Longtime Friends Denver Kaufman And Fred Stark Receive Mayor’s Art Awards
By Angie Kay Dilmore
Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach, in conjunction with the Arts and Humanities Council of SWLA, recently presented his annual Art Awards at a ceremony at Central School. Fred Stark, owner of Stark Design and Illustration, won the award for Artist of the Year. His friend and colleague Denver Kaufman won the Keystone Award, which honors an individual who works diligently behind the scenes, without whom art events would not be possible.
Local art supporter Kelley Saucier nominated both Stark and Kaufman for these awards and says these men could not be more deserving. “We are so lucky to have people this talented, helping and bringing their expertise to the stage. They have a love and a heart for the arts and what goes on in the theater and for all the people involved. They’re fun and easy to be around, and incredibly professional. These guys really are the backbone for a lot of what happens in the area art community.”
A Natural Talent
Stark grew up with a love of art and a natural talent. “As far back as I can remember, I enjoyed drawing. My parents would enter my artwork into the Cal-Cam Fair. I’d always win the awards there, and it encouraged me to pursue art as a career. I learned at an early age that I could do that [create art] and other people would appreciate it.” Stark took art classes through high school and graduated from McNeese State University with a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts with an emphasis in painting and sculpture.
Stark working on a Lake Charles mural
Passion Becomes Profession
During college, Stark worked for Sears in their visual merchandising and advertising departments. After graduation, he continued to work for the company in a store in Dallas. While there, he studied commercial art at the University of Texas at Arlington. Eventually, Sears brought him back to Lake Charles. Through a mentor at Sears, he learned the skill of sign painting and mastered the art of “scale.” “It comes natural to me,” he says. “I have a knack for it.” This ability proved invaluable to him later in his career when his canvases became huge theater backdrops and the sides of large brick buildings.
In his 30s, Stark “retired” from Sears and started his own commercial art business. He did graphic design, creating brochures and ads for local businesses. In 1988, his daughter was taking ballet lessons with Lady Leah Lafarge School of the Dance. The ballet company needed someone to create sets and backdrops for an upcoming production of Cinderella. Stark volunteered. That was the beginning of a partnership between Stark and the Lake Charles Civic Ballet (LCCB) that continues today. It was also the point at which he began painting “large” projects. He earned a reputation for excellence at painting commercial and historical murals. His work won numerous awards. Over the years, he won so many Addy Awards, he eventually stopped entering the contests.
Stark says he will paint just about anything if someone asks him to, including cars and motorcycles. He’s painted many “Gators on the Geaux.” These quirky alligator statues guard schools, businesses and homes around Southwest Louisiana and beyond and serve as a fundraiser for the Lake Charles Symphony.
Working Behind The Scenes
Denver Kaufman is the manager of the Rosa Hart Theater, as well as the Harbor Master for the City Marina. If you have ever attended an event at Rosa Hart, you have benefited from the hard work, dedication, and talents of Mr. Kaufman. “I support the use of Rosa Hart Theater and the Coliseum for events,” he says. “I unlock doors, do lighting, sound, video, and oversee the use of the building.” For many years, Kaufman worked this job solo. He now has an assistant; but most theaters the size of Rosa Hart employ a crew of at least four people. Kaufman has been in the theater business for over 45 years. “I’ve toured with shows such as Holiday Tours on Ice, rock bands and other music genres, ballet, and a little bit of everything,” he says. “About the only thing I haven’t touched is circuses and carnivals.”
Kaufman with Gabby Saucier at Rudolph in 2013
Unlike Stark, Kaufman didn’t realize his passion until he was in college at McNeese. Initially, he was an architecture major. But early on in his college career, he fell in love with the sights and sounds of the stage, or more specifically, the backstage. “I almost flunked out of McNeese because I was doing too much theater.” He’s always worked behind the scenes, not onstage, except for two unexpected incidences. “Once I filled in as a jury member because an actor got sick. The other time was in a professional theater company when someone forgot to weight a tree onstage and it started toppling over. The two actors who caught it had to go downstage to be part of a scene, so I jumped out of the light booth, calmly walked onstage with a sandbag, dropped it behind the tree, and calmly walked off.”
A Grand Scheme
Both Stark and Kaufman were nominated for the art awards this year, but neither was aware. Their friends had to trick them into attending the awards ceremony by telling each that the other man had won an award. Saucier marveled at how easy the plan worked out. She simply told Kaufman that Stark had won Artist of the Year, and he assured her he’d be there. Stark was equally eager to support Kaufman. After the announcement that Stark had won, Kaufman looked at him and said, “Do you think I’d be here for anyone else?” Both gentlemen were excited that their friend had won an award. But they were completely shocked when they discovered they had themselves also won.
A Collaboration Of Artists
For Stark, the thrill of his profession lies in collaboration with other artists. Painting a project is often not as important to him as working with the other people involved. “I enjoy working with organizations such as the theater, ballet or historical societies, because all of these projects are not just me, the artist, doing my thing,” he says. “It’s me contributing my talent to what they do. And it all comes together.”
Stark has painted many historical murals for towns across Louisiana. One of his most rewarding projects was working with the ladies at the Allen Arts Council and painting a historical mural for them in Oakdale. “I was so impressed with the way they handled this project. They did it without any bond or grant money. Most of the money for the project came from within the city through fundraisers over the course of several years. Their work brought the city together as a community.”
Stark and Kaufman have a long history of collaborating on projects such as set design and construction. When the Lake Charles Civic Ballet moved their productions from McNeese’s Bulber Auditorium to Rosa Hart Theater, all the sets had to be modified to fit the new stage. Working together with the LCCB was the beginning of their long friendship. Currently, they are collaborating on the sets for LCCB’s upcoming performances of The Little Drummer Boy.
Support From The Community
Stark and Kaufman say it is incredibly special to them that they both won these awards this year. When asked what it means to him to have won Artist of the Year, Stark hesitates; Kaufman answers the question for his friend.
“It shows a lot of respect from the art community for what Fred has given the art world in Lake Charles, through his painting and the artistic license he’s been given to create character in everything he does, from murals to theater sets. The recognition from his peers is tremendous.”
“I felt affirmed, honored, and a little embarrassed,” Stark adds, in his quiet, humble manner.
Fred Stark hopes to continue doing what he does for several more years, but his work is physically challenging. He says, “I’m in my sixties and it gets harder to do some of the larger projects. Some of the outdoor work is really strenuous. People don’t realize how hard it is. It’s physically taxing and I’m fighting the elements. Theater drops are painted on the floor so I’m stooping over, crawling on my knees, painting with long sticks. It’s challenging work.” Stark has a degree in fine art, but has never worked in that field. He has ideas he’d like to foster, but he admits, one can’t make a living at fine art, unless they have a following. Maybe soon, he hopes, with his hard-earned reputation and this recent recognition, he can pursue some of those dreams.
———————————————————–
Complete List of Mayor’s Art Awards
Artist of the Year: Fred Stark
Arts Organization of the Year: The Children’s Theatre Company
Patron of the Year: McDonald’s of Southwest Louisiana
Citizen of the Arts: Matt Young and Amanda White of the
Quality of Life Task Force
Citizen of the Humanities: Trent Gremillion of the Calcasieu Historical Preservation Society
Arts Educator of the Year: Erik Jessen of Sowela
Keystone Award: Denver Kaufman of the Lake Charles Civic Center.
Comments are closed.