Thursday, December 27, 2012

Joel Lage Finds Artistry in Junk

If you've ever wondered "What became of Joel Lage?", Dave Schoenbacher solved the mystery and introduced us to the wonderful world of Joel's art. From a gallery announcement: The third in the series of Parks Gallery’s Showcase Exhibitions, “Joel Lage: Tin Maidens,” opens Saturday, August 25, with a reception from 3 to 5 pm. Lage will be exhibiting a new series of found object sculptures that are characterized by his sharp wit and his immaculate handling of materials – tin cans and cartridge brass, cow bones and baling wire. "I’ll look at a piece of junk and get an image of a figure, and then the challenge is to replicate what I’ve seen in my mind,” Lage says about his art. “That’s when the work begins. There’s a tremendous amount of labor, I get obsessed with detail, and basically my only tools are pliers and tin snips.” “I know it’s a fantasy,” he continues, “but I like to think that these figures are being sent to me from the future, from a tribe that mines the landfills, all the stuff we’ve thrown today, and they channel the figures back to me. The tribe has a name – I call them the Sowa.” Lage’s studio is an old school bus in Ilano San Juan where he’s lived for more than 30 years. “I’m from Chicago originally,” he says, “and in a former lifetime I worked in advertising, doing graphic design and marketing. I’ve always loved art. I never studied it formally but I grew up in the Chicago Art Institute. My two great heroes are Rauschenberg and Duchamp. In the late 1960s I had a vision about being an artist and working in metal. I stayed in the business world for another ten years, saved up enough money to buy some land here and began making jewelry out of recycled materials.” “Joel’s an original,” Parks says, “as an artist and a person. There’s a terrific twinkle in his eye, and his infectious sense of humor always comes out in his art. With all the political wrangling that’s going on these days, this seems an especially good time to showcase art that’s intended to make us laugh. Humor is a grossly underappreciated quality in the art world.” “I’m after a smile,” Lage concludes. “My slogan is, ‘Laughter is prayer.” Lage has collectors across the country. He has often exhibited at New York’s prestigious Outsider Art Fair and he was featured in a wonderfully ribald book, Folk Erotica: Celebrating Centuries of Erotic Americana, (by Milton Simpson, Harper/Collins). “Tin Maidens will be on view at Parks Gallery through September 13. There are numerous "Joel Lage" sites listed on Google, many featuring his wonderful works of art. Check them out. Also I originally gave credit to Dave Spero for locating Joel -- what was I thinking?? I guess I wasn't. My sincerest apologies to Dave Schoenbacher, the classmate who found Joel. I'll try to control my senior moments in the future.

Florie "Paints" Christmas Cards

As you already know, Florie Sick Baumann is an accomplished artist. So it comes as no surprise she reproduced one of her Sierra Nevada mountainscapes on their annual Christmas card. Tho I missed their annual picture newsletter, Florie's artwork more than made up for it. Check out her website.

Downers is a Friendly Town

Downers Grove, IL Population: 48,163 Downers Grove Named 8th Friendliest Town in America by Forbes Magazine A new study has ranked Downers Grove among the friendliest communities in the United States. Forbes Magazine recently teamed up with Nextdoor.com, a San Francisco-based social network for neighborhoods, to assess 500 small metro areas with populations between 5,500 and 150,000. Their findings, published Thursday on Forbes.com, ranked America's friendliest towns based on four data points: percentage of owner-occupied homes, crime rate, charitable giving and and the percentage of college graduates. Downers Grove ranked No. 8, joining communities like Seal Beach, CA; Huntington Woods, MI; and Hamilton, NY. Located about 25 miles outside of Chicago, this Midwestern suburb peddles more than 140 community events and festivals. About 80% of residents own their own homes and the population is highly educated. In addition to a boutique and restaurant-filled downtown, this suburb has about 600 acres of parks and green space. On Saturdays during the summer, neighbors partake in a farmers' market and auto enthusiasts gather on Friday nights for an informal classic car show.
What a wonderful honor for our hometown. It almost makes me homesick!

Holiday Wishes from Classmates

Dave Spero and Gloria Stacy sometime around Christmas
John and Gail LeRoy on Christmas Eve
Norm Plutchak and grandson Josh at Christmas
Tom Austin and the Claus family
Bill Bateman and his granddaughters

Monday, December 3, 2012

Mike Jennings A Hall-of-Famer

A Christmas card from Mike and Mimi Elliot Jennings brought word that Mike was inducted into the Amateur Hockey Hall of Fame after devoting 40 years to working with the association. No wonder Mimi is so proud of him! Congrats, Mike, on this wonderful honor; your classmates are proud of you, too.