Cal Massey
Monday, February 12,1996
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Natalie Pompilio
INQUIRER CORRESPONDENT
The 70-year-old Moorestown man's high jumper will grace a commemorative medal.
MOORESTOWN-Cal Massey said that the wonderful images that appear on his canvases come to him during his daily meditations. He jots them on notecards and stores them in a filing cabinet that stands near the easel in his studio. "Everything in my work is spiritual," the 70-year-old artist said.
Entering the artist's home/gallery studio on Dawson Street is almost a spiritual experience in itself. Messiah, a rendition of a black Christ as one with the earth, standing between the galaxies and the oceans, is the first painting a visitor notices. Near it hangs "Angel Heart", which Massey considers one of his most popular works, inspired in part by the lack of black angels in traditional artwork. The angel's hair, styled in a full Afro, is a tribute to the natural beauty of the black woman, Massey said.
For years, Massey's work has represented the black community in the art world. Now the artist, whose work already hangs on the walls of Congress members and rock stars, will see his work hang from the necks of Olympians. Massey was one of 13 artists from around the world chosen to design a commemorative medal for the 1996 ,Summer Olympics in Atlanta. His design, The High Jump, depicts a young black woman - her back arched slightly, her knees bent - as her thighs begin to top the bar. He said his is the only medal that features an athlete of color.
"I'm proud to be a role model," Massey said.
The High Jump will be cast in sterling silver and run two inches in diameter. The medals will go on sale in late March or early April, and remain available until after the Games end. The Olympic Committee expects to raise more than $20 million through the sale of the commemorative medals. Massey, a former Franklin Mint designer and sculptor, designed the mint's first commemorative medal -a Mac arthur Memorial Medal- and went on to design more than 200 medallic designs for the mint.
He began drawing at age 4, when he traced newspaper comic strips by holding them up to a window. Growing up with his mother and four siblings in Morton, Delaware County, the young artist used pen and paper to communicate with the world around him. One of his brothers communicated with sound. Once, Massey joined his musician brother at a jazz band rehearsal in the city, and found himself sketching John Coltrane and other greats of that era. After graduating from the Hussian School of Art in Philadelphia in 1950, Massey went into the comic book industry. There, he drew everything from science fiction tales to so many war stories "that I got battle-fatigued." But without that experience the artist said, he doesn't think he'd be where he is today.
"As a comic book illustrator, I drew blood and guts all the time, but you got to do what you got to do," Massey said. "Comic strips are behind all these works here today." It's hard to see that as one examines the paintings hanging in the artist's home and gallery. The colors Massey uses are soft ones- pinks, greens, and yellows - that gently blend into each other, not the bold red and blues of the strips. The subject matter is different, too. A supernatural of a different kind is being appreciated in Massey's work now. His "Genesis" series featuring orbs of orange fire and blue ice, are strong, spiritual works.
The faces staring out from Massey's canvases aren't all unfamiliar. He used his grandson's face as a model when he illustrated "My First Kwanzaa Book" a few years ago. A neighborhood girl modeled for the painting "African Woman in Bondage", and it is his wife's figure striking a proud pose in "Ashanti Woman".
The Olympic committee invited Massey to submit work to its competition after seeing a sculpture he did for the Statue of Liberty's renovation project in the mid-1980's.Massey's bas-relief plaque showed two women arriving on Ellis Island from the French West Indies. As now, Massey's work in the show was the only one depicting individuals of color. Although friends tell him it's time to retire, Massey believes that age is a matter of arteries." Besides, he can't stop now: "I still have 200 more paintings to do" he said, gesturing to his filing cabinet.
Below is biographical information about artist Cal Massey.
Graduated:
1950 - Hussian School, majored In Life Drawing and Illustration.
Later joined the faculty for a three year tenure.
Illustration work:
Saturday Evening Post
Scott Foreman Publishing
Random House Publishing
Scholastic Publishers
Just us Books Publishers
New York and Philadelphia
advertising agencies
Design and Sculpture:
Crest and class rings for U.S. Naval Air Force Military Academy.
MacArthur Memorial Modal (First Medallion struck for the Franklin Mint
National Commemorative Society)
Franklin Mint creative staff - design and sculpture, 1976-1979
Creator of over 200 medallic designs.
Bas Relief sculpture commemorating the restoration
of Ellis Island for Statue of Liberty Foundation
Designer - 50 Medallions for the Madison Collection 1990-1991
Design - Christopher Columbus Ingot 1991
Design - 9 Medallions commemorating the
1996 Olympics for the U.S. Mint 1993
Design - Monument Patriots of African Descent
for Valley Forge Memorial Tribute 1992-1993
Painting of Patriots of African Descent
(Reproduced as Limited Edition Print) 1992-1993
Exhibitions and Awards:
Franklin Mint Artist Show: 1976-1978 - First and third prizes
Walnut Street Theater Gallery Group Show - 1978
One-Man Show--John Wanamaker's Fine Arts Gallery 1979
One-Man Show--Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 1980
One-Man Show--Gloucester County College 1981, 1992
One-Man Show--Swarthmore College 1983-1984
Two-Man Show -- October Gallery 1986
One-Man Show--Hahnemann University Hospital 1987
One-Man Show-Center for the Arts in Southern New Jersey 1988
One-Man Show--Heritage Celebration, New York, NY 1993
One-Man Show--Prestige Fine Gallery 1992
Show--2nd and 3rd Washington Arts Festivals 1992-1993
Portrait Commission of Gloria Chisum for Philadelphia Library 1993
Paintings sold to private collections:
Mr. Robert Harrison (President of Wanamaker's store chain)
Dr. Eugene Garfield (Philadelphia Institute for Scientific Information)
Dr. David Kramer, M.D.
Mr. Frank Stephens (Art Director Philadelphia Library)
U.S. Congressman Bill Gray (Philadelphia, PA)
U.S. House Representative Gordon Linton Harrisburg, PA)
Dolores Gaskins (Manager, Siddha Yoga Meditation Ashram, Philadelphia, PA)
Mercer & Evelyn Redcross (Owners, October Gallery, Philadelphia, PA)
Mr. Joseph Dickerson (Entrepreneur, Philadelphia, PA)
Madison & Company of New York (Smyrna, DE)
When not painting, Cal lends his artistic touch to baking breads and pastries;
plays a mean jazz piano; and is a student of Siddha Yoga and Theosophical concepts.
"The beautiful women I paint are in tribute to the proud beauty of Black Women,
May they continue to shine in all of their precious glory".