Jan Stussy

Jan Stussy was an American artist, film producer, and professor. He was a professor emeritus from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he taught there for 42 years. He was awarded an Academy Award for the documentary film, Gravity Is My Enemy (1977). Stussy was a prolific painter and printmaker.

He was elected as vice-president of the California Water Color Society in 1950.

Stussy taught visual arts at the University of California, Los Angeles, from 1942 until 1989. He also taught at the UCLA Extension, from 1957 to 1980.

In 1977, Stussy co-produced the documentary Gravity Is My Enemy with John C. Joseph. The film portrays one of Stussy's art students, Mark Hicks, who has been paralyzed since a childhood accident and paints and draws by holding tools between his teeth. Both producers received an Academy Award in 1978 at the 50th Academy Awards in the Best Documentary Short Film category.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023