Jessie Raynor, Director Akron Area Arts Alliance

The Akron Beacon Journal, the first Knight newspaper, has had many talented people pass through its newsroom – and some of the most talented never wrote an article.  This May through June 5, Summit Artspace Gallery is presenting an exhibition called Beyond Newsprint, which shows off the talents of six artists who have worked or are currently working as Beacon illustrators and cartoonists.  The artists are Chuck Ayers, Dennis Balogh, Derf, Kathy Hagedorn, Art Krummel and Brian Shellito.

In a May 1st review by Beacon Journal art critic Dorothy Shinn, she points out that these artists are responsible for “prize-winning editorial cartoons; sports, features, business and food pages; and some of the best-loved and most widely read comic strips and graphic novels in the country.”  For example, since ending his 25-year Beacon career in 1987, prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ayers has done drawing for fellow Kent State alumnus Tom Batiuk’s syndicated comic strips Crankshaft and Funky Winkerbean.  Krummel was involved with two Pulitzer Prize-winning projects for the paper.  Another award winner, Derf, — a pseudonym for John Backderf — is one of the most published alternative cartoonists in the United States.  His work, which according to Shinn is “edgy and laced with dark humor,” can be seen in a variety of publications from the Wall Street Journal to Playboy.

In the exhibit, some artists have included work done for the newspaper, while others have displayed work done for themselves.  Entertainment section illustrator Hagedorn included her celebrity portraits, while Shellito displayed oil paintings he does for his own pleasure, which Shinn said “have a string affinity for German Expressionism.”  Balogh, who proposed the idea for the Summit Artspace show and brought the group together, worked for over 20 years as an illustrator and Beacon Journal art director.  He is now a freelance illustrator and teaches at Kent State University.  In her review, Shinn describes his watercolors of New York City street scenes as “fresh and sparkling.”  She says his portraits of celebrities “reveal an insight into their personalities that is riveting.”

A growing downtown Akron art center, Summit Artspace is a project of the Akron Area Arts Alliance (AAAA) in cooperation with Summit County government.  Its gallery is dedicated to displaying the talents of local artists.

With a generous capital grant from the Knight Foundation, AAAA is renovating the second floor of Summit Artspace to develop a collaborative office center and conference suite for arts organizations and performance/rehearsal space.  This art deco building was built in 1927 by Charles and John Knight to house their first newspaper.

Beyond Newsprint at Summit Artspace: April 29-June 5, 2011; 140 East Market St, Akron; 330-376-8480