HONOREE:

Don Logan

YEAR:

2015

NAME OF ART PIECE:

Willie Mays

ARTIST:

Caleb O'Connor

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HONOREE INFO:

Don Logan retired as Chairman of Time Warner Inc.'s Media and Communications Group, a position in which he oversaw America Online, Time Inc., Time Warner Cable and the Time Warner Book Group, in January 2006.

From 1994 to 2002, Mr. Logan was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in the world and a leading direct marketer of music and videos. Previously, he served as Time Inc.'s President and Chief Operating Officer since June 1992. Mr. Logan joined Southern Progress Corporation in 1970. He was named President of Oxmoor House, its book publishing division, in 1978, and became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Progress in 1986. Southern Progress, the largest regional magazine and book publisher in the U.S., was acquired by Time Inc. in 1985. Mr. Logan graduated magna cum laude from Auburn University in 1966 and earned his M.S. from Clemson University.

He has received honorary doctorates from Auburn University, Clemson University and the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He currently serves on the Boards of Time Warner Cable and Birmingham Business Alliance. In 2001, Mr. Logan received the Henry Johnson Fisher Award, the magazine industry's highest honor. He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2003 and The University of Alabama College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame in 2004. In March of 2005, Mr. Logan was presented The Auburn Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award and in March 2009 was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame. In 2006, the Logan family purchased the Birmingham Barons Minor League franchise, becoming the 11th owner in the Barons' storied history that spans more than 100 years. The family also owns Birmingham based Seek Publishing and recently acquired, along with two partners, the B.A.S.S. organization. B.A.S.S., LLC is the largest membership organization of bass anglers in the U.S; its multimedia platforms include web properties, televised professional fishing events as well as two publications.

Don Logan and his wife Sandy reside in Birmingham and have two sons, Stan (Julie) and Jeff (Katrina), three granddaughters and two grandsons.

ART PIECE INFO:

Logan opted to commission a statue not of himself but Baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays, a native of Westfield. Logan said he chose Mays because he is an iconic figure in baseball and of his links to the Birmingham Black Barons. He called the former outfielder one of the greatest players of all time. O'Connor chose to depict him making a leaping catch in the outfield, a contrast to other statues of the player at the plate. "I really wanted to capture something that showed his versatility," he said. "He was a really great hitter but he was an even more amazing fielder."

ARTIST INFO:

Born and raised in Hawaii, Caleb O'Connor moved to Baltimore, Maryland to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art, which has one of the top ranked painting programs in the nation. Caleb studied under the renowned painting professors Israel Hershberg, Mark Karnes, Barry Nemett, and Raul Middleman. During his senior year of college in 2001 he had his first solo exhibition at Gallery K in Washington D.C. Since then, he has shown in many galleries both nationally and internationally. Shortly after graduating with a BFA he taught an advance drawing course at the Delaware College of Arts and Design and painted portrait commissions of families from all parts of the world. Caleb continued to teach and paint portraiture for one year until he was awarded a Fulbright grant to study in Italy for nine months. He lived in Seravezza Italy, a little town strategically located near Pietrasanta which is know as the center of marble and bronze sculpture. In Italy he pursued his dream of expanding his vocabulary into the realm of three dimensions, learning marble carving and bronze casting techniques. While in Serevezza he studied with Cynthia Sah and Nicolas Bertoux, marble carvers well known for their large abstract architectural works in marble. While in Italy he was able to complete two major works in marble and numerous smaller works in his traditional medium, oil painting. Following his time in Italy, Caleb returned to his home island of Maui and was able to concentrate on a new body of work. A series of landscapes paintings emerged, illustrating the trail from the small town of Makawao, through the open fields of Kula, and towards the magnificent views on Haleakala Crater. Several years later, and several states later, Caleb moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he worked on a three-year project for the Federal Courthouse; a series of large-scale historical paintings. Currently, Caleb continues to work in Tuscaloosa, out of his downtown studio. Unable to unveil his current projects, Caleb will be busy until December 2019. He is working on several public works.