The Daily Chronicle from De Kalb, Illinois • Page 4

will completed wear the Klsb- Most' of his own nalntinci: he lembfatMft paintings, for in-! stance, art at excellent today at Both hit ton John, now 19, and Mark, 17 have gone on He will dig eyen further Into history when "he and his wife, take that second Far Eastern trip. "Wt will spend time in what jmums uirougn curope. nit Margaret, 13, will have her turn next. Not all hit travel hat been overseat. however.

For a num- ber of years chaperoned tourt by students who bicycled through the western United States, Canada and Alaska. was once ancient Persia and that area, because there it to much there of archeological Interest. We will also go buck to Japan, Indonesia and India," he said. news or" one for th FAMILY By VENDT ROSS Tto Visitor etitettng the hallway of the towering Victorian bouse at 450 Somonauk St. in Sycamore fully expects to enter another era one of wicker chain, marMo fireplacei and homemade preserves.

What be finds, however, is not one world but several "My taste la art doesn't ran to any period," says Dr. Jack Arends, chairman since of the art department el Northern Illinois University. "I guess you snight call me an Furnishings In bis borne, built fn W69, bear out this assessment i of himself as a collector of works from many periods. The foyer is a succinct stater ment of Arends deep interest In his vocation, the arts, and in his avocation, travel. He holds a doctorate in art from Columbia University, and ho has made numerous art-oriented trips to Europe, North Africa and the Far East, He and his wife, Margaret, have also traveled around the world and plan to ge again ta the Far East in February.

Far Eastern- influwwe in the, foyer is found in a stately Thai buddha, specially lighted to cast a tall shadow against one wall. Near it is the trunk of a Mexican nun. a Welsh beer mug and an Indian water-basket crafted with hsrsehaif and beeswax. Also Eastern in tone are Japanese prints on paper interwoven with human I i 7 'IT 4 -VIA 4 4 1 1 I said, were tubject-tnatter workt. The abstract peroid began after mv formal tralnlnr had ended.

Arends explained, add ing tnat ne studied for two turn-men with Grant Wood In hit stone city art colony, a converted ttone quarry near Cedar Kaptas, iowa. Arends respect for tha arts and artifacts of yesterday it aise evident nt tils row in the restoration of Eilwood House. He negotiated with the late Mrs. Erwln Perry Eilwood for the house ta be donated to the city, and he It a former president ef the Eilwood House board of di rectors. it wham ha painted them." Ha finds a decided diffareiu-a between art and "No one collects and eniova niH tdenca.

he tmiled. "Science builda on top of tha achieve ment of yean before. The art of each age, though, can stand alone. Of trends in art todav. he says, "I don't understand all of itr but tome we must regard at protest art or non-art.

Some Of it it SO far OUf that WP rn' Judge it by the old yardsticks. "What the new yardsticks are going ta well, time alone can give us this answer. ft I 4 I y. if I- St A' 'sirs I I i I waukea by MS said. Under Arends' guidance, the department nag been divided into sections, specializing to particular area of tna arts: draw ing, painting, printmaking, design, art history and art education, for instance.

"Wa are also developing major areas in photography, Interior design and commercial design, he said. Hit background Includes co ordinating the art program Is elementary and high achoolt In Hasttags-an-mMsao, N.Y., at wen aa teaching art la the public schools of Port Cheater, N.Y. He directed a training school for photography officers ta Westover Field, N.Y while in the U.S. Army, and was also a ataff member of the Boston College of Fine Arts. After he received his doctorate from Columbia, ha joined the staff and taught there from 1950-62.

Ha has held administrative positions la regional and national art associations and is presi dent of the Illinois Art Educa tion Association. la addition, ha i an editorial consultant la aesthetics for a national publisher, and has contributed to various art publications. Arends is also a garden and landscape enthusiast Hit home in New York, de signed by David Henken, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright (who was a consultant on tha project), was landscaped according to Arends' design. This home, constructed of brick and twamp cypress, was thoroughly modem, in contrast with the Arend'i present dwelling, which also features a Tiffany lampshade suspended from the dining room ceiling, marble-fronted fireplaces and arched, carved doors. But there are modern touches, too, as In the paintings and prints in tht dining room.

Signatures on the work Identify them as having been by Gertrude Stein. d'Arcy Hayman, Frederick Castilloa and Northern staff members David Driesbach and David Hickman. In some places especially on fireplace mantels the new mingles with the old. Again in the dining room, chairs from the homt of Arends' greatgrandfather and a kettle and ladle from Columbia University the 1800's mix with an enameled free-form sculpture, an Eskimo carving of a pregnant musk-ox. a family tread mold and an Ethiopian shield.

One of the most interesting pieces in the house is a family heirloom, the small wooden hrst Mrs. Arends' father built and in which he packed "bread, cheese and all his worldy possessions" for the crossing from Norway to America, Arends said "The old arts are just is good now as in the age in which they were produced," Arends says. mm diverse artfr in HSn, fi 4 4.x while the West is represented by an antique book about exploration in the northern hemisphere. Leaded glass windows, a stairway flanked by a bannister and a crystal chandelier all belong to the foyer itself, and although they reflect a different age, they create a quiet harmony with a carpet from Kashmir and a contemporary rug woven by Arenas himself. The carpet and the rug contrast strikingly design, but they have something in common each was woven using the same techniques.

"At one time, when I was in Kashmir, 1 learned how Orientals do their weaving," Arendsi explained. He applies their tech- mques to his own tugs, scatter-' ed throughout the 16-room house. In a house filled with art objects, his rugs are the only representations of his work, with the exception of a water-: color done as a class exercise; years ago. "I used to paint." Arnds saysj almost wistfully, "but now there! isn't time." This is easy to understand1 when one consider! the nature of hu work as chairman of a university department. In the five years he has directed the art program, the staff has grown from 11 members to 4.

with a projected staff of 69 or more in the next two years. A new building housing the fine arts and related disciplines 1 mm YARNS CREATE COLORFUL DESIGNS Arends weaves contemporary designs using techniques of Oriental He studied their methods on a trip into Kashmir. A Thai htltWh has a dignified i i i FROM THE FAR EAST atfitinnft in kA A greeting for visitor V''4 Hp mmtf' t1, VV. 1. Tit IK 'la 5 1 mi artisans.

In hit dining, leaded glass -s 1 IrSriJ m- A M1NGIJNO OF OLD AND NEW Chain from the home of, Arends great grandfather flank a fireplace of white brick. Tha mantel told sues clef at enamelled sculpture, 'a- bread mold and candiet in Scandinavian design holders. CONTRASTS CV LIGHT, SHADOW Arendt, also a garden and landscape enthusiast, grows tropica! foliage room. Today's colorful window shades, on either side of yesteryear window, point up the home's decorating theme..