However, the only true way to put this prolific artist's vast oeuvre into perspective is to visit the elongated, white stucco building behind his Upper Valley home, which has served as his retreat and working studio for more than four decades. It is here, amidst rooms filled with historic books and newspapers, boxes of vintage photos, and a plethora of old sketch books that Rakocy gets in touch with the well spring of memories, which continue to water his boundless imagination.
On another level, this building also represents visual confirmation that it and its owner have stood the test of time. Vigas in the main studio, charred in a devastating fire in 1995, and a black line at the entry door dated August 2006, the high water mark from the record setting floodwaters of Storm 2006, serve as reminders of natural disasters which managed to destroy paintings, books and archived research material, but not the artist's determined spirit.
Inspired by his dual love of art and history, the indefatigable Rakocy has spent more than 40 years researching and documenting the essence of the border region using both brush and the written word. Mexican Revolutionary Pancho Villa is perhaps this prolific artist's special passion. Bill's father, Joseph, served under General "Black Jack" Pershing during the Punitive Expedition into Mexico in the early 1900s, and his adventurous tales have come full circle through his son. Since arriving in the southwest in 1966, Rakocy has thoroughly researched this period, building a museum-quality collection of books, vintage photographs, and other memorabilia. His fascination with the subject inspired his book "Villa Raids Columbus, NM" and a plethora of paintings including more than two dozen created for a one man exhibition at the International Museum of Art whose captivating title, "By Fire and Sword", was based on Villa's call to arms. Although a casualty of his studio fire, Rakocy also took great pride in "The Death of Francisco Villa", a large mural-like composition depicting the notorious revolutionary on his deathbed, which garnered the artist the "Best of Show" award in the prestigious Arts International Exhibition in 1998. Many of his most treasured artifacts have also found their way into public domain, displayed in the "Mexican Revolution Room" at the International Museum of Art on Montana Avenue in El Paso.
Sharing his visions on paper and canvas has been Rakocy's life long passion. From the day his second grade teacher pinned a note to his shirt reading, "Send Billy to art classes if you can", the highly charged Rakocy knew he was destined to become a professional artist. His mother, Anna Mae, started the proverbial ball rolling by sending the seven year old to the prestigious Butler Institute of Fine Art, which just happens to be located in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.
Although World War II delayed his plans to undertake more formal education, it did not dampen his creative spirit. When he entered the Navy at the age of 18, one of his first assignments was painting murals depicting Naval heroes and history at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in Illinois. (These murals were reinstalled in 2004 in the newly refurbished Navy Drill Hall). Fellow sailors also recognized his talents, asking him to make sketches of themselves to send home to friends and family.
A civilian once again, Rakocy entered the Kansas City Art Institute in 1947 where he earned a BA and later a Masters Degree in Fine Arts. He accepted his first position as a fine arts educator with a fledgling college in Artesia, NM, and a few years later he was recruited by the El Paso Museum of Art.
During the next four decades, Rakocy established an enviable reputation as a valuable and revered gentleman whose influence has been felt in nearly every facet of the border arts community. As both Curator of Education and later Curator of Collections, he guided the efforts of the El Paso Museum of Art at its former Montana Street location for more than 20 years. During that period, he also spent numerous hours creating colorful and educational murals at both the El Paso History Museum and the Wilderness Park Museum (now the El Paso Museum of Archeology). He was also the founding father of the Rio Bravo Watercolorists and is an active member of the El Paso Plein Air Painters.
As generous as he is prolific, Rakocy has donated literally hundreds of paintings to charity and non-profit efforts, especially KCOS Public Television. However, his greatest gift to the border community is documenting its history through paintings of the New Mexico Ghost Towns, the early buildings of El Paso, the Tarahumara Indians of Creel and Copper Canyon, and the shimmering El Paso desert.
Still gifted with boundless energy, he is currently preparing for a one-man show in the fall at the Chamizal National Memorial. Generally known for impressionistic landscapes and historic buildings, Rakocy has produced an extraordinary series of 4' x 8' murals for this exhibition, which are more surrealistic in character. Titles such as "Life: Love and Conflict", and "Man Seeks Truth and Beauty", hint at primitive compositions much like those of turn of the century artist, Paul Gauguin.
If you would like to read Rakocy's story in depth, pick up a copy of his latest book, "The Art and Times of Bill Rakocy" at the Hal Marcus Gallery, which also carries a wide range of Rakocy's art, including early works, or see his paintings on the gallery website: www.HalMarcus.com.
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