Curriculum Vitae for John Unger

revised: 1.17.2006 Curriculum Vitae for John Unger QuickLinks: Education | Grants + Awards | Public Art | Solo Shows    Annual + Touring Exhibits | Selected Group Shows | Commissions    Collections | Bibliography | Publications | Visiting Artist Lectures    Curation | Career Related Experience | Professional Affiliations
(Top)	Education
	Blacksmithing Apprenticeship, Lliam Burke, Traverse City, MI, 1990-91 Naropa Institute Summer Writing Intensive, 1987 Graduated Writing Program, Interlochen Arts Academy, 1985
(Top)	Grants + Awards
2001	Community Arts Assistance Program Grant, Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago, IL
2000	Community Arts Assistance Program Grant, Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago, IL Installation and Lecture Honorarium, Excellence in Fine Arts Visiting Artist Series, EIU College of Arts and Humanities, Charleston, IL
1999	Community Arts Assistance Program Grant, Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago, IL
(Top)	Public Art
2005	Great Northern Hunt for Bearable Art, Life size Mosaic bear sculpture created for Outdoor Art Project organized by The American Red Cross of Northern Lower Michigan.
2004	Commemorative Mosaic Arts Sculpture, Consultant/Advisor on mosaic project for Presque Isle District Library.
2002	Community Harmony Through Song + Play, Lead Artist for Three Mosaics for Manley career Academy Highschool CPAG: Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago, IL
(Top)	Selected Solo Shows + Exhibits
2004	Dancing About Architecture Solo show of sculpture + functional art. Designhaus, Rochester, MI.
2002	The Love Mural Assemblage/mixed-media. Gallery Six Four Five, Chicago, IL. Collaboration with: Rob Moriarty, Juan Chavez, Chris Silva and others.
2001	The Mighty Dragon Boat Redux The improved fire-breathing dragon boat burns down the Chicago River again— 40-feet long, more fire and a larger crew. Collaboration with Neil Verplank, Erik Neuman and others.
2000	Embracing Darkness: Ritual Winter Spectacle Burning of a sixteen-foot winter spirit sculpture on Montrose Beach, Chicago, IL. Collaboration with Crea Starfire and Kevin Burrows. The Mighty Dragon Boat Built and sailed a 30-foot, fire-breathing dragon boat on the Chicago River with a crew of twelve. Collaboration with Neil Verplank. Radio Ancestrale Site-specific installation commissioned by The Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL
1998	Sea-Plane to the Other Side Six month installation on sidewalk of a 7' x 5' x 9' whirligig of Ghede, the Haitian lwa of death and regeneration playing Carribean steel drum while piloting a coffin shaped sea-plane. 1900 S. Halsted, Chicago, IL. Cabinet of Curiosities Rainbo Club, Chicago, IL
(Top)	Annual + Touring Exhibits
	The Dirty Show 2006 Tangent Gallery + Hastings Street Ballroom, Detroit, MI. Art In the Garden, 2003–2004, Pine Hill Nursery, Kewadin, MI 29th-32nd Pilsen East Artists’ Open House 1999–2002 Artist's Studio, Chicago, IL Deus Ex Machina I + II 2002 Peter Jones Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Rubber Monkey Shadow Puppet Theater Company, Chicago, IL Sextablos 1999–2001, The Augen Gallery, Portland, OR;Barrister Gallery, New Orleans, LA; RedBud Gallery, Houston,TX; Hyde Park Arts Center, Hyde Park, IL; Juror: Michael Hernandez de Luna, Bad Press Books Collect-O-Rama 1999–2001 Intuit: The Center for Intuitive + Outsider Art Chicago, IL Around the Coyote 1999–2001, David Leonardis Gallery, Chicago, IL 1998, Oh Boy!, Chicago, IL The Ever So Secret Order of the Lampreys 1999 P.E.A.C.E. Gallery, Chicago, IL; Rainbo Club, Chicago, IL; Café Sol, Chicago, IL From the Hurt to the Healed...Objects for God 1998–1999 Oh Boy!, Chicago, IL
(Top)	Selected Group Shows + Exhibits
2005	Invitational Vessels, all media Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI The Alden Art Fair 2005 Depot Park, Alden, MI. The Dirty Show Tangent Gallery + Hastings Street Ballroom, Detroit, MI.
