A photo exhibit on display at Oak Park’s Compound Yellow showcases the work of the late UPI Chicago Press Photographer, James ‘Jim’ Smestad, who throughout his career captured some of the most iconic moments in Chicago history.
The exhibit, “Jim Smestad: A Celebration of His Life Through His Work,” spans his 30-year career as a UPI photographer from 1958 until the photo department closed in 1989.
A collection of film images from UPI and personal archives that reflect the range of photo assignments captured by Smestad, who lived in Oak Park from 1974 until the early 1990s, are included in the exhibit.
“The response to this exhibit has been extraordinary,” Smestad’s daughter, Liat Ebersohl told Wednesday Journal. “I had many people come up to me to say they knew that photo in the sense [that] they may have not seen that exact photo but as a Chicagoan they remember the event.”
One of the many that stands out is a Smestad photo that ran in The Chicago Tribune’s sports section March 11, 1984. The photo captures the late Ray Meyer, DePaul University Blue Demons basketball coach being hoisted by some of his players to cut the basketball netting following a big win.
“These photos bring up so many great memories that at the time didn’t seem so extraordinary as it was just everyday normal,” Ebersohl shared. “Seeing these now and studying them from a new perspective, it’s just so amazing. Especially the sports photos, they were shot on film which meant he needed to anticipate a shot, frame and focus and capture it. And until he was back at the office developing, he wouldn’t know if he got it. But it looks like he pretty much always did.”
Born in Worthington, Minnesota, in 1929, a few days before the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Smestad picked up his first baby Brownie cardboard box camera as a high school freshman, sparking the start of a lifetime passion and profession.
Finding his niche while still in high school, Smestad became a stringer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the Worthington Globe.
After high school, he enlisted in the Air Force with a guaranteed contract to attend the USAF Photo School in Denver. At the start of the Korean War, Smestad moved to a highly classified unit that required top secret clearance for photographers to handle documentary photography in Korea and Japan.
In 1952, after returning home, Smestad enrolled at St. Olaf College, graduating in 1956 as a History Major.
His first full-time photo position was in the General Mills research division.
In his role as a UPI staff photographer in Chicago, Smestad’s assignments varied: coverage of women’s liberation or anti-war demonstrations; a train or an aircraft disaster; visiting dignitaries and celebrities, including seven U. S. Presidents, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Bennett; and a two-day tour of Chicago with Jayne Mansfield.
His regular beat covering Chicago sports included more than 1,300 baseball games, an unknown number of Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks, Northwestern and Notre Dame games, along with six super bowls.
Four of Smestad’s iconic UPI photos are published in Picture This! The Inside Story and Classic Photos of UPI Newspictures.
Whether wandering the streets of Chicago or during his travels that took him to more than 30 countries, including three trips to the top of Mt. Fuji, the Fjords of Norway, the pine trees of Sapa Vietnam, and day trips from Paris to Lyon or Marseille just for lunch. Smestad was never without his camera.
A special moment during the exhibit occurred when one of Smestad’s UPI colleagues attended the show, saying the photo exhibit brought back so many memories.
“He explained to us that each day was a different day and you didn’t know what your assignment was [or] if you were covering sports or an event,” Ebersohl. “Then there were days where there might be a crisis, crash, protest – just anything that was newsworthy.
Smestad died in 2022. The exhibit is his family’s way of honoring his legacy.
“Fast lenses, fast films are not always the answer, nor are two or three lights set-up here and there; especially when — sometimes — one light with a homemade remote switch can do wonders,” he once said.
Following a public opening Oct. 5, the exhibit is now open by appointment until Oct. 15.
Compound Yellow founder Laura Shaeffer describes the Smestad exhibit as special because it is archival and photography.
Although the museum held a project many years ago that invited local artists and creatives to bring in their collections, this exhibit is a bit different.
“It’s kind of special because this is the first archival exhibition that we’ve hosted,” Shaeffer said. “We haven’t had a lot of photography shows. We have more abstract art, paintings, and all disciplines.”
Shaeffer added that it’s special also because it honors Smestad’s life work. Shaeffer connected Ebersohl with two artists who helped her comb through thousands of her dad’s photos in order to provide viewers of the breadth of his work.
“All shows are usually about a month or five to six weeks and accept proposals on a rolling basis so this [timeframe] is not common for us but it was in response to Jim’s death two years ago,” Shaeffer explained. “The family had been looking for the right space to have this kind of memorial show and to honor him and celebrate his life’s work.”
The Smestad exhibit was proposed late in the year but because it was so meaningful, Shaeffer said she was able to carve out time between other shows.
“It’s not common for us to not give people ample time, and it’s not what we want to do in the future but this was a very special circumstance,” Shaeffer explained about the exhibit’s run time. “It’s a volunteer-run place. If we had more volunteers, we maybe keep it open longer. It’s just the nature of the beast here.”
A multifunctional, artist-run non-profit, Compound Yellow supports independent cultural production, hosts exhibitions, interventions, performances, workshops, lectures, and gatherings.
It is located at 244 Lake St.