CONWAY — Two Faulkner County artists — one a lifetime resident and the other a transplant from Wisconsin — were honored Nov. 10 for their outstanding contributions to the arts in Arkansas.
Gene Hatfield, born and raised in Faulkner County, and David Peterson, a resident of the county since 1976, were honored by Gov. Mike Beebe and the Arkansas Arts Council at the annual Governor’s Arts Awards ceremony and luncheon at The Peabody Little Rock. The Governor’s Arts Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the arts in Arkansas.
Both received an original work of art — a wooden vessel made of native Arkansas wood, including spalted maple, crabapple, peach and walnut — created by Arkansas Artist Registry member Joe Doster of Harrison. The recipients were nominated by the public, then selected by an independent panel of arts professionals from around the state.
Hatfield received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Sarah Mattingly of North Little Rock, formerly of Conway and a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with a degree in art, nominated Hatfield for the award.
“I’m very excited, flattered and amazed that I won this award,” Hatfield said. “I never expected to be nominated, but Sarah Mattingly pulled it all off.
“I appreciate it very much. This is by far the most honorable award I have ever gotten. I’ve won awards for my art, but nothing like this.”
Hatfield was born Nov. 23, 1925, in Conway. He and his late wife, Nicole, a native of France, had three children. Son Hadrian Hatfield, who is a lawyer, and his wife, Hélène, live in Rockville, Md., and have two children, Cedric, 17, and Loic, 14. Son Marc Hatfield, who is an artist, and his wife, Leigh, live in Loveland, Colo. Their children are Harrison, 21; Caroline, 17; and Heath, 9. Daughter Mathilda, who is director of planned giving at UCA, and her husband, Jeff Hulett, live in Conway. All of Hatfield’s children and their spouses and his grandchildren attended the ceremony.
Hatfield works in a variety of media, including watercolor, oil, acrylic and sculpture. He may be best known for the transformation of his yard in Conway into an art environment, the result of more than 40 years of working with recycled objects. Influenced by the surrealist artist Max Ernst, Hatfield uses discarded materials and found objects, mixing and arranging them to create three-dimensional collages. Hatfield also works in the tradition of artists whose use of discarded materials casts light on the wastefulness of contemporary society.
During his long tenure as an art teacher at UCA, Hatfield taught drawing, painting, sculpture, crafts and design, as well as art history and art appreciation. Since his retirement in 1985, he has continued to work as an artist, painting regularly with a class at UCA, exhibiting his work and developing sculptures from the variety of materials he collects. Students, not only in art classes but also writing classes, frequently visit his yard.
Hatfield has donated a large body of his own work and art collection to the UCA Foundation. His work is also represented in public and private collections in France; England; Washington, D.C.; Little Rock; and Conway.
Peterson received the Judges’ Special Recognition Award. His nominators included Diane McConnell, Conway Meacham and Judy Robertson, all of Little Rock.
“I’m honored to have been selected for this award,” Peterson said. “My nominators submitted my name unsolicited by me. I’ve been doing dance 30-some-odd years now, and I love it.’
Peterson moved to Conway in 1976 when he took a position in the mathematics department at UCA. He and his wife, Donna, have two sons — Chris, who lives in Austin, Texas, and is an acoustic engineer and a fiddler; and Eric, who lives in Minneapolis with his wife, Alyssa, and their two children, Kai, 14, and Avery, 9.
In 1978, Peterson founded the Arkansas Country Dance Society, a nonprofit organization created to preserve and promote traditional music and folk dance. The ACDS holds three public events a month where traditional American and English country dancing is taught, accompanied by live music. Peterson served as the organization’s president for 25 years.
Peterson formed an alliance with the Ozark Folk Center to create a Folk Dance Weekend, bringing in traditional dance teachers and musicians for three days of workshops and instruction, an event that has continued for more than 20 years.
With a grant from the Arkansas Endowment for the Humanities in cooperation with the Arkansas Educational Television Network, Peterson and his colleague Charlie Sandage created, directed and produced the “Arkansas Historical Dance Series.” This eight-part documentary video series highlights traditional dance, music and culture from territorial times to the present. Peterson also wrote the accompanying book, which includes historical photographs, dance descriptions, a glossary of dance and musical terms, and a brief history of each dance activity and its place in Arkansas history.
Peterson is also a musician and has built hundreds of musical instruments, specializing in hammered dulcimers. He and his wife built the log cabin in which they live in Greenbrier.