James "Jim" Franklin Watkins' Obituary
James “Jim” Franklin Watkins, 85, passed away shortly after midnight on June 10, 2024 surrounded by family in Memphis, Tennessee. He was born on December 4, 1938 in Bogalusa, Louisiana to the late Ernest Clansworth Watkins and Laverne Berryhill Watkins. His sister, Ann Worth Eggerton, resided in Corvallis, Oregon until her death on May 19, 2024.
Jim graduated from Louisiana College in 1960 with a B.A. in Advertising Art. In the early ‘60s, he pursued a brief career as a commercial illustrator working for Baptist Publishing House in Nashville but quickly realized he felt most at home on a college campus. From there, he went on to earn a Master’s in Painting from the University of Alabama in 1965, followed by his first teaching appointment at Judson College in Marion, Alabama. In the fall of 1968, Jim assumed a faculty position in the Department of Art and Design at The University of Memphis, inspiring thousands of students to see the world differently over the four decades he served there.
The breadth of Jim’s talent and creativity enabled him to teach every studio art course offered by the university, including drawing, painting, design, print-making, sculpture, and jewelry-making. A natural polymath, Jim’s own work drew inspiration from patterns found at the intersection of nature, geometry, physics, music, and design. For example, his “Eye Music'' compositions, an intricate series of 12 four-foot square acrylic paintings, are studies in color theory based on the Fibonacci sequence. He designed and built many of his own musical instruments, including electronic organs that could produce the sound of most instruments in an orchestra. He created hauntingly beautiful aural art from ordinary materials like soup cans and scuba hose, “sound sculptures” that offer as much to the ears as they do the eyes. His experimentation with kinetic art garnered international attention through the publication of essays describing inventions like his “Kaleido-sculpture” or the mesmerizing moiré effects of his “Kinetic Manala” in the journal Leonardo.
As adept in science and technology as he was with a paintbrush or sketchbook, Jim produced work that was not only visually stunning but also intellectually stimulating and technologically sophisticated. Perhaps it was Jim’s technical aptitude and creative versatility that led founding Communication and Fine Arts Dean Richard Ranta to approach him in 1984 with the task of researching the nascent field of computer graphics and computer animation as it concerned the future of art and design education. To pursue this project, Jim was awarded faculty development leave in the spring of 1985, the result of which was the development of the university’s computer graphics program. In 2007, after 39 years of service, he retired from the University of Memphis as Professor Emeritus.
In addition to his accomplishments in the visual arts, Jim was equally revered for his musical talents. His instrument of choice was the rare and demanding chromatic harmonica, and he was proud to rank among the handful of people worldwide to master it, a passion he discovered in childhood. For decades he and fellow musician Gene Finney spent most weekend nights entertaining the Memphis dining scene as the harmonica duo the Memphis Reed Riders, a band dating back to the ‘70s which originally included Jim Ledbetter, Billy Wicks, and occasional appearances by the legendary Pete Peterson. Jim’s favorite avenue of musical expression, however, was improvisational jazz. He relished any opportunity to participate in a jam session where freeform ideas and spontaneous creation reign supreme.
Despite the enormity of his talents and intellect, Jim was playful, down-to-earth, and utterly unpretentious. Known for his quick wit and ironic sense of humor, his conversation was teeming with jokes, puns, and clever wordplay. Following in his father’s footsteps, Jim became a Freemason on June 16, 1989 and served as Worshipful Master of the Bartlett Lodge (#697) in 1996. Jim will be remembered as a cherished friend, a loving father, and an inspirational teacher who loved mentoring young artists as much as he enjoyed pursuing his own projects. In retirement, he enjoyed creating cartoons and digital comics, as well as spending time with his family and dogs.
Jim is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Peggy Hebert Watkins, and their daughter, Katherine Doris Watkins (Katie). He is also survived by his son from a previous marriage, James Stewart Watkins (Jim) of Los Angeles, California.
A celebration of Jim’s life will be held at Memorial Park Funeral Home (5668 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN, 38119) on Saturday, July 20th. A reception will begin at 2:00 p.m., followed by open-floor remembrances at 2:45. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to ArtsMemphis.
The Watkins family appreciates your love and support during this difficult time.
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