Harold Zisla (June 28, 1925 – March 18, 2016) was an American
abstract expressionist
Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...
painter and art educator. In 1968 he became the founding chair of the Fine Arts Department at
Indiana University South Bend
Indiana University South Bend (IU South Bend) is a public university in South Bend, Indiana. It is the third largest and northernmost campus of Indiana University.
History
Indiana University began offering classes in South Bend in 1922 as an ...
, where he taught until his retirement in 1989.
Early life
Zisla was born in Cleveland, Ohio. During his youth he took art classes at the
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...
(1932-1937), and he studied with painter
Paul B. Travis at
Council Educational Alliance (1938–40). In 1940 he won a scholarship to Young Artist Classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where he took classes with
Milton S. Fox, a painter and art historian who later served as editor-in-chief and vice president of
Harry N. Abrams Inc., an art book publisher.
Zisla earned his high school diploma from
East Technical High School
East Technical High School or East Tech is a secondary school under the operation of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, Ohio.
History
The school, when it opened on October 5, 1908, was the first public trade school in the ci ...
in Cleveland in 1943. Following high school, he served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
until 1946. He graduated from the
Cleveland School of Art
The Cleveland Institute of Art, previously Cleveland School of Art, is a private college focused on art and design and located in Cleveland, Ohio.
History
The college was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women, at firs ...
with a diploma in painting in 1950. The same year, he received his B.S. in art education at
Western Reserve University
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
* Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that i ...
. The following year he earned his M.S. in art education. He moved to
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
, in 1952, where he worked first as an industrial designer at
Uniroyal
The company formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, now Uniroyal, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemical ...
.
Career
He directed the South Bend Art Center (now the
South Bend Museum of Art
The South Bend Museum of Art is located in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1947, the museum features historical and contemporary art in five galleries, and offers instruction in its studios. Since 1987, the museum has been accredited by the Ameri ...
) from 1957 to 1966, prior to accepting the professorship at what was then called the South Bend-Mishawaka Campus of Indiana University. Four-year degree programs had just been authorized in 1965, and Zisla had the responsibility of hiring new faculty.
Zisla was long active in service to community arts in the Michiana region. Following his tenure as executive director, he served on the South Bend Art Center board of trustees. He also served on the acquisitions committee of Purdue University, the Advisory Board of the Gallery at
Saint Mary’s College, and the Mayor’s Committee to Build a Cultural Complex.
Zisla said about painting that it "should be, more than anything else, a liberation into the spirit of the artist, and to have presence, impact, dynamism, freedom from the trite, the contrived, the boringly dead." Paintings, he said, "must be alive.”
Harold Zisla married Doreen on August 13, 1946. They have two children, Paul Zisla and Beverly Welber.
The Harold and Doreen Zisla Art Scholarship has been established at Indiana University South Bend to support graduate and undergraduate students whose work displays an interest in experimental art.
Selected solo exhibits
* 1965 Indiana University South Bend (IUSB)
* 1968 South Bend Museum of Art (SBMA)
* 1969
Niles Art Center, Niles, Michigan
* 1979 In Celebration, SBMA
* 1980 Retrospective Images: Icons and Indices,
Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire
* 1981 Faces, Figures, Flowers: An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, IUSB
* 1982 Harold Zisla: Recent Works,
Midwest Museum of American Art
The Midwest Museum of American Art is a non-profit public art museum located in downtown Elkhart, Indiana, United States.
The museum's space houses a collection focusing on 19th and 20th century American art. Its collection includes selections ...
,
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...
* 1985 Accumulations: Harold Zisla Retrospective, SBMA
* 1990 Either/Or: New Works, SBMA
* 1991 Simplicity Complexity = Complexity Simplicity, IUSB
* 1995 Paintings and Drawings, Lakeside Gallery,
Lakeside, Michigan
* 1996 Harold Zisla: Recent Paintings, SBMA
* 1998 Portraits, etc., IUSB
* 2000 Newest Works: Summations, SBMA
* 2005 Celebration: Harold Zisla, Blue Gallery,
Three Oaks, Michigan
Three Oaks is a village in Three Oaks Township, Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,622 at the 2010 census.
