NWDC Living Treasures: Harold Balazs - Creating Wonder

HAROLD BALAZS - Creating Wonder
2001, time:28:42
"The purpose of art is to create wonder".
Over 50 years ago Harold Balazs quit his day-job. Armed with talent, ambition, an art degree, and an acetylene torch, he set out to make a living making art in Spokane, Washington. He has succeeded, but not without struggle. Mastering the economics of an artist's life led him to master an incredible array of media. Harold Balazs is a sculptor, a painter, an enamelist, a jeweler, a woodcarver, a calligrapher, a public artist and more. He defies categorization.
Balazs' architectural and public works can be seen all over the Northwest. His contributions to architecturally integrated art, often utilizing new materials and techniques, helped revive the importance of the individual craftsman at a time when civic architecture seemed its most anonymous. His collaborations with important regional architects have made an indelible impression on Northwest architecture. By the mid 1960's Harold Balazs had become the leading liturgical artist in the Northwest.Harold Balazs artwork
His experience in public art led to three terms as a Washington State Arts Commissioner. He helped draft Washington State's "percent for art" legislation.
Harold Balazs is internationally known for his large-scale enamels on steel. His ingenious techniques and ability to adapt studio practice to industrial settings has broadened the approach many artists use in enameling, expanding the possibilities for the medium.
Through his wide ranging artwork, his technical innovations, his generosity towards other artists and his omnivorous humanism, Harold Balazs has made himself an asset in the arts. His story is of value to us all.
Interviewed in this profile:
Rosemary Balazs
Erika Balazs
Fred Bassetti, architect
Patrick Flammia, artist, business partner
Jim Kolva, Urban Planner, art collector
Cheryll Leo-Gwin, artist, Washington State Art Commissioner
Scott Patnode, Director/Curator, Jundt Art Museum
Beth Sellars, curator
Ken Spiering, artist
Ron Tan, architect
AWARDS
HAROLD BALAZS,
Creating Wonder
Finalist,
New York Festival
2001
Communicator Awards,
Award of Distinction
2001