Ellen & Arnold Reisman
Take it Outside
E llen Reisman’s late husband Arnold was a true polymath: professor of
operational research at the Weatherhead School of Management at
CWRU, author, business consultant, and sculptor.
Born 1927 in Lodz, Poland, Reisman survived the Nazi invasion, fled to
Russia, and came to the U.S. in 1946. He created his art in a shed behind his
and Ellen’s home, much of it from found materials. The yard is literally cluttered
with Arnold’s pieces, some in metal, others in wood, and is a delight to the
Fernway neighborhood. Ellen says, “So much of Arnold’s work is in the yard
simply because he had already filled the house with it. I finally had to tell him,
‘Take it outside!’”
During his life, Reisman exhibited at the Galleria and Agnon School, and
was commissioned to do a sculpture for Sabanci University in Istanbul. He
also wrote at least 24 books, many of them on Turkish-Jewish relations and
management theory. One of his notable successes as a management consultant:
the St. Louis Cardinals. “And he hated baseball,” laughs Ellen.
32 SHAKERONLINE.COM | FALL 2014