2004	Creating Spaces With Art Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI Malleable Metals Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI Annual Invitational Art Exhibition Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI D’Art for Art Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petosky, MI Interlochen Wine, Food + Fine Arts Festival Frog Pond Village, Interlochen, MI Elvis Puppy Fleur Fine Art, Chicago, IL
2003	Fall Gift Show Frederik Meijer Gardens, Grand Rapids, MI Leelanau Furniture Show 2003 Grand Traverse Heritage Center, Traverse City, MI
2001	The Body Shop Drive Thru Studios, Chicago, IL Outsiders Outside Judith Racht Gallery, Harbert, MI Vodou Visionaries Intuit: The Center for Intuitive + Outsider Art Chicago, IL Curator: Marilyn Houlberg, Professor of Art, SAIC
2000	3 1/2 Months of Sundays Hyde Park Arts Center, Hyde Park, IL
1999	Creative Inspiration: The Arts of Haitian Vodoun Musee d'Art Haitien du College Saint Pierre, Port-au-Prince, Haiti Curator: Marilyn Houlberg, Professor of Art, SAIC Howl: Exhibition and Performance Hyde Park Arts Center, Hyde Park, IL, Hyde Park, IL 18 Artists: An Instant Art Collection David Leonardis Gallery, Chicago, IL Fourth Whirl, Whirligigs + Weather Vanes Fourth World Artisans, Chicago, IL
1998	Dia de los Muertos Jaqueline Ross Gallery, Chicago, IL Curator: Oscar Romero 20th Century Artifacts Fourth World Artisans, Chicago, IL
1997	Artifacts Hardware Café, Chicago, IL
1996	Fetish Art The Green Room, Ypsilanti, MI
1995	Beauty Culture (by Trained Professionals) Hei-wa Co-op, Ann Arbor, MI
(Top)	Commissions
2005	Human Anatomy Chart Mosaic Tommy Jenkins, Evanston, IL Solar System Mosaics for Bath Britt Shawver, Evanston, IL Mosaic Sign Aden State Bank, Alden, MI
2004	Selected Artist, Corporate Art Program University of Chicago Children's Hospital, Chicago, IL 4 Window Grates Elise Jones, Chicago, IL Cycling salamander Sculpture Cycling Salamander, Charlevoix, MI 2 Mosaic Panels: Joe Tinker + Frank Chance Portraits Lakeview Baseball Club, Chicago, IL Mermaid Mosaic Christy MacLear, Fleur Fine Art, Chicago, IL Mosaic Floor Christina Adams, Traverse City, MI Steel Garden Sculpture Jeff Monseau, Cleveland, OH Garden Screen Diane and Steve Bodell, Grand Rapids, MI
2003	Frank Lloyd Wright Fences Dick + Diana Milock, Torch Lake, MI Acrobat Table Mary Blanchard, Torch Lake, MI Erzulie, Glass Mosaic Table Laurie Beasley, Ridge Art GalleryOak Park, IL Hast Olsen Fence Howard Hast + JoAnn Olsen, Evanston, IL Four Dancer Chairs Mary Blanchard, Torch Lake, MI Steel Sign Frankie Machine Community Garden, Chicago, IL Steamship Propellor Table Mary Kay McDuffie, Torch Lake, MI
2002	El Corazon Mosaic Table Casa Loca, Chicago, IL Small Fireplace Door Eb McDuffie, Torch Lake, MI Peter the Crow Mosaic Table Jeff + Trina Ott, Sparta, MI The Days of the Dolphins, 4 Mosaics Northeastern University Magazine, Boston, MA Rainbow Trout Mosaic Jeff + Trina Ott, Sparta, MI Acrobat Fence Mary Kay McDuffie, Torch Lake, MI Slate Wall Mosaic Shirley Myers, Bridgman, MI City Gates Lakeview Baseball Club, Chicago, IL
2002	Community Harmony Through Song + Play, Three Mosaics for Manley career Academy Highschool CPAG: Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago, IL Steel Restaurant Displays Joe DiCarlo, Caffé Baci, Chicago, IL
2001	Devil Girl Windvane Marilyn Houlberg, Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL Steel Restaurant Displays Joe DiCarlo, Caffé Baci, Chicago, IL
