Arts ig Entertainment CHESS MATES from page 23 Art and Antiques magazine this year named the Deans among the top 100 art collectors in America. Connecting "I played chess as a child and teen," says Dr. Dean, whose family initiates each acquired chess set by using it in actual play for one game. "We started our collection with a filigree set my wife spotted at a boutique in Israel. "During a later trip to London, we went into a store that sold nothing but chess sets, and we really got into the artistry. Through our travels and seeking out games with interesting designs, we met other collectors." Dr. Dean, active with the American Academy of Family Physicians, came up with the idea for a similarly organ- ized group of chess set collectors, and he became the founder and first presi- dent of Chess Collectors International. The first meeting, held in 1984, brought 50 people from around the world to Florida. The second meeting, held two years later in London, attracted 200 people. By 1990, the group had 3,000 members, meeting every other year in places such as Paris, Vienna and Florence. Next year, the gathering will be in Berlin. "I love history, and I've learned about the history of chess and the evo- lution of board games," explains. Dr. Dean, who also collects paint- ings. "I've tried to emphasize the importance of chess as an art form with 32 pieces of sculpture. Although war is a theme for the chess pieces, I think of the chess sets as a harmonizing influence on world peace." Dr. Dean will talk about the his- tory and significance of the game when he addresses a "Coffee, Culture and Conversation" event to be held at the gallery. He has taught the game to his four grown children — Keith, a Lubavitcher rabbi; Randy, a child psychiatrist; Stephen, an attorney; and Laurie Amir, a social worker. Now, he is trying to pass along chess skills to 12 grandchildren. "My wife has a great interest in art - and has been a docent at the Detroit Institute of Arts," says Dr. Dean, whose interest in chess developed dur- ing a summer at the since-closed Camp Farband. "She has been equally involved in the [chess] collection, and we have accumulated these sets as a couple.". Dr. Dean, who grew up in Detroit and earned bachelor's and medical degrees at Wayne State University after graduating from Central High School, The Deans, named this year among the top 100 art collectors in America by Art and Antiques magazine, pose in the "chess room" of their home. has been a member of Congregation Shaarey Zedek for 50 years. He says chess has been recognized as appropri- ate for the Sabbath because it is made up of fine materials and in harmony with people dressing up to observe the Weekly holiday. "I hope visitors to the gallery will enjoy seeing sets of different origins and materials," Dr. Dean says. "We have donated more than 100 sets to various museums, including the World Chess Hall of Fame in Miami and the Maryhlll Museum of Art in the state of Washington." ❑ "The Art of the Game: Chess Sets from the Collection of Dr. George and Vivian Dean" and the photos and videos of Dale Sparage will be on view Aug. 11-Sept. 25 at the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery at the Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield. There will be an opening reception 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 11. Dr. Dean will give a lecture on the significance of the sets 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8. Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. Sundays. (248) 432-5448. Photographer Dale Sparage captures the essence behind the image. T wo photo exhibits and two videos — all by the same artist as she explores feminist issues — will fill the second level of the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery Aug. 11-Sept. 25. Dale Sparage, whose work has been shown at the Toledo Museum of Art and the Palm Springs Desert Museum, will be represented by 43 images divided between "Portraits' of Women" and "Girls in Wonderland," both featuring posed and cos- tumed models at different age levels. _ Sparage's video project Voices in My Head offers interviews about feminism intertwined with pas- sages from Alice in Wonderland. Another video spotlights the artist explaining her work. "The images I make are a way of working through traditional stereotypes, such as angel and vamp, that still exist today," says Sparage, 51, who was an abstract painter before moving into photog- raphy. "When I shoot, I set up almost like a theater, where I cast a model and come up with various outfits and props that symbolize stereotypes. Maybe if we are confronted with the elements that hold us back as women, we can work through them to find our essential selves." 8/11 2005 28 Sparage, based in a home studio in Bloomfield Hills and alternating between color and black-and- white techniques, developed her series as she thought of women from her own era and the cul- tural influence on adolescents, including her daughter, Regine. "Digital photography has brought more artistry to camera work," says Sparage, who tries to con- nect physical appearance to a person's inner world. "The picture showing a woman with a veil has to do with hiding feelings, emotions and one's actual self." Sparage, who has taught drawing at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, became interested in camera projects after watching a photographer make slides of her paintings. She recruits friends as models. "A lot of what I do involves working out my own issues, and that has to do with being Jewish," says Sparage, who was confirmed at Congregation Shaarey Zedek and later affiliated with Temple Shir Shalom. "As I moved into portraits, I was drawn to more color because that can be more expressive." ❑ — Suzanne Chessler Dale Sparage: "Tess with Mask," from "Girls in Wonderland"