NOVEMBER 25 • 2021 | 21

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MATH PLUS ART
EQUALS A WIN
Fleischer says the process to get
to where he is now was one of
trial and error, and took much
time and patience — and math.
“I used my trigonometry and
geometry skills to see where to
make the folds,
” he said. “It took
lots of empirical work until I
realized what I was doing.
”
He begins each piece by out-
lining the forms he draws on
the file folders, scores the edges
with a sharp-edged leather nee-
dle with a slightly dulled point,
and then cuts, precisely folds
and glues the intricate sections
into 3-D art forms.
He uses various colors of file
folders, even different shades of
the same color from different
manufacturers. “I’m always
looking for different ones,
”
Fleischer said. “Seems every-
body’s going paperless and I’m
going paper.
”
Much of his work also
includes appliques that he
cuts out and glues onto other
sections. The peacock’s 7-foot
semi-circular train includes
33 plumes with 219 eight-lay-
er frontal eyespots and 215
two-layer rear eyespots, with
more than 2,100 appliques on
the train.
“My pieces do not have
a front and back,
” he said.
“Everything is finished in all
directions. Some have parts
that can be removed and put
back in.
” And all of them can be
touched. “With clean hands,
” he
stresses. “You need to feel them
and pick them up, if they’re
small enough. Then you can
really appreciate them.
”
The conception of his art-
work varies. “Sometimes I
design it before hand,
” Fleischer
said. “Sometimes I just wander
off in a phantasmagorical way.
”
His descriptions of his work
include mathematical terms like
isometric, hexagons, algebraic
equations, polyhedrons, ratio,

altitudes and apex but also
artists’ depictions like blissful,
graceful and chic.
His list of tools is as simple as
it gets. “I use a compass, trian-
gle, ruler, scissors, pencil, an awl
and Elmer’s glue,
” Fleischer said.
He is currently working on
his 121st piece of art, storing all
of them in a makeshift gallery
in his apartment. “My studio
is my kitchen, and my second
bedroom is totally filled with
objets d’art,
” he said. “The pea-

cock, which is the biggest piece,
was on a coffee table in the
living room for a while, but its
train took up too much space
on the couch, so it’s now on the
dining room table.
”
Born in Paris and raised in
New York, Fleischer received
a bachelor’s of mechanical
engineering degree from the
City College of New York and
a master’s of science degree
from Columbia University. He
is a 25-year trustee of the Carls

Foundation, a past member
of the Detroit Science Center
Board of Trustees, a Michigan
licensed professional engineer,
certified manufacturing engi-
neer, and a 2019 inaugural
inductee of the International
Fluid Power Society Hall of
Fame. He served as a regional
judge for the International First®
Robotics Competitions and was
commissioned to author a text
on fluid dynamics.
His work has been shown
in the Greater Michigan Art
Exhibition Midland Center for
the Arts, Huron Valley Council
for the Arts in Highland,
Janice Charach Gallery and the
Taubman Gifts of Art Gallery
where he saw the piece that first
inspired his art.

THE SHOWINGS
This year’s Sept. 16-Oct. 3,
ArtPrize competition was
Fleischer’s second time exhib-
iting in the show, having also
attended in 2012. The 2021
event showcased the artwork of
955 artists at 142 venues.
The Birds of a Feather trilogy,
which he says he created “in
memory of my late wife Rhoda
(to) honor the moments we
shared, from our first meeting
through family and senior
years,
” was also presented at a
Nov. 9, exhibition, sponsored by
the Fox Run Birders group.
Before the showing of his
work, the group viewed a video
interview with Fleischer by
the film’s producer, Fox Run
resident Marj Taylor, who
described him as having an
inborn sense of beauty of how
things are related and work
together. “He can take some-
thing as simple as a file folder
and with a pair of scissors and
a bit of glue transfer it into art
that has meaning,
” she said.
Fleischer, the father of two
married sons, grandfather of
five and great-grandfather of
three, was thrilled to welcome
his son Dr. Bruce Fleischer

‘Phoenix Rising from the Ashes,’ created
in 686 hours over a period of six months

Hank Fleischer’s ‘Orange Segments: Deconstructed Turkey,’
described by the artist as ‘Remembering how the segments of our
life varied in texture and sweetness, but were all nourishing.’

“AN ALMOST CENTENARIAN CAN
STILL CONTRIBUTE AND CAN STILL
BE CONSTRUCTIVE AND CAN STILL

FLY LIKE THE YOUNG EAGLES.”

— HANK FLEISCHER

BRUCE FLEISCHER
BRADEN RADTKE