1999	Steel Window Grate Café Jumping Bean, Chicago, IL Ballad of the Dragon, Mosaic Table Neil Verplank, Dovetail Design, Chicago, IL
(Top)	Collections
	Alden State Bank, Alden, MI Kathleen Glynn + Michael Moore, Torch Lake, MI Designhaus Pllc, Architects, Rochester, MI The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH Lakeview Baseball Club, Chicago, IL Northeastern University, Boston, MA
(Top)	Bibliography
	“Artist enlists Picasso in fight against war,” The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL , January 14, 2006, “Picasso painting becomes anti-Iraq war symbol,” Naples Daily News, Naples, FL , January 13, 2006 “Picasso painting becomes anti-Iraq war symbol,” The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, AZ , January 12, 2006 “Gift Rapt: A green gift-giving guide for all the folks on your holiday list,” Grist Magazine, November 22, 2005 Radio Interview, Spin 103.8, Dublin, Ireland, November 7, 2005. "BadAss Paddles." On Q Live. Q Television Network. QTN, Burbank, CA. December 5th, December 26th, 2005. “What's under the Bizarre tree,” Bizarre Magazine, No. 106, January, 2006, 26 “Great bowls o' fire,” Wednesday Journal, Oak Park, IL, September 7, 2005, Section one, 20. “Mood, warmth… and a little poetry,” Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, August 14, 2005, Section four, 3. “Malleable Metals opens Saturday in East Jordan,” Petoskey News Review, Petoskey, MI, September 14, 2004, Section one, 7. Malleable Metals Exhibit Catalog, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI, 2004, 1, 17 Mosaic Art + Style: Designs for Living Environments, JoAnn Locktov, Rockport Publishers, March, 2005 The Artful Home, Edition 2, Guild Sourcebooks, April 1, 2004 Patty LaNoue Stearns, “Have a Seat,” Northern Home Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 1, January-February, 2004, 9 "The Days of the Dolphins," 4 marble mosaics, Northeastern University Magazine, Vol. 28, No. 2, 2002, 14, 17, 21-22 6 page pictorial spread, The Cream City Review, Vol. 24, No. 1, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, 30-35, 134 “Pilsen On Display,” New City, Artbreak, Chicago, IL, September 28, 2000, 25. “On Exhibit: A Secret Society Shows Itself,” Chicago Reader, Chicago, IL, March 3, 2000, Section One, 38. Cover Feature, Charleston Times-Courier, Spotlight Arts and Entertainment, Charleston, IL, February 12-18, 2000, 1. “Artist John Unger to Talk About Graveyard Sculpture Installation,” Charleston Times-Courier, Charleston, IL, February 12, 2000, C9. Sextablos: Works on Metal, Luna Press, 1715 S. Laflin, Chicago, IL, 1999, 15
(Top)	Publications
	“Copyright or Wrong,” Chicago Reader, Chicago, IL, February 11, 2005, Section One, 3. "Sold My Soul for Rock 'N Roll",Sextablos: Works on Metal, Luna Press, 1715 S. Laflin, Chicago, IL, 1999, 15
(Top)	Visiting Artist Lectures + Demonstrations
2005	Bottlecap Mosaic Demonstration, Bellaire Harvest Festival, Bellaire, MI
2004	Cut Metal Luminary Demonstration, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI Making Mobiles Workshop, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI
2000	The Tarble Arts Center, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL
1998	DePaul University, Chicago, IL, Department of Religious Studies
(Top)	Curation
2004	Malleable Metals Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI
(Top)	Career Related Experience
1992- 2001	Freelance Graphic Designer Separate resumé available.
2002	Fabrication Assistant Torch Tip Ironworks, Eastport, MI
2001	Lead Artist, