BIOGRAPHIES

BIOGRAPHIES
The Artists and Instructors of Artistical Studios

Peggy Brostrom
Works solely in repetitious binary images-a morse code, or a complex weaving of dots and dashes make up her vocabulary of images. Although 2-dimensional, her work is built like sculpture, many layers of painted and screen printed binaries construct the final works. She paints, prints, paints, prints until the page is filled, overlapped, and rich with color and pattern. Peggy collaborated on “No Circles” with ChristineTarkowski.

“No Circles”

Christine Tarkowski makes patterns.
She creates site-specific wallpaper installations for public, private, commercial and cultural spaces. Christine has exhibited and worked throughout the United States and in Europe, South America and Australia.
She received her BFA from Parsons School of Design, New York and
a MFA in fiber from the School of the Art Institute-Chicago. In Fall 1998, she will be a full time visiting artist in the fiber department at
the School of the Art Institute.

“Galaxy Boys”
Chris, Tuwuan, Howard and Thomas, the GALAXY BOYS, worked together to create this virtual comic book. What began as a collaborative video project, now enters the virtual realm. These four boys juxtapose their personal stories of life in a group home with their fantasy life as superheroes in outer space.
Having very little control over their real lives, the boys use the power of their own imaginations to rule a galaxy of good and evil, here they have collaborated with video artist
Jim Sommers in the creation of
"The Adventures of the Galaxy Boys"

Jim Sommers
Between 1994 and 1999 Mr. Sommers served as Artistic Director at the Art Center. Mr. Sommers received his MFA in Video from The School of the Art Institute -Chicago. He originally started at the Art Center in 1991 as an artist in residence and has since produced many award winning videos including Big Belly and On Our Way to Hollywood. His work has shown both nationally and internationally and has won awards including the Hometown Video Festival, the National Educational Film and Video Festival and the Lyn Blumenthal Fund for Independent Video (which was an initial funder of this project). He is a strong advocate for community-based art making and believes that art is a great tool for self-expression and social change.

“The Adventures of the
Galaxy Boys”

Charles Beinhoff is an artist. He draws clocks and paints things. He writes the text that goes along with the story.
He works on the computer. He also inks pictures. He has been part of the studio program at Little City since 1994. He has a watch while Arts Media has a lot of clocks.
Charles collaborated with
John Ploof on the
“The Existence of All Things:
Past, Present and Future”
project. John's piece, "The City," was featured in the August SigGraph '99 TechnOasis show in Los Angeles, California.

John Ploof is an artist.
He asks many questions. He works with people.
He teaches at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has been part of the studio program at Little City since 1994. He has worked with Haha,
a collaborative group of artists for ten years.
His watch is ten minutes fast.

Ken Hirsch
"I'm writing this book to tell my story, make some money, make some new friends and find a wife." Ken Hirsch is a storyteller. His story, “Fruits, Vegetables and Beautiful Women”, takes the reader through his life; growing up in Chicago, family, friends, working in the family store, being "put away" ( institutionalized) and his never-ending quest to find a wife. We learn what matters to Ken and what it's like to have those things taken away. Ken collaborated with Peter Liebenow in the creation of this project.

Peter Liebenow,
a printmaker and mixed-media artist,
had been with the Art Center for three years as Studio Arts Manager and
an artist in residence. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts and
Art Education from
Carthage College in Kenosha, WI
and is currently pursuing his MFA in printmaking at
Northern Illinois University in
DeKalb, IL.

“Fruits,
Vegetables
&
Beautiful Women”

John King
is a mixed media artist and has been working in the Art Center for four years and has produced a substantial body of work. Nothing is left untouched as John explores the studio in search of materials and inspiration for his sculptures, drawings, prints and paintings. John's vibrant personality is reflected throughout his work, in the objects he uses, characters he creates and
the resulting narratives.
John and Greg Macdonald collaborated on “The City.” John's piece, "The City," was featured in the August SigGraph '99 TechnOasis show in Los Angeles, California.

“THE CITY”

Greg Macdonald
has recently received his MFA from
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
He has been producing and directing independent video art for the past 10 years. Greg has worked in a variety of styles and formats from experimental personal narratives to video installation, screening his work throughout
the United States and Europe.
He worked at the MDAC for a year producing and directing independent video projects and the Kiss My TV Show. In addition to a background in art. Greg has had extensive experience working with developmentally disabled populations in the fields of both art and music.

Jack Armstrong
designed the game "Crosses on the Highway" for the purpose of understanding God. The game allows the players to make choices about their personal salvation. In the game, the players travel by car to different locations where they answer questions taken from the bible. Jack believes his game is an important way to help people find the Lord in a run down world. His game becomes an allegory of life-is-a-journey where one is required to make decisions as to what road to take. Jack collaborated with Michael Piazza.

“Crosses on the Highway”

Michael Piazza
is a Chicago artist whose work often involves collaboration
with other artists and communities. He has been an artist-facilitator
at the studio over the last 6 1/2 years. Other collaborations have included working with youth in the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. He is currently teaching at Columbia College Graduate Interdisciplinary Arts Program, DePaul University and the School of the Art Institute-Chicago. He is also part of the Illinois Arts Council Arts in Education Program.



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Dorothy Mary A. Gordon
Web-designer of this site, “Artistical Studios” is the artist
Dorothy Mary A Gordon. She received her BFA in Painting and MFA in Art and Technology from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Dorothy has exhibited her work on the World Wide Web, in public spaces, and in a variety of galleries. She has pieces in collections in U.S.A. and Europe. In addition to painting, computer animation and web-site production, she has taught at
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Mac University and
Saint Xaviar University.

‘I am grateful and proud to have helped bring these wonderful "artistical" achievements to the entire world's access. Working in collaboration with the artists and artist/instructors at the Multi-Disciplinary Arts Center at Little City Foundation has been a tremendously rewarding pleasure.’



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