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Cecily Hangen Outstanding Service Award
This award is being given to Cecily Hangen for her service to the Florida Artist Group
This 12th day of May 2012
Most of us know Cecily Hangen as the tireless worker in all Florida Artist Group functions. She has also held numerous offices in the organization over the years. “I have been a member of FLAG since 1973, President twice and Area chairperson since 1997. I was honored to be President for the 40th anniversary as well as the 50th anniversary. What I love most about FLAG is having the annual exhibition and symposium in different parts of the state, meeting the artists, seeing and showing in new venues, savoring the various local sights, art and otherwise.”
Cecily came to art early, “I can’t remember a time when I was not doing art. I thought it was too much fun to be a career. That changed when in high school I went to the Parsons Art School in NYC for a Saturday morning art class in fashion design, then I was awarded another class. This time it was life drawing, a little disquieting at age 17. Now I feel every artist, no matter what they paint, should draw from the live model. I regret that I am not doing that now.”
This is an impressive beginning for an artist, and Hangen continued to work with top level teachers in excellent schools during her college years, “After high school in 1952, I was accepted to go to Cooper Union Art School, an all scholarship school. The foundation year emphasized architecture as well as 2 and 3 dimensional design. At that time I wanted to be an architect. Frank Lloyd Wright still is my favorite artist. I continue building my compositions as a construction of many elements.”
Her training included some big names among her teachers. “Cooper had a summer program with Yale University Department of Fine Art. I transferred to Yale and spent two years there. Yale was dominated by Josef Albers, a Bauhaus teacher who emphatically insisted that every element in a painting should be there for a reason. His color class was wonderful- no theory, no wheels, no rules, all colors go together. It was just the right amount to have the best color interaction.
Hangen was also able to mix travel with her training, and to work with another famous pioneer of modern art. “During the summer between, I studied printmaking with Jacques Villon (Marcel Duchamp’s brother) at
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