The Fashion Designer and the Artist

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6/6/09 3:31 PM Altman Siegel Gallery// 49 Geary St. Ste 416, San Francisco, CA 94108// 415-576-9300// [email protected]//

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World E-MAIL STORY PRINT STORY SPHERE SHARE Politics TEXT SIZE: A A A SciTech (CBS) Todd Oldham has been a fixture in the Health fashion world since he burst onto the scene in Entertainment the 1990s, with bold colors and potholder pockets. In recent years, he's teamed up with Business companies like Target, La-Z-Boy and FTD, to CBS Investigates design everything from dorm room furniture to floral arrangements. Sports

Strange But five years ago, Oldham's design career took an unexpected turn when he happened Travel across a promotional magazine published by The collaboration between Todd Oldham and the Opinion artist who inspired him features over 700 of the the Ford Motor Company in a junk store. Charley Harper's works. (CBS/Cincinnati Blogs Museum of Art) "I'd never heard of Ford Times," Oldham told In-Depth/Photos CBS News correspondent Cynthia Bowers, RELATED "but the illustration of this bird, a red-eyed vireo that was on the cover, it kind of just Puzzles & Toons STORIES stopped you in your tracks. I couldn't figure Stars Turn Out At N.Y. Fashion Week TOP STORIES VIDEOS PHOTOS Mobile Services out why my hands were zombied to this thing, It's Plain vs. Showy In Milan and I bought the one and then looked up 2 Bodies From Air France Jet Newsletters Charley Harper. Didn't know who the guy was, Found but, oh my God, what a genius!" Brazil Air Force Says Remains, RSS Feeds Suitcase Recovered in Atlantic Near Suspected Crash Site Podcasts Turns out, that genius was the same Charley Harper who illustrated a book Oldham Obama Marks D-Day Anniversary At Get Widgets owned, and cherished, as a boy growing up in Texas. Normandy Text Of Obama's D-Day Speech "I had the giant 'Golden Book of Biology,' which was one of my favorite things I've ever U.S.: Ex-Gov't Official, Wife Were Spies had in my life," reminisced Oldham. "I kind of remember, it was like I crawled into that CBSNews.com Front Page | RSS book. It wasn't like a book in the room. It was this fort, this immersion for me."

Oldham was determined to find the man whose illustrations had so captivated him. He found Charley Harper living in Cincinnati where he had been a working artist for the SUNDAY MORNING STORIES VIDEOS last 60 years. Rosie O'Donnell: "I Don't Have A Temper" Harper, his wife Edie and son Brett - artists too - were all part of the local art scene. Opinionated Celebrity Reflects On Her Turbulent Time On "The View" And Her Ongoing Charity Work Oldham arranged to meet Harper, hoping to learn more about the man, and his work, Targeting Teens For Sexting face to face. Brett Harper remembers his dad was less than impressed that the world- Return To Tiananmen Square, 20 Years Later famous Todd Oldham was one of his fans. The Dave Matthews Band Opens Up

Section Front Page | RSS http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/02/sunday/main3782595.shtml?source=search_story Page 1 of 6 The Fashion Designer And The Artist - CBS News 6/6/09 3:31 PM Altman Siegel Gallery// 49 Geary St. Ste 416, San Francisco, CA 94108// 415-576-9300// [email protected]// "He would say, 'Who's Todd?' or 'Todd Schmodd' or 'Todd's not a God,'" said Harper, Section Front Page | RSS laughing.

Despite Charley Harper's jokes and a forty-year age difference, an unlikely friendship Ads by Google sprung up between the artist and the designer. Dr. Oz's Shocking Test Millions have already taken this "What happened with him?" Bowers asked Oldham. "What was the connection?" amazing test. What's your RealAge? RealAge.com> "Well, with Charley, I mean, I loved what he did so much," Oldham told her. "He's one Pink Pagoda Studio of the few people that I actually respected so much that even if he wasn't gonna be Art, Illustration, Inspiration nice, a nice guy, I don't think there would be anything that could get in the way with by Barbara Perrine Chu how much I loved the work. So the fact that when I met him, he was enchanting and pinkpagodastudio.blogspot.com> more lovely and inspiring and hysterical and sweet - I mean, way, way, way more than Art Giclee Prints I ever imagined - it was really kind of a dream come true." Home furnishing art exclusive offer Exclusive - From the Artist to you! A dream come true, because Harper's art had such a profound impact on him. paulapennyart.com>

"Charley influenced so many facets of my life," Oldham explained, "starting with my color sense. That's what fuels everything else I do."

