part of a traveling show in Alaska celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Saint Innocent of Alaska. Work commissioned through percent for art projects is on display at the Unalaska City School and the Unalaska City Hall. Other commissions include woodcuts for the Unalaska elementary school and the Unalaska library. In 1990 the Alaska State Council on the Arts awarded Ray a "Governor's Award for the Arts" in recognition of his work on behalf of the arts of the Aleutians.
In Vermont, where Ray now lives, prints have been exhibited at the Basin Harbor Club, the Vermont State Crafts Center at Frog Hollow, and Flynndog Gallery. Ray has been an active member of BAREN, an international discussion and exhibiting woodcut society located on the internet, for six years.
Ray describes his interest in Aleut basketry in his own words:
“My interest in basketry arose because of a fascination with the extraordinary vegetation of the Aleutians. After a few initial lessons with Sophie Pletnikoff, I was fortunate to have Anfesia Shapsnikoff accept me as a student—on the condition that I write down whatever she told me. These lessons resulted in several publications on the basketry: 1974 — “Aleut Basketry" with Anfesia Shapsnikoff; 1980—"Art Among the Aleuts"; 1987 —"Designs in Aleut Basketry"; 1990 —"The Influence of Attu Weavers on Aleut Basketry”. I think I have only offered one basket for sale and that was many many years ago. Generally, weaving fulfills a need (as in the woven diary in the exhibit) or a basket is made to be given away. Weaving is the place I always return to.”
Ray is also the author of a recent book entitled “Moments Rightly Placed: An Aleutian Memoir” published in 1998 through Epicenter Press.
Ray Hudson and Walter Dyakanoff
The Bush's
Ray Hudson and Mose Dirks
Michelle Kelchner and her lovely flower arraignment.
Executive Director Zoya Johnson and Collections Manager Sean Charrete
Museum Board Member O. Patricia Lekanoff-Gregory and her father Nick Lekanoff.
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All rights reserved. Revised:June 5, 2004
