Oberlin

 

Mary Edmonia Lewis, also known as "Wildfire" (c. July 4, 1844 – September 17, 1907), was an American sculptor. In 1859, when Edmonia Lewis was about 15 years old, her brother Samuel and abolitionists sent her to Oberlin, Ohio, where she attended the secondary Oberlin Academy Preparatory School before entering Oberlin Collegiate Institute(since 1866, Oberlin College), one of the first U.S. higher-learning institutions to admit women and people of differing ethnicities.The Ladies' Department was designed "to give Young Ladies facilities for the thorough mental discipline, and the special training. Sculpture above at the Allen Museum at Oberlin.

Dan agreed to facilitate my second attempt in two years to visit the Allen Museum at Oberlin College. As luck would have it (again) the museum was not open when we arrived on January 2nd, 2026. This time, Dan and I, both checked to make sure it would be open when we arrived around 11:30. I wanted to see, among other things, if the 3/4 bust of an Abolishionist (above by Mary Edmonia Lewis) and what might be on view from their collection. 

If my memory serves - the director of admissions at the University of Miami, of whom I reported as an admissions representative for two years (1979-1980, 1980-1981) worked in admissions at Oberlin before joining UM. George Giampetro gave me a wonderful opportunity to travel on behalf of the University of Miami in 12 states while visiting about 300 High Schools and a number of college fairs in the Northeast and Midwest. 

Oberlin appeared is a sort of interesting story as I was researching the career of character Edward Everitt Horton (1888-1970). He was dismissed from the college where he was studying German after pulling a sort of stunt from atop a building on campus. He threw a mannequin creating the appearance of a suicide jump. (Well talk about a dramatic stunt...) 

Note: I understood that my former boss at the University of Miami admissions office - Director George F. Giampetro once worked at Oberlin College. (No mention of that in obit.)

Coral Gables, Florida - George F. Giampetro Sr., of Coral Gables, Florida, passed away on July 6, 2021 at the age of 91 years old. George was born in Cleveland, Ohio on February 12,1930. His parents, Felix and Caterina Giampetro were Italian immigrants from Oriolo,Calabria, in Italy. From a humble upbring that included service in the US Navy, putting himself through college at Case Western Reserve by getting a wrestling scholarship, to a 20+ year career as Director of Admissions, at the University of Miami. He served for a few years at Saint Thomas University and the College Board. George retired only to go back to work at thier ice cream shop, Whip n Dip, which was started by his wife and daughter in 1985 and is still makeing and serving ice cream 36 years later. George met his first love, Nancy (Newman) Giampetro, on a blind date in New York City. After a 47- year marriage Nancy passed away in 2007. He found his second love, Diane Baker. They spent the last several years together traveling the world. George loved spending time with family and friends, playing golf, watching Hurricane football, and eating strawberry ice cream with hot fudge on top! We have been blessed for the time we got to spend with George and what we have learned from such a special man. George was definitely from the "Greatest Generation"! He is survived by his daughter, Kathryn (Kathi) Durham, grandchildren Ellen, Amanda, and Gregory, great-grandson Hunter, his son, George F. Giampetro Jr., and grandchildren Cassidy and George (Tripp) III.
To keep family and friends healthy, a celebration of life will be held honoring George Giampetro Sr. in the near future. Please email Amanda P. Durham (granddaughter) at amandapdurham@gmail.com if you are interested in attending.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to The Lung Cancer Foundation of America or to Shake-A-Leg in his name.

 

Dragons at Christmas time

Christmas time is here…

A gathering of the best

Meeting in the Metroplex

If you go down to Deep Ellum,

put your money in your shoes…

No time now for the Deep Ellum Blues.

 

Branches of the family tree

One Two and Three.

So here we are as we recall

Southlake Dragons performing a holiday skit

Christmas time is here - It was a hit.

