Photo Flash: Arts Community Celebrates Leipzig, Draper at MCCC's Trenton Campus
By: BWW News Desk Jun. 24, 2015
Trenton, NJ -- Dozens of artists, former colleagues, and community members came out to celebrate the work of former Mercer County Community College (MCCC) professors Mel Leipzig and the late Lou Draper during "Trenton Makes: Art and Artists in Trenton," held on Father's Day, June 21, at MCCC's Trenton Campus. Scroll down for photos!
The reception featured the donation of Leipzig's painting "Fashion Design, MCCC Campus" to the college and the debut of the book "Louis H. Draper: Selected Photographs." Proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the Lou Draper Memorial Scholarship Fund at MCCC.
In addition to the donated painting, four other Leipzig works were on display -- including "Lou and His Son," a painting of Draper and his son in his MCCC office -- a tribute to Draper during the Father's Day reception.
"Mercer County Community College has had the extreme fortune to have these two internationally-acclaimed artists on staff, sharing the same office, and shaping the evolution of the arts community on a global scale," said Edward Gwazda, MCCC's Vice President for College Advancement and Secretary for the MCCC Foundation. "Their common goal to art in the urban setting and specifically to the arts in Trenton is supported by MCCC's growth in Trenton, specifically the new gallery the college is building on North Broad Street."
Leipzig, an internationally-acclaimed artist with paintings in the permanent collections of some of the world's most prestigious museums, retired from teaching at MCCC in 2013 and has used MCCC settings, faculty, staff, and students as his subjects in numerous paintings. Draper coordinated MCCC's Photography program from 1982 until his death in 2002. His photography career took him around the world, where he photographed historical figures that include Malcolm X, Langston Hughes, Jacqueline Kennedy, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Miles Davis. His photographs have been exhibited in permanent collections, including the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Studies at the New York Public Library.
To purchase Lou Draper's book, contact Toral Patel at (609) 570-3616, e-mail patelt@mccc.edu.
Prof. Emeritus Mel Leipzig, President Patricia C. Donohue, Trustee Carol Golden and Trustee Chair Mark Matzen with Leipzig's painting ''Fashion Design, MCCC Trenton Campus''
Vice President for College Advancement Ed Gwazda, Lou Draper's daughter, Nell Draper Winston, and Cheryl Pelt, Director of the Lou Draper Foundation
''Lou and His Son,'' a painting of the late Lou Draper in his MCCC office by Mel Leipzig, was on display as part of the ''Trenton Makes: Art and Artists in Trenton'' reception on Father's Day, June 21
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