The village of Three Oaks is located in the southwest corner of Michigan, just 5 miles from the shores o ...
* 2008 Fertile Densities, IUSB
* 2009 Zisla: Paintings and Works on Paper, New Galleries, South Bend
* 2013 Gestural Images Deepened,
Buchanan Art Center,
Buchanan, Michigan
Buchanan is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,456 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the southeast corner of Buchanan Township, about 5 miles (8 km) west of Niles.
History
The community ...
Selected group exhibitions
* 1948 The May Show,
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...
* 1959 Regional Art Exhibition,
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts,
Kalamazoo, Michigan
* 1960 Indiana Art Exhibition,
John Herron Art Institute
Herron School of Art and Design, officially IU Herron School of Art and Design, is a public art school at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is a professional art school and has been accredite ...
,
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
* 1967
Talbot Gallery, Indianapolis
* 1969 London Graphica Gallery,
Petoskey, Michigan
* 1973 Artist and Model: Three Views, SBMA
* 1976
St. Joseph Art Association,
St. Joseph, Michigan
St. Joseph, colloquially known as St. Joe, is a city and the county seat of Berrien County, Michigan. It was incorporated as a village in 1834 and as a city in 1891. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,365. It lies on the shore o ...
* 1980
Indiana State Museum
The Indiana State Museum is a museum located in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The museum houses exhibits on the science, art, culture, and history of Indiana from prehistoric times to the present day.
History
The original collec ...
, Indianapolis
* 1980-81 Four Figurative Artists, University Art Galleries, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana; Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph, Michigan; SBMA;
Lafayette Art Center,
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
;
Anderson Fine Arts Center,
Anderson, Indiana
Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson ...
* 1984 The Act of Drawing: An Exhibition of Contemporary Drawings, SBMA
* 1987 Choices: Twenty Painters from the Midwest,
Minneapolis College of Art and Design
The Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) is a private college specializing in the visual arts and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. MCAD currently enrolls approximately 800 students. MCAD is one of just a few major art schools to offer ...
,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
* 2000 Fall Promega Art Showcase,
BioPharmaceutical Technology Center,
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
Books
* ''Provocative Lines: Drawings by Harold Zisla'' (2020)
* ''Fine Arts of the South Bend Region, 1840-2000'', Walter R. Collins, editor (Wolfson Press 2014)
Awards
* 1985 First Eldon Lundquist Faculty Fellow, Indiana University South Bend, the highest faculty award at the South Bend campus
* 1985
Sagamore of the Wabash
The Sagamore of the Wabash is an honorary award created by the U.S. state of Indiana during the term of Governor Ralph F. Gates, who served from 1945 to 1949. A tri-state meeting was to be held in Louisville with officials from Indiana, Ohio ...
(Conferred by the Governor of Indiana
Robert D. Orr. This award is the highest distinction in the state. Indiana’s Native American tribes used the term to indicate a “lesser chief or a great man among the tribe whom the chief consulted for wisdom and advice.” The award states that the recipient is “distinguished by his Humanity in Living, his Loyalty in Friendship, his Wisdom in Council, and his Inspiration in Leadership.”)
* 1990 South Bend Alumni Association’s Community Hall of Fame
* 1997 South Bend Mayor’s Arts Award (For cultural contributions to the community)
References
External links
Zisla's Facebook pageZisla's home pageVideo: Zisla discusses his aesthetic of abstraction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zisla, Harold
1925 births
2016 deaths
Abstract expressionist artists
Abstract painters
American abstract artists
20th-century American painters
20th-century American male artists
American male painters
Artists from Cleveland
Painters from Ohio
Case Western Reserve University alumni
Cleveland Institute of Art alumni
People from Cleveland
Indiana University faculty
People from South Bend, Indiana
Jewish American artists
21st-century American Jews