The world of teaching can often be one that is overworked and underpaid. Many of those who venture into it learn that it is not the cakewalk they may have originally thought it would be. Countless hours are spent grading papers and formulating lesson plans, and that alone is enough to steer many prospective instructors in another direction.
There are a select few, however, that seem to so thoroughly enjoy what they do that it makes the students they teach rise to an unexpected level of academic success. Joseph Futtner is one of those instructors.
A veteran of the Pasadena City College community, Futtner has been enlightening students in art history since 1994. “I’ve been here 17 years, both part and full time,” he said.
The University of Hartford graduate has become one of the most respected professors on the PCC campus, due largely in part to his comprehension of art history and his ability to make a subject that a lot of people consider ‘boring’ interesting.
Taking all of this into account, it is peculiar that, as an undergraduate, Futtner had absolutely no idea what he wanted to do, but art was certainly not a field of endeavor that appealed to him initially.
“I had been in a museum two times before, and both times my girlfriend made me go,” he said. “I was interested in history, philosophy, and English literature, and then I took an art class in January 1974.”
“It was there that I realized art history was a medium that integrated not only those subjects, but also religion and political science. I thought that any subject as encompassing in terms of its intellectual range was one that definitely interested me,” he said.
A lighthearted mood accompanies almost every one of Futtner’s lectures, his constant analogies between subjects in the paintings he is analyzing and contemporary characters making the lecture hall constantly burst out in laughter.
At times, it can be difficult to discern whether what is taking place is a lecture or improvised stand up; either way, the students are better for it.
Jonathan Soto, a 21-year-old business major who took Futtner’s art history class as part of his general education requirements, came in with low expectations. “The only reason I took the class was because it was part of my GE requirements,” he said. “I never thought I would actually enjoy the class. I mean, it’s art history.”
His unconventional teaching methods, in which he incorporates his children as part of the lecture, have also drawn praise from both former and current students.
“I think you have to find some starting point where art becomes a personal matter for you,” he said. “Everyone is familiar with family situations, with how those dynamics might play out into the larger world, and so I do kind of include my children in the lectures.”
He adds that his two kids have “been exposed to more art then they want to talk about.”
In 2010, Futtner traveled to Florence, Italy as part of PCC’s study abroad program. Interestingly, he was the first art professor to make the trip to a city that is awash in art history.
Until recently, Futtner’s children were too young for him to commit to a semester abroad.
“I was at a point in my life when I could exercise that opportunity, so I decided to go for it,” he said.
He noted that, initially, many of the students felt somewhat uncomfortable adjusting to an entirely new environment. After taking the time to fully immerse themselves in Italian culture, however, most changed their mind.
"[At] the end of the stay, students, who to be sure at the beginning felt very 'foreign' in Italy, have begun to call Florence their city," he said.
Moving to the west coast was also something Futtner thought he would never do.
“I swore I would never come out to California,” he said. “I had seen a NOVA (PBS special) on the ‘big one,’ and I thought no way was I going to move to a place that was guaranteed to have an earthquake.”
As luck would have it, he did move, and the golden state had a little something in store for him.
“I actually lived in the San Fernando Valley and our place was condemned after the (1994) Northridge earthquake,” he recalled, a trace of amusement crossing his face. “However, I don’t know if I could get up and leave my home in southern California anymore.”
The 51-year-old, who lists the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford among his favorites, enjoys running and playing bass guitar in his free time. “It’s a lot of fun for me (playing) and it’s a way for me to address the other side of my brain, both creatively and recreationally,” he said.
Running is also a way of keeping his head intact, he says, and it also serves as his psychiatric couch. “Every time I go back to New York, I make a point of running Central Park.”
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