About John Puglia

John M. Puglia saw beauty everywhere, then created art from what he saw. From old factories to backstreet bars to boxers, Mr. Puglia was always moved by whatever came into his field of vision and continuously inspired others with his art.

When Mr. Puglia met former heavyweight boxing champion Michael Dokes by chance at an Akron restaurant in 2010, the two men became friends. That friendship inspired Mr. Puglia to make art of Dokes.

After Dokes’ death last August, Mr. Puglia put together an art exhibit Dokes helped to inspire. Before the Dokes exhibit, Mr. Puglia also had an exhibit of his art titled Pipefitters, Porn & P.B.R., which focused on the Akron he got to know in the late 1970s and 1980s in factories, bars and other places.

An Akron native, Mr. Puglia was a graduate of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and the University of Akron. He served in various positions at YRC Worldwide Inc., including director of corporate communications and manager of marketing communications.

Longtime friend David Giffels, a former Beacon Journal columnist and now an assistant professor of English at UA, called Mr. Puglia his best friend.

“John lived an inspired life, and he inspired all of us who lived it alongside him,” Giffels said. “His own incessant curiosity and creativity led us into places we never would have gone. He took me into abandoned factories and dive bars and odd corners of the cities we explored together. He introduced me to art and music and literature I wouldn’t have found otherwise.”

But, Giffels said, “mostly he inspired us by his example. Despite all the burdens and responsibilities of adult life, he never stopped making art and drawing others into his projects.”

Giffels called Mr. Puglia the most generous person he has ever known.

“He absorbed so much of life — art and film and music and literature and wine and spicy food and big ideas and silly jokes — and he gave back in equal measure. He shared everything he had.”

Kevin Dokes, brother of boxer Michael Dokes, praised Mr. Puglia for his artistry.

“He did so much for our family,” Kevin Dokes said. “He was a phenomenal artist and a great individual. … He kept my brother’s memory alive.”

Andrew Borowiec, distinguished professor of art at UA, taught Mr. Puglia in a photo class there.

“Although he wasn’t a photography major, he brought to the class more enthusiasm, curiosity and imagination than almost any student I’ve known in over 30 years of teaching,” Borowiec said.

“At at time when factories were shutting down all over Akron, John persuaded the Art Department to let him clean out a storage room and use it for a mixed media installation in which he combined photographs, drawings, sculpture and sound recordings to re-create a factory environment. Almost 30 years later, our students continue to use that room for individual projects without realizing that it was all possible thanks to John.”

Borowiec said Mr. Puglia “moved freely from one medium to another, blurring their boundaries and working effortlessly in painting, drawing, photography, film, and video and various forms of print-making.”

(Excerpt from article on John Puglia in the Akron Beacon Journal, July 15, 2013.)