"So, was most of, you know, what you guys became as friends, was it all centered on art?" Bowers asked, "Or did you talk about life?"

"Oh, everything, yeah," Oldham said. "I mean, Charley was so kind. He never bristled at the five bajillion questions I hammered him with, wanting to know everything about everything."

And as their friendship grew, Oldham began keeping a video journal of their get- togethers and conversations, which often came back around to the art that drew them together and how Harper evolved from naturalist to minimalist.

"Minimal realism", Harper called it, a spare, geometrical style.

"The words that he used were flat, hard-edged and simple. What do you think he meant by that?" Bowers asked.

"Well, Charley was very practical," Oldham answered. "So those were, are indeed, unemotional observations of the art. He's leaving out all of the fuel that makes those things, those works, magical."

Of all the magical works Harper created, his favorite was one he called "Jesus bugs." Harper explained that as a young boy on a farm in rural West Virginia, he became fascinated with insects that seemed to walk on water.

"But he spent a lot of time staring at the creek," Oldham shared, "and there were these water striders on these shallow creeks. And he started realizing that because of the lightness of the bug, it would create these little, circular rings around the feet."

"And then the full reduction of it was shadowed on the bottom. He had this 360 way of being able to show something above, something underneath, underground. And it was so inherent in him. But the sum of all those pieces came out with the point of view we've never seen before, and probably never will."

And as the years passed, Oldham made it his mission to expose more people to that distinctive Harper point of view. Oldham devoted five years to tracking down, cataloging and archiving all the works produced by Charley Harper, everything from posters to paintings to illustrations.

"I'm a Harperologist," he said. "It's a rare opportunity to, like, micro-study someone for five years. That's really something."

"Did you ever imagine five years ago that this, your life would have taken this turn?" Bowers asked.

"Well, with this, no, no. Unfortunately, if I had seen a list of what was involved I don't know anybody that would have really signed up for it, because it was a Herculean task, you know?"

But Herculean as it may have been, it's also reaped some rewards for Oldham. He was inspired to incorporate Harper's art into some of his furniture designs.

"When you look at his work, what makes you think couch, ottoman and La-Z-Boy?" Bowers asked.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/02/sunday/main3782595.shtml?source=search_story Page 2 of 6 The Fashion Designer And The Artist - CBS News 6/6/09 3:31 PM Altman Siegel Gallery// 49 Geary St. Ste 416, San Francisco, CA 94108// 415-576-9300// [email protected]//

"Well, the forms can be adapted to many, many things."

And those adaptable forms usually center around wildlife, everything from raccoons to cows to ladybugs to birds.

"Now these three images are all silk-screens that were first seen in Ford Times Magazine," Oldham said, describing three of the designs.

In August, when the Cincinnati Art Museum opened an exhibition of Harper and his wife Edie's early works, Todd Oldham was there too to introduce a new Harper work, a book called "Charley Harper: An Illustrated Life."

Just weeks before the exhibition, Oldham flew to Harper's sick bed to show his ailing friend their collaboration which features over 700 of the artist's works.

"We walked in on him," Oldham remembered, "and he was more unwell than I had seen him in a while. It was a little startling. And he wasn't able to speak much, but we went through every page of the book, and he thanked me for doing the book and said he loved it."

A few days later, Charley Harper passed away at the age of 84.

"Well, he meant and means everything to me," Oldham told Bowers. "It was a bond, I don't know - it was, it was otherworldly."

"Why did you do it?" she asked him.

"I've gotten to do a lot of things in my life. But this was one of the few things I knew, it was like, it must be done. There was no choice. It must be done. And I'm just so happy I got to do it."

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In doing genealogy of my mom''s Harper family I found that Charley was a distant cousin. I wrote him and did have the real pleasure of speaking to him. It was a shock and wonderful surprise to see him and Mr. Oldham on Sunday. My mom saved the "Biology" book which my girls when younger remember playing with. I still have it. Mom made several counted-cross stitch pictures I have in my home today as do my other "Harper" cousins. My genealogy research began as a way to honor those Harper''s I grew up with and love even though most are gone. Cousin Shel Harper was born in Frenchton, WV and gave me Charley''s phone and address. I saved everything. I will be buried in WV amoung a lot of loved Harper''s and Darr''s. Thank you Todd for your great work. Love to Edie and Brett. I am a Civil War Buff too Brett. Bill

Posted by har1per at 8:35 PM : Feb 5, 2008 + report abuse + permalink

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