DCS: claes oldenburg
I have been drawing since I was a little kid. Much to my parents’ chagrin, I decided to make art my chosen career. I went to art school and I have made a living as a professional artist — in one capacity or another — for over 40 years.
Unlike a lot of my colleagues and contemporaries, I am not a fan of art museums. And while I admire some other artists, I am not a “student of the arts.” I don’t study the established “old masters” and those who are revered by the art world. Sure, I can run the various “art” categories on Jeopardy!, but that’s only because I remember a lot of what I was forced to learn in an art history class four decades ago.
I worked in the marketing department of a prominent Philadelphia law firm for about ten years. They were pretty well connected to the cultural community in the city. They were the long-time legal representatives of the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. While I was in their employ, I was offered the opportunity to attend a reception at which Claes Oldenburg was the main honoree.
I froze.
There are just a handful of famous artists whose work I truly admire. Roy Lichtenstein. Edward Hopper. Johannes Vermeer. Seward Johnson. And what do they all have in common? They are all dead, so no chance of meeting them.
Claes Oldenburg, in my opinion, is an incredible artist. I don’t use words like “incredible” often. I reserve using words like that only when I truly mean it. Ever since the installation of the iconic “Clothespin” at 15th and Market Streets in Philadelphia, I have been awed by Claes Oldenburg’s work. His gigantic sculptures of everyday, unremarkable objects are magnificent. They are on display all over the world, from the giant “FREE” Stamp on the front lawn of Cleveland’s City Hall to the Ice Cream Cone atop the Neumarkt Galerie in Cologne, Germany to the Broken Button on the University of Pennsylvania’s Campus right here in Philadelphia, Claes Oldenburg’s art is accessible, while being imposing and slightly chilling. Art should evoke feelings and emotion and Claes Oldenburg knows how to evoke — as the kids say — “all the feels.”
That’s why I turned down the invitation to meet him. I was just too intimated. I have met many, many famous people in my life. Television stars, musicians, Oscar winners, sports figures, politicians — and I was unfazed by all of them. But the thought of coming face to face with the creator of art that I have loved and admired…. that would be too much for me to bear.
Claes Oldenburg passed away in July 2022 at the age of 93. He was an impactful and unique artist.
I have no regrets.
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inktober52: caught
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DCS: robin williams
Robin Williams was funny, manic, inspired, hysterical and troubled. Rather than put himself and his family through the potential turmoil that awaited upon his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease, Lewy Body Dementia, increasing paranoia and continued depression, he took his own life.
Robin Williams committed suicide on August 11, 2014 at the age of 63. (My 53rd birthday.)
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inktober52: box
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DCS: paul reubens
“Paging Mr. Herman! Mr. Herman, you have a telephone call at the front desk!”
Paul Reubens
1952 – 2023
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inktober52: teeth
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DCS: sinead o’connor
Sinead O’Connor was a true example of how fame is not everything. She was world renowned. She was recognized and praised for her singing ability. She was given awards for her talent.
But, she appeared not to be satisfied.
She led a troubled life, filled with questions. She was brave and she was misunderstood.
I was not a fan, but there was no denying her impact. She was a trailblazer. An advocate. A critic. A rebel. A warrior. A survivor. A truth teller.
Sinead passed away on July 26, 2023 at the age of 56… just 18 months after her son took his own life.
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inktober52: trap
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DCS: mary treen
Mary Treen. You know her. She was that actress who was in that TV show. You know the one.
In 1930, 23-year old Mary made her motion picture debut in a Vitaphone comedy short called Surprise. She went on to land bit parts in numerous movies, often playing a nurse or a maid or a secretary or the goofy friend of the star — often uncredited and often for comic relief. Mary can be spotted, mugging for the camera, alongside Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Phil Silvers and The Bowery Boys. She famously supported Ginger Rogers in her Oscar-winning performance in 1940’s Kitty Foyle. She also costarred with James Stewart as “Tilly,” the secretary, in the holiday classic It’s A Wonderful Life.
Starting in the late 1950s, Mary took the leap to television and her career blossomed. She took guest roles in a number of television series, capitalizing on her “nurse/maid/secretary” character. Mary joined the ranks of fellow character actresses like Mary Wickes, Elvia Allman, Maudie Prickett and Irene Tedrow (all contemporaries with whom Mary is often confused). Mary appeared in the premiere episode of The Andy Griffith Show as the Taylor’s departing housekeeper (soon to be replaced by Frances Bavier as “Aunt Bee”) only to show up nine episodes later as a different character. She had a 67-episode run as the wisecracking “Hilda,” maid to star Joey Bishop on The Joey Bishop Show. Later, she would pop up on Hazel, Here’s Lucy, Bonanza, Gomer Pyle USMC, Green Acres and many others. She is remembered for playing Alice’s stone-faced replacement on a fourth season episode of The Brady Bunch. Her career took her into the 80s, with guest roles in The Dukes of Hazzard and The Fall Guy.
Mary retired from show business in 1983 and passed away at the age of 82 six years later.