 

Papa and Nana love them more than life itself

Hardware, cutlery, pet products, snacks on a shelf

Emotion and Joy is palpable

A beautiful thing, just incomparable

Life goes on – The story is a gem

Dragons prevail – each one of them

 

For Meg – Green space and Musicianship

Tara’s Butterfly Kisses find legal ground and scholarship

K-Mo aspires smart designed built environments

A better world with dragons in place

Looking ahead and far away

Take a moment to enjoy every day

I don’t care what people say…

With happiness and cheer. Christmas time is here.

I don’t care what people say.

Palpable emotion with abundant joy today!

 

December 24, 2025 - Southwest Airlines to Love Field

December 25, 2025 - Christmas with Coopers (Tara, Adam, Camille-4), Thomas-2 1/2, newborn twins Charlie and Lucy)

December 26, 2025 - Birdie's Eastside, Wes' Kwanzaa - gift celebration

December 27, 2025 - Saturday Nasher Sculpture Park and Dallas Museum of Art  and return Southwest Airlines to STL by 9:30pm

Thomas 2 1/2, Camille 4, and newborn twins Charlie Robert Cooper and Lucy Morgan Cooper

Anselm Kiefer

 

Gregory Corso's poem reference to "becoming the sea" comes from a short but powerful line in his work, often quoted as: "Spirit is Life. It flows thru the death of me endlessly / like a river unafraid / of becoming / the sea.". This metaphor, used in the title of an Anselm Kiefer art exhibition, speaks to the eternal nature of the spirit surviving physical death, flowing into a greater whole

The artist Anselm Kiefer (German b. 1945) visited the Saint Louis region in 1991 and it is reported that he was inspired and reminded of his youth and the Rhine river. The Saint Louis Art Museum director was instrumental in getting the him to participate in this exhibition. The installation involved dominating the sculpture hall and rearranging much of the collection I have some to expect in the East Building. 

Anselm Kiefer's Becoming the Sea will be in place until the end of January 2026. Between November and January I found myself acting as a frequent visitor and sometime impromptu docent. I talked to visitors about the exhibit and about the Max Beckmann collection, Picasso painting and highlights of Modern Art (including my favorite Mark Rothko). A special tour for Susan Signorino (before she moves to Omaha. Chris and Melissa Galloway planned a Wes Morgan art tour before coming into town from their place at the Lake of the Ozarks. I felt compelled to engage a variety of random people in conversations with people visiting the museum (including a guy who's step-dad new Max Beckmann - when Beckmann lived in Saint Louis. He showed me a short video on his phone of and appearance on PBS Channel 9 TV with a painting by Beckman).    

The Galloway visit included being treated to lunch at the Panorama restaurant. They allowed me to ponder highlights of the permanent collection (Rothko, Eqyptian Cat Mummy, Monet, Vsn Gogh, Picasso, Matisse and more).

The following is the kind of "art speak" the Saint Louis Art Museum uses to talk about the Kiefer exhibition. 

Since the late 1960s, Anselm Kiefer has made art exploring the depths of human history. For his first American retrospective in 20 years, he takes the river as a metaphor for the flux of life and the passage of time. Breathtaking new landscapes join iconic works to celebrate his nearly 60-year career.

Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea draws significant loans from American museums and private collections. It features a massive, site-specific installation inspired by the Mississippi and Rhine Rivers that evokes the symbolic resonance of the waterways and links explorations of time, geography, and history. A monumental presentation, the exhibition is free for all visitors.

Born in 1945 in Donaueschingen, Germany, Anselm Kiefer is one of the most significant artists of the post–World War II era. His art is known for unflinching examinations of Germany’s complex historical legacy and broader themes of cultural memory and human existence. Working across diverse media, Kiefer creates large-scale works with raw, tactile surfaces made from unconventional materials, including lead, ash, clay, and dried flowers.

SLAM’s relationship with Kiefer began in 1983 with the exhibition Expressions: New Art from Germany, which introduced American audiences to Neo-Expressionism. Since then, the Museum has built one of the nation’s great collections of postwar German art.