PADNOS

Stuart Padnos finds beauty in odd shapes with his metal sculptures

Holland, MI — While driving southbound on Pine Avenue along the foot of Lake Macatawa, one passes the landmark smokestacks of the power plant and then the behemoth mountains of scrap metal at the Louis Padnos Iron and Metal Company. In contrast to these imposing industrial vistas, a cuff of lush green grass along the roadside serves as the gallery floor for a  collection of abstract and often whimsical outdoor sculptures, assembled from the piles of scrap metal just behind them.

The creator of this “family” of work is Stuart Padnos, 86, a self-taught artist and art aficionado, and senior executive vice president of the 103-year-old Padnos company.

When asked about his inspiration for the art, he repeated what he has always maintained, “Scrap is beautiful, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.”

Padnos recalled that his first creation resulted from his attraction to a peculiarly shaped pipe he noticed one day in the scrap yard.

“I showed it to my wife, Barbara, a watercolor artist, and she encouraged me to make something with it,” he said.

The pipe was transformed into a flagpole base at their home.

 

Over the past 20 years, Padnos has created more than 70 sculptures from his limitless resource of scrap.

“I have repeated the tulips and the mailmen designs, but most are one-of-a-kind creations,” he said.

Padnos’ works are in the collections of the Meijer Garden and Sculpture Park, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum, Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University, among others. He does not sell his sculptures, but occasionally contributes them for appropriate sites. The majority are located around the community of Holland.

Padnos still goes to his office on most days, accompanied by his “Chief of Security,” a 9-year-old Bichon Frise. Sitting behind his desk, in a space displaying an eclectic collection of art and with a window overlooking the industrial shoreline of Lake Macatawa, he is modest in speaking about his accomplishments in art.

Like many sculptors, he does not fabricate the pieces himself.

“I design them,” he said. “Welding is an art in itself, and I have 30 accomplished welders in my company.”

He explained that when a welder operates the torch he is virtually blind behind the protective mask. Without peeking, he must cock his wrist at exactly the right angle to complete the arc for a smooth seam.

“It is something you have to be able to do without looking,” said Padnos, “much as a pianist plays without looking at the keys, and a typist types without looking at the keyboard.”

When the welding work is complete. color is added using high quality enamel paint.

“I do weld my initials into each finished piece,” he said. “And I encourage anyone else who worked on the project to weld theirs in too.”

A lifelong resident of Holland, Padnos has observed and contributed to much positive local change. He said there is more diversity here now and less discrimination. The Padnos family has shared its business success with the community in many ways, most notably through their funding of the Padnos Transportation Center. Padnos served in the army in Europe during World War II, was captured by the Germans and held as a P.O.W. for six months before finally being freed by the Russians.

“The Americans didn’t get as far in as we were,” he said.

He was first exposed to fine art through his travels with his wife.

“We would always visit art museums together on our trips,” he said. “The more you look, the more you become interested.”

The couple even became members of several respected museums across the country so that they were able to read about current exhibitions and featured artists. Padnos is especially fond of work by the sculptors Alexander Calder, Mark di Suvero and David Smith.

“I was particularly impressed with Smith’s work,” he said, “but I am very careful not to duplicate work by others.”

He described his greatest life challenge as “getting on with my life after my wife died 11 years ago. We were best friends.”

Today, Padnos still looks for inspiration in his scrap.

“Sometimes employees will call me if they find something with possibilities,” he said. “And some employees are doing their own work.” He said three of the pieces along Pine Street are the work of other artists from the company. “The grill with a flame is a recent addition that was created by an employee.”

The idea of passing along inspiration from one generation to the next is a family policy in this company that has grown from two employees, “my mother and my father,” in 1905, to 500, under the leadership of Stuart Padnos and his brother, Seymour. The company’s remarkable strategy to prepare for a transition to the future through a leadership training program was recently featured in a New York Times article. This training includes people from within and from outside the company.

“We look for new hires who can grow into our business,” said Padnos. “As a global business, we need to think globally. We don’t live on an island.”

 

By Melanie Aves
Holland Sentinel contributor

Source: Holland Sentinel