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