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Jerry L. Caplan Papers, 1930-2004 1980-2004

Arrangement

Language
English
Repository
Chatham University Archives
Title
Jerry L. Caplan Papers
Creator
Jerry L. Caplan, 1927-2004
Collection Number
MSS.2013.001
Extent
26.50 Linear Feet
Date
1930-2004
Date
1980-2004
Language
English
Abstract
Jerry L. Caplan was a professor of art at Chatham College from 1959 until 1988. He taught a variety of art courses including oil painting, design, drawing, ceramics, and sculpture, the latter being his primary subject. Caplan was the innovator of pipe sculpture, a technique in which industrial clay pipes are shaped, cut, and joined to form artworks. In his personal time, Caplan taught workshops for pipe sculptures, raku, and ceramics across the United States and around the world.
Author
Finding Aid Authors: Alison Fulmer and Rejoice Scherry.
Publisher
Chatham University Archives

Administrative History:

Jerry Caplan (1923-2004) was a prominent Pittsburgh artist and art professor at Chatham College. He was recognized for his innovative art techniques including smokeless raku, pipe sculptures, and paper pulping.  Caplan shared his art techniques through workshops held around the world.

Caplan was born to Jewish Ukranian immigrants, Louis and Yetta Kapler, and grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. His father worked in the Strip District at the Pennsylvania Railroad Produce Terminal. Caplan had a life-long aspiration to become an artist, attending drawing and painting classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art from the age of seven.

Caplan served in the US Army as a member of the 84th Engineer Battalion. He and other artists in the Battalion were responsible for creating military camouflage. They wove camouflage netting and constructed dummy boats, planes, and tanks to throw off enemy surveillance. As the Battalion photographer, Caplan was responsible for taking aerial photographs of the dummy installations.

After the war he was employed in the pipe industry, manufacturing large clay pipes. Here Caplan gained inspiration for pipe sculptures and ceramics, which led to the creation of some of his seminal works. Under the GI Bill, Caplan attended Carnegie Mellon to attain both a bachelors and masters degree in art. He was the student of Louise Bouche, Morris Kantor, Jon Corbino, Byron Browne, and John Hovannes.

Caplan was Professor of Art at Chatham College from 1959 to 1988. He served as the chairman of the art department from 1962 until 1972 and again in the 1983-1984 academic year. Caplan taught art courses on advanced drawing, ceramics, clay and metal sculpture, casting techniques, design, oil painting, raku, and watercolors. His primary subject was sculpture. His lasting contributions to the Chatham University campus include the sculpture Metamorphosis and a tribute sculpture to Martin Luther King Jr.

Caplan organized and taught art workshops throughout the country and internationally. His most prominent events were pipe sculpture workshops at Logan Pipe in Logan, Ohio, at Pipe Symposiums across California, and workshops in England. In Pittsburgh Caplan taught at the Pittsburgh Center for the arts and served as President of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Museum of Art.

Caplan has been recognized for his creative work with Jewish communities including Temple Emmanuel in Upper St. Clair, Temple Beth El in Mt. Lebanon, and the Holocaust Center at the Jewish Community Center in Squirrel Hill.

Jerry Caplan and his wife, Becky, had two sons, Gregory and David.  Caplan had two grandchildren, Jemila and Sharon through Gregory Caplan and his wife Susan.  Jerry Caplan's second son, David Caplan, died of a brain aneurism at age 21.  Donna Hollen Bolmgren was Jerry Caplan's best friend and studio associate from 1969 until Caplan's death in 2004.

Accruals:

None

Processing Information:

Collection processed by Alison Fulmer and Rejoice Scherry, MLIS students at the University of Pittsburgh. Completed July 22, 2014.

Conditions Governing Use:

Copyright over the Jerry L. Caplan materials has not been given to Chatham University.  Please see the Archivist for copyright information.

Conditions Governing Access:

This collection is available for research.

Preferred Citation:

Jerry L. Caplan Papers, 1930-2004, MSS.2013.001, Chatham University Archives & Special Collections

Arrangement of Materials:

The Jerry L. Caplan collection has been preserved according to its original order as much as possible. The personal papers remain in the order in which they were stored in Caplan's file cabinet. The photographs are kept in their original albums, drug store envelopes, or grouped together as Caplan organized them. The publications series has been rearranged in chronological order. The slides series is in original order and has been boxed according to the order in which Caplan filed them in binders and slide carousels.

