D F T
Eye On The
ArtPrize
Engineer, 89, chases his
dream as a paper artist.
LIVE IN CONCERT:
ALLOY
ORCHESTRA
THE
Hank Fleischer with his Trilogy Concept paper art. From left:
"The Bar Mitzvah," "For Heaven's Sake" and "The Black Hole."
present the complete
Robert Sklar
Contributing Editor
s a design engineer, he loved to
"create." That fueled his interest
in two-dimensional drawings
and ultimately 3-D art forms. Today, at
age 89, Henry "Hank" Fleischer is a gal-
lery-quality architectural artist while still
working as a pneumatics consultant.
For the first time, the Davisburg resi-
dent will show his signature work, Trilogy
Concept, a study of three geometric paper
sculptures related by structure and com-
ponents.
The setting: ArtPrize 2012 in Grand
Rapids, an international competition run-
ning through Oct. 7. It boasts 1,500 artists
from 45 states and 56 countries. There are
161 independent venues within 3 square
miles. A public vote will determine the
split of $360,000 in prizes. A panel of art
experts will award another $200,000 in
prizes.
Four years ago, Fleischer's creative jour-
ney took him from cutting hexagons to
drawing isometric shapes. The challenge
was to convert his art drawings to 3-D.
As he relates: "The creations began by
outlining the predetermined forms on file
folders, scoring for crisp edges, cutting,
folding, gluing them into polyhedrons
and subsequently clustering the results
into hexagrams and stars:'
The predominant pillar in each part of
Trilogy Concept is a single configuration
made up of two pyramids with a common
base, which together form a module.
The pyramid fascinates Fleischer
because "the square base with an included
angle between opposing faces of 60
degrees enables me to reach into space
from a multiplicity of angles:'
Fleischer hopes Trilogy Concept's imag-
ery — comprised of "Bar Mitzvah:' "Black
Hole" and "For Heaven's Sake" — stimu-
lates viewer interest in two loves of his:
mathematics and science.
"This art medium is not computer-gen-
erated:' Fleischer told the JN. "It's drawn
solely with triangles and bow compasses.
And it's constructed completely from
repurposed file folders."
File folders not only are readily avail-
able to repurpose as the world moves
from paper, but also flexible and durable.
Up Close
In Trilogy Concept, the same basic module,
clustered into a star or hexagram, is juxta-
posed with its neighbor. The objective: to
have viewers appreciate the entire creation,
but understand its individual underpin-
nings.
"The Black Hole" is meant for a tabletop.
Three stars are clustered into a master clus-
ter. It, in turn, is attached to many other
clusters, making up the planes of a tetrahe-
dron, a kind of pyramid. Looking through
the center of any side, you peer into the
imaginary black hole. Several transition
pieces bond the tetrahedron's four triangu-
lar faces. The largest sculpture in Trilogy
Concept, "The Black Hole" features 1,440
pyramids and transition pieces constructed
from 62 file folders.
"The Bar Mitzvah" is meant as a wall
mount. Stars are grouped, but don't touch.
Each is mounted on its own telescoping
tube. The center star is the "proudest" and
stands a bit above the inner grouping. LED
lights also make up stars.
"For Heaven's Sake" represents a com-
plex, convoluted tabletop sculpture replete
with a keystone top crown, but void of
transition pieces. Fleischer's take: "The
objective was not only to have a uniform,
pleasing and flowing structure, but also for
the components to interlock like a precisely
crafted timepiece'
The Backdrop
Fleischer was born in Paris, but at age 7 his
family moved to New York City. He earned
a bachelor's degree from the City College
of New York and a master's degree from
Columbia University — both in mechani-
cal engineering. In World War II, he served
in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Professionally, he is a professional engi-
neer (RE.) and a certified manufacturing
engineer (C.M.E.). He moved from design
engineer to chief engineer to vice president
for research and development. Since 2001,
he has been a consultant for Numatics
Inc. in Novi — the industrial division of
Emerson Electric, based in St. Louis, Mo.
Fleischer is a prolific writer and lecturer.
McGraw-Hill commissioned him to write
a textbook on fluid dynamics. In 1986, the
Michigan Society of Professional Engineers
awarded him its prestigious Clovis Key.
The previous year, it named him the state's
"Outstanding Engineer in Industry:"
Gallery Worthy
In 2010, exhibitions of Fleischer's sculp-
ture were held at the Janice Charach
Gallery in West Bloomfield and the
Huron Valley Council for the Arts in
Highland.
During ArtPrize 2012, Trilogy Concept
is on exhibit at Peaches Bed & Breakfast,
29 Gay Ave. Southeast, Grand Rapids.
Fleischer, ever spry and sociable, will
sell select renditions of his art, including
Trilogy Concept, the next two weekends
during barbecues hosted by Peaches
B&B.
Fleischer and his wife, Rhoda, have
two sons and five grandchildren. In past
years, the couple were affiliated with
Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy and the
Flint Jewish Federation.
Fleischer's granddaughter Keren is
a graphic designer in Rehovot, Israel,
where she lives with her parents, Drs.
Aliza and Niles Fleischer, and two sib-
lings. Keren was instrumental in the
design and creation of her grandfather's
ArtPrize entry photographs. Son Dr.
Bruce Fleischer and his wife, Judith
Freedman, live in Bedford Hills, N.Y.,
with two teenaged sons.
Family from both Israel and New York
will be on hand at ArtPrize.
Lending Support
Among Fleischer's biggest fans and
advisers are Cheryl and Frank Youd of
Milford. They've built complimentary
bases and displays for his sculptures. "My
immense gratitude to them for ushering
me to this point in my career and inspir-
ing me," Fleischer said.
The Youds, both retirees, aren't artists,
but appreciate art and how it's created.
Cheryl calls Hank's Triology Concept
"unique in its perspective because it is
created from repurposed materials and
into pieces that have such meaning if you
leave your mind open to a vision."
She says the ArtPrize submission is "a
trilogy of understanding that we are all
human beings on this planet, no matter
what we believe is our greater power." ❑
The number of Hank Fleischer's Trilogy
entry at ArtPrize 2012 is 52821. Register
to vote at www.artprize.org. Then vote in
person in Grand Rapids before 11:59 p.m.
on Oct. 4. Bring photo identification.
All0 INOWIN6:
ilifiVERCO AT
BliffER KEATON SHORTS
THE iiST COMMAND
OCT* 544
www.dia.orgicift
313•833.3237
DETROIT
INSTITUTE
OF ARTS
September 27 • 2012
65