Photographer Art Shay put on display in Chicago
BY PAT KROCHMAL pkrochmal@pioneerlocal.com January 10, 2012 5:12PM
Art Shay (middle) was the center of attraction Jan. 6 during the opening of "The Documenting of Mid-Century America" exhibit at the Stephan Daiter Gallery Chicago. | Courtesy of Richard Shay and Jami Good
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Updated: February 13, 2012 8:59AM
Everything old is new again when Art Shay’s classic photography is on display.
And the veteran writer and photographer’s vintage black and white art is showing through Feb. 22 in “The Documenting of Mid-Century America” exhibit at the Stephan Daiter Gallery, fourth floor, 230 W. Superior St., Chicago.
Shay, who will be 90 March 31, grew up in the Bronx and served as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, during which he flew 52 bomber missions.
He has spent the last 60 years documenting American society in a variety of ways.
He showed his daring by shooting “the mob,” with cameras hidden on his body. He even had his wife’s handbag fitted with a lens.
He captured desperation, documenting the tragic aftermath of the 1958 fire at Our Lady of Angels, a Catholic school in Chicago.
And he displayed his ironic humor by photographing classic “American Graffiti”-type teenagers learning how to smoke while hanging out at a hamburger joint across from Carl Schurz High School.
Samples from his treasure trove of about 10,000 images include U.S. presidents from Herbert Hoover to Jimmy Carter and hundreds of other major 20th century figures.
His work already is in Chicago’s Art Institute. And the National Portrait Gallery in London soon will add several of his photographs of British subjects to its collection.
Shay shot for Life magazine, Time, Sports Illustrated and other national publications. He has published more than 75 books on various subjects.
But one of his favorite on-the-job memories was photographing Simone de Beauvoir, a French existentialist philosopher and feminist, when she visited Chicago to be with noted American author Nelson Ahlgren.
“Nelson was living in a $10-a-month apartment on Wabansia and asked if I could borrow a bath tub for Simone to use, because she wanted to bathe,” Shay said.
“I found one and delivered it. She left the door open a little, and I saw her standing at a mirror doing her hair … I sold the photos to a French magazine that put it on the cover … The pictures sold by the million.”
Shay’s photos continue to sell well. One of the prints in his present exhibit — of a man using a street sign as a barbell — already has found a new home with a Chicago trader for $4,000.
Over the years, Shay’s work has garnered kudos from notables such as Roger Ebert — “Art Shay’s photography shakes you up, sets you down gently, pats you on the head, and then kicks you in the ass.” — and Studs Terkel — “Art Shay is one of our finest photographers. His work over the past 50 years has artfully captured the beauty, humor and pathos of America.”
While Shay has created a legacy that will live long after him, he continues to work in the field, chronicling life at the Northbrook Court Mall since it opened in 1976.
He also is recording the life of Billy Corgan, lead singer for the Smashing Pumpkins.
But perhaps Shay’s proudest accomplishment is the production of the children he and his wife, Florence, worked on together.
Jane Shay Wald of Los Angeles is an intellectual property lawyer; and Richard of Highland Park, Steve of Seattle and Lauren of New Jersey are all photographers.
(An earlier version of this story did not include Jane Shay Wald)
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