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Bazillion Brain Force

My message today contains more than a little bit of Quaker boosterism, so let me get started by saying, hooray for us! By “us” I mean everyone affiliated with the Salem Schools: students, staff, parents, Salem voters, members of the Board of Education, and alumni. Especially alumni. We have many reasons to be proud.

Throughout the history of the Salem schools, those who were educated here have gone on to make important contributions in the arts, in business, in athletics, in education/academia, in journalism, in the military, in pursuit of social justice, in medicine, and in every other occupation and cause that comprises American society. Once again, hooray for us!

The title of this column is a catechresis, a play on the name Brazilian Rain Forest (commonly known as the Amazon Jungle). And this is what the title has to do with boosting the Salem Schools: just as Brazil’s rainforest is home to some of the world’s most spectacular and diverse flora and fauna, so has our school district been the source of almost countless spectacular and diverse additions to the ongoing American story. For more than 150 years Salem grads have invested not just their brains, but their hearts, as well, to make things better everywhere.

Today, I want to recognize a small sampling of alumni who have distinguished themselves in the visual arts.

Any discussion of art in Salem begins with painter Charles Burchfield (SHS class of 1911). Mr. Burchfield gained international renown for his evocative depictions of nature in his watercolors, and his reputation has grown even greater over the years. This year is the 100th anniversary of his self-described golden year, 1917, when, while still living in Salem, he produced some of his most memorable works.

Among the many jobs that artist Richard Theiss (1948) performed while he worked for Walt Disney Studios was cartooning. The Salem News wrote that Mr. Theiss’s jobs at Disney also included “senior artist, writer, scale modeler, program coordinator, special events announcer, musical composer, and musician.” Mr. Theiss displays his Disney works and memorabilia during his motivational speeches and at dedicated shows.

Richard Sulea (1961) painted finely detailed oils and watercolors. Robert Kurtz, former curator of the Butler Institute of American Art had this to say about Mr. Sulea’s work, “What I like best about his art is the irony of it. The subject matter is often old weather-worn buildings, yet the paintings are so expertly and beautifully rendered that I’m astounded by them.”

Over their careers, three contemporaries of mine, Richard Migliarini (1966), Kitty Purrington (1966), and Mark Scheuring (1967) have fashioned exemplary works in their respective specialties. Mr. Migliarini’s expressions in wood – lamps, furniture, etc. – merge function and form masterfully. Many of Ms. Purrington’s ceramic creations, including pendants, jewelry, and coffee cups that are as elegant as goblets, reflect East Asian influences, while Mr. Scheuring’s paintings depict wildly imaginative fantasy worlds.

Larry Davis (SHS, 1969) retired as creative director for Walt Disney Imagineering in 2016. He led the team that designed the main entrance for the Disneyworld that opened in Shanghai, China last year. Mr. Davis still sculpts in his studio at his home in Los Angeles.

I know that this is a short list, and that I have missed people because, after all, Salem has graduated so many distinguished visual artists. For profiles on 12 other SHS alumni artists, see the Winter-Spring 2015 issue of the Salem High School Alumni Association newsletter. Go to www.salem ohioalumni.org to read about them. For still more examples, I urge you to read Q is for Quaker, a book written and illustrated by Salem students and alumni in 2003 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Salem Schools. [Spoiler alert: the first entry is “A is for Art.”]

Nor is the supply of Salem artists likely to dwindle anytime soon. In his senior year, Jacob Irey (2011) won a national Scholastic Art award for one of his acrylic paintings. The Scholastic Art and Writing Awards are the nation’s longest running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in grades 7-12. Earlier this year, SHS junior, Andre Tonkinson, captured first place for his entry in the Kiwanis International Poster Competition

In our continuing efforts to encourage and nurture artists, the Salem City School District employs four full-time art teachers, and we offer a wide variety of specialty art and photography classes, including three Advanced Placement art courses, in addition to our introductory and general art classes. In the history of Salem visual arts, Charles Burchfield was just the start. Hooray for us!

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