The collection is arranged in seven series:

Series 1. Artifacts

Series 2. Audiovisual

Series 3. Personal Papers

Series 4. Photographs

Series 5. Publications, 1949-2004

Series 6. Scrapbooks and Sketchbooks

Series 7. Slides

Scope and Contents

The Jerry Caplan collection contains materials pertaining to Caplan's personal pastimes and professional activities which frequently overlapped.  The collection is the result of his work as an artist at Chatham College, in Pittsburgh, and as a teacher of the international art community. Caplan taught pipe sculpture, raku, and paper pulp workshops across the United States and in England, Australia, New Zealand, Hungry, Switzerland, and Brazil.  Materials relate to artworks, art techniques developed by Caplan, and art education including projects for Chatham College, workshops and exhibits.  Additionally, the collection includes a small number of papers and photographs about Caplan's family. Materials are primarily dated between the 1980's through 2004 with some family and World War II photographs dating from the 1930's and 1940's.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Chatham College
    • Chatham University

    Personal Names

    • Caplan, Jerry

    Other Subjects

    • Women's colleges--United States—History—Sources
    • Women--Education--Pennsylvania--History--Sources

Container List

Artifacts

Scope and Contents

Scope and Content: The artifacts series is comprised of nine objects related to Caplan's life.  They are a scrapbook, sweater, hat, three of Caplan's diplomas, a small piece of ceramic sculpture, the guest book from Caplan's funeral, an embosser, his name plaque, and a "Jerry L. Caplan" banner made by Anna M. Summergren in 1979.  The scrapbook is marked "Created by Barbara Broff Goldman and Ellen Chisdes Neubreg for the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts June 3, 1994."  The paper embosser is circular with "The Library of Jerry L. Caplan" along the outside and "JLC" in the center. The funeral guest book is contained in a box with Jerry Caplan's obituary, and two documents about the death of his son David.

Audiovisual, 1983-2003

Scope and Contents

Scope and Content: The audiovisual series contains video recordings and digital files pertaining to Jerry Caplan's personal life and artwork. The materials in this series consist of 13 3.5 inch 1.44 MB floppy discs, 5 mini digital videocassette tapes, 8 Camcorder HGX-Gold 30 videocassette tapes, and 47 VHS tapes. The floppy discs are contained in a small box labeled "Jerry's files, Bio, Public Art, Death, Wales" and "Back-up files, Jerry stuff and art". Most of the videocassette tapes relate to art exhibits, workshops and Caplan's artwork including reduction stenciling, pipe sculpture, paper pulp, and smokeless raku. There are VHS recordings of art exhibits and events including Written in Stone (1988), Animal Sculpture at the Pittsburgh Jewish Community Center (1989), and A Legacy of Excellence at the Susquehanna Art Museum (2003). There are VHS tapes of Caplan's 1990 and 1994 workshops as well as the 1985 Pipe Sculpture Symposium. There are two VHS tapes of Caplan's 1988 Chatham retirement party and a reunion. One undated camcorder tape contains an inventory of Caplan's collection. There are several video recordings of other artists' work and interviews including Donna Hollen Bolmgren, Pat Crabb, Ron Desmett, Dale Huffman, Constance Merriman, Carol Olbum, and Kenneth Triesta.

Slides

Scope and Contents

Scope and Content: The slides found in the Jerry L. Caplan collection are predominately of individual artworks. Most of the works are by Caplan, however the creators of others are unknown. The unknown works were photographed at workshops and art exhibits. The media of the artworks varies and includes pipe sculptures, luster, ceramics, raku, paper pulp, watercolors, oil paintings, and wood crafts. The series additionally contains slides of workshops and exhibits. The subjects of the workshop slides include the participants, their artworks, the workspace, and Caplan teaching. The exhibit slides feature opening ceremonies, gallery interiors, exhibit guests, and featured artists. Specific details for all the slides are unknown except where there are occasional notations on the slide frames. The slides are grouped according to the binders in which Caplan stored them. They are housed in slide trays within a larger box. There are 6 trays within each box and 5 boxes in total. There are two folders labeled "From Slide Carousel 1, n.d." and "From Slide Carousel 2, 1995, n.d.", which are stored in Box 37. There are also slides in Box 6 Folder 3 and Box 18 Folder 2.