I miss my uncle terribly .” Van to his many friends and colleagues, “Red” (from his youthful red hair) to his family, has lived in Cleveland, Ohio, most of his life. He was born Clarence E. Van Duzer, Jr., in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on November 12, 1920. The family moved to Cleveland from St. Louis, Missouri, in 1926, and Van began his education. At the Gordon Elementary School and later the Halle Elementary School on Cleveland’s West Side, he was recognized at a very young age for artistic talent. Male students were required to wear ties, and for those who forgot, the teacher had Van draw and cut out a paper or cardboard tie to be pinned on. His secondary education continued at Thomas Jefferson Junior High School, and then West Technical High School. His brother, Bill, had entered three years earlier majoring in art; Brother Bill became the biggest influence on “Red’s” career. His teacher, Paul Ulen, was considered one of the great teachers in the school system. He recognized Van’s talent and pressed him to enter many competitions. In a city-wide poster contest by the American Road Builder’s Association, he was awarded a First Prize of $300. Upon graduation from West Tech, he was also awarded a one year tuition scholarship through the National Scholastic Awards. It is said that our personalities and our abilities are both hereditary and environmental. Van has both. His father was an entrepreneur and inventor, his mother was a vivacious and warm hearted Slovenian, and with his brother Bill in graphic arts, Van was immersed in a creative and artistic life. He entered the Cleveland School (later Institute) of Art in 1939, but something more was needed. He applied for a Fellowship at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. While he waited, he went “on the road.” Van was always an independent soul, and traveling gave him time to think and see things beyond the neighborhood in Cleveland. He worked odd jobs, reaching New Mexico before turning back for home. A phone call to his mother, and he got the news: acceptance at Cranbrook on a one year fellowship! His experience at Cranbrook Academy was not really a “turning point” but rather a “jelling” or solidification of his thoughts and a major influence on his future as an artist. “It was a community of artists. You lived in, worked with, were surrounded by art every day.” Cranbrook had resident faculty in every major discipline….painting, sculpture, ceramics, everything to stimulate creativity. Van studied painting under Zoltan Sepeshy in a master/apprentice format. There were few formal classes; each student had a small studio and there were frequent visits and group critiques. Van learned much about painting….and criticism. Zoltan, he said, “could with a few words cut to the core and you would say of course! Now I see”. Van was absorbed by this life. He met his future wife, Grace, here. But the outside world would intrude in a shattering fashion. December 7, 1941: the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. “Everything stopped.” Van said. The director of Cranbrook closed the Academy and sent everyone home. Though the school reopened at a later date, Van never completed his one year fellowship. He returned to Cleveland and re-entered the Cleveland School of Art, and Adelbert College at Case Western Reserve University. At the same time, he worked the night shift at the Cleveland Fisher Aircraft Plant as a general foreman in the engineering department, producing the B-29 bomber. But to finish his studies, he left the bomber plant and took a position at Warner-Swaze, where he could get a schedule that allowed him to complete his education. He received a BS Degree in Art Education from Adelbert College, being named “Top Student” in his graduating class. He also received the Agnes Gund Memorial Scholarship, for graduate study, upon graduation in 1945. Van selected Yale University for his graduate study. He earned a Master of Fine Art degree and was named “Standard Bearer” of his graduating class. In 1947, Van was invited to join the faculty at the Cleveland School of Art. He spent two years teaching art history, color composition and figure drawing. Another opportunity called, and in 1948 he moved to Denver, Colorado, and became Professor of Advanced Painting at the University of Denver. After five years at Denver, he became the Director of the Flint Institute of Art, a museum and school of art in Flint, Michigan. After five years there, he to returned to teaching and devoted more time to his own creative work. In September 1957, Van was invited back to the faculty at the now Cleveland Institute of Art, teaching painting and drawing until his retirement from teaching in 1989. He was named Professor Emeritus by the Cleveland Institute of Art. So that’s his academic career. But there is much, much more to Van’s life than teaching and painting. While on the faculty at the Cleveland Institute, Van built a studio/workshop in the Flats area of Cleveland. Here he had the space to create some of his largest, and perhaps most seen work, in three dimensional sculpture. One of Van’s fellow faculty members from the Cleveland School was Joseph Jankowski, who was appointed art consultant at a Polish Catholic seminary, St. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan. For their new chapel on the campus, some major sculptures were envisioned. Joe Jankowski knew just the person to create them: his colleague, Van Duzer. A meeting was arranged with the Monsignor of the seminary. Van was drawn to the concept and accepted a five year commitment to create and install the project. Copper sheeting was chosen as the sculpture medium, rather than castings, so Van taught himself how to form and braze copper sheeting to create three dimensional figures. He cut, formed by hand and brazed all the figures literally by himself at his studio in Cleveland. There were 11 apostles (Judas is not included) and Jesus in the Last Supper grouping. Each was made slightly taller than life size and finished in a linseed oil formula that gives them a warm glow. Over the altar is a 9 foot crucifix, also in copper but finished in a copper oxide “vergidis” color. And outside, over the entrance, is the 26 foot “Our Lady of Orchard Lake”, also finished in copper/green “vergidis.” Van created other sculptures in copper and many are on display around Cleveland. He also created many 3-D sculptures in stainless steel. These were fabricated at a foundry in Cleveland, from models sculpted by Van in his studio. The most well known of the stainless steel sculptures is “Global Flight and Celebration,” commissioned by the City of Cleveland and installed at the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Other, smaller stainless steel sculptures were commissioned and installed at shopping malls owned by David and Richard Jacobs. Van still paints and creates nearly every day. He has a studio in Ohio City on Lorain Avenue in Cleveland, near the West Side Market and other historic sites. missds y ncl r a
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 17:47:21 +0000
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