Voice prof, former POW
becomes wood sculptor
By CHARLENE BELL
Of lha Emaratd
The first thing you notice is
his animated face, the
mustache, the blue eyes But
it is the hands of Les
Breidenthal you are drawn
to, the strong hands of a
sculptor
Briedenthal, a voice
professor at the University's
music school, reflects soi^fe'
of his own animation in riis
“sideline" work — sculpting
His artistic plans were
decidedly altered with the
outbreak of World War II, he
says As a pilot in a bomber,
shot down over France,
Breidenthal was captured by
the Germans and taken to
Stalag Luft III prison camp
Following an unusual turn
of events, Breidenthal's
captors allowed him a little
free rein in his artistic ex
pression
“I was an escape attempt
and so I was moved to other
quarters with a few other
men in a hush-hush opera
tion," he says "The
Germans felt that by en
couraging activity in the new
quarters they would
discourage further escape
attempts ”
Taking advantage of
"freedom1' with his illustra
tions, Breidenthal says he
succeeded in communicat
ing with the world outside
Germany
His portraits of fellow pris
oners, in Red Cross log
books, later found their way
into the hands of other pris
oners
After the war, some of
Breidenthal's illustrations
appeared in an exhibition
called "War Out" at the Met
Les Breidenthal
Photo by Bob Baker
ropolitan Museum of Art in
New York City
Breidenthal's wood sculp
ture has attracted attention
both locally and nationally
“If the wood grain is beau
tiful, I think it is worthy to
bring out the surface,"
Breidenthal says
"Sometimes it is a won
derful coincidence that the
grains add to characteristics
of the finished piece, such as
my human figures,
particularly in the muscula
ture of Prometheus,' which I
think is one of my strongest
works."
"The wood is your master,
you have to twist the finished
piece out of it," Breidenthal
says, recalling the bloody
hands he suffered while chis
eling the towering
"Madonna" now gracing St
Mary's church on Charnelton
Street
"I have a figurine at home,
one of my earlier works,
called Primordial Man,' ”
Breidenthal says "It's a
primitive man in a groping,
searching posture that sug
gests he is unsure of how to
escape the darkness of his
existence
"I guess that's me and my
work — searching and grop
ing, wondering where it will
take me."
Budget cuts mean less service
Due to a cut in funding and
a roll back in staff, Off
Campus Housing may not be
able to meet increased
demand for advice and in
formation. says director
Dave Lesser
"What that means to the
student is simply less ser
vice," says Lesser It also
means Off-Campus Housing
will not have enough time to
pursue further projects, he
says, "We've been able to
manage without any prob
lem, though
"Many times, when a
student moves into an
apartment or house, it's the
first time they'll sign a
contract," Lesser says He
adds that more students are
asking for landlord-tenant
advice than are seeking
rental units
Lesser says the Lane
County Housing Authority
and Community Service
Agency also helps students
with rental problems, but that
agency could also suffer
cuts, which could make Off
Campus Housing the only
place students could get
paralegal advice
Peter Roberts, assistant
director of the county hous
ing agency, verified the
agency is being cut back He
says me agency s priority is
to assist low-income people
with housing problems Bud
get cuts mean the agency
might have to ask the help of
Lane County Legal Aid Ser
vice for legal advice and
could no longer keep in
formation on rental
vacancies, Roberts says He
adds the agency is trying to
develop a self-help informa
tion service
The 1980 budget for Off
Campus Housing was cut
about 30 percent from I979,
Lesser says The budget for
I98I has actually been in
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creased by about three per
cent, says Lesser, adding
that it is an insignificant in
crease due to inflation On
top of that, Lesser says, the
off-campus staff has been
cut by seven since 79
A property manager, who
asked not to be identified, for
the Income Property
Management Co says some
landlords are actually lower
ing rent out of desperation
He adds that potential
renters have a greater choice
of housing since the compe
tition between landlords is a
little stiffer.
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Tues. Oct. 13