Art Shay

Accepting For Nelson Algren, Art Shay

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame held a ceremony to induct the first group of lions: Saul Bellow, Richard Wright, Gwendolyn Brooks, Studs Terkel, Lorraine Hansberry and Nelson Algren.

Friends or relatives accepted on behalf of the writers chosen by judges who set out to honor authors "whose words have best captured the essence of our city."

Although the first six winners were picked posthumously, the Hall of Fame said it expects to also open the list to living writers.

Art Shay, a long-time friend and collaborator of Algren, accepted the award for the writer of "The Man with the Golden Arm" and many other works.  (Above, Art Shay on stage accepting the award at Northeastern Illinois University.)

Ruth Kott, of the University of Chicago Magazine, who wrote about the Nov. 20 Chicago Literary Hall of Fame ceremony, noted that the Hall will be housed in the Cliff Dwellers Club on Michigan Avenue.

Kelly O'Connor McNees, author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, tweeted:

The hands-down highlight of the night was 88-yr-old Life Magazine photographer Art Shay, accepting for Nelson Algren.

Want to read more details about the Algren-Shay connection? Find our previous blog posts by clicking here: Nelson Algren-Art Shay.

Update Rick Kogan in the Chicago Tribune covered the evening in his piece Chicago Literary Hall of Fame inducts its first class. He included this bit of history:

The idea for this HOF was that of Don Evans, a novelist ("Good Money After Bad" and the editor of the anthology "Cubbie Blues: 100 Years of Waiting Till Next Year.") For the last two years he has been tireless in his passion for this project. He got a lot of local writers to come up with and finally vote for the people inducted, persuaded me to emcee the event and got Marc Smith, founder of the poetry slam movement, to direct it. He sat, tired but pleased, in a box in the theater with his wife, Margaret, and their young son, Dusty.

Kogan also listed a few people who are strong candidates for the class of 2011, including Carl Sandburg and Mike Royko. 

Update 2 Donald G. Evans wrote his own colorful post about the evening, just published on the Huffington Post: First Induction Ceremony Honors Our Greatest Writers. Evans notes that Art Shay was curious about the display of his photos and made it to the stage with a handful of notes.

From Evans:

. . . we knew all time limits were a mockery. 
Nobody seemed to care. Well, maybe they did--some people were hungry, and some were eager for the bar to reopen, and some had kids with sitters. Nobody complained, at least, since we all, I think, knew that this was a special occasion, and that now, as much as ever, our past was not merely a dim fading bulb, but a bright guiding light. 

Cultural Treasure With A 'Keen Sense of When to Click'

An airplane loses lift if it doesn't keep moving and Art Shay has an equally persistent need for action. Donald Liebenson presented Chicago Tribune readers with an evocative portrait of Shay and his latest projects under the headline The latest nudes from Art Shay, a reference to a book in progress inspired by a Shay photo of Simone de Beauvoir. 

In one of the most telling passages of Liebenson's article, he quotes Thomas Masters, the art gallery owner:

"He's one of our cultural treasures," said Thomas Masters, owner of Masters Gallery in Chicago, which hosted Shay's first show of color photographs earlier this year, and will mount a follow-up exhibition of color and black-and-white works with a focus on Algren in November.

"Art's work is this great travelogue through the 1950s to the present," Masters said. "It is almost like reading a novel. He has a remarkably keen sense of when to click. That's a gift that can't really be taught." 

Stay tuned for more details on that November exhibit. We will have the information here as it becomes available.

'He Made Time Stand Still' -- Lessons From An Art Shay Photo Shoot

A North Shore writer and athlete, Betsy Noxon, runs, swims and rides her bike. She also works hard to help others learn to be triathletes. Noxon's newest project is to co-author a book, "TRI The Journey; A Women’s Inspirational Guide to Becoming a Triathlete in 12 Weeks."

The lessons, the tips, the inspiration all come from Noxon and her co-author, Libby Hurley. When it was time for a photo for the book cover, though, Noxon turned to Art Shay. She describes the results on her blog, TRI With Me:

At the water’s edge, we locked arms, smiled, jumped, kicked up some sand and water, even picked up Libby – the star of the show. Art’s Nikon clicked away incessantly - catching us jumping in the air, then landing softly in the sand. He made time stand still. Before we knew it – hundreds of photos were taken. Art, behind the lens, said “really beautiful!”  and “quick, get together. The lighting is perfect – couldn’t get it better in the studio!”

His joy for taking photos was evident. It’s his life’s work and he is beyond talented.

Noxon's book is due to her publisher in October and will be published early next year. Keep up with her blog for details on the progress. Return to this blog close to the publication date and we may be lucky enough to have a copy of the photo that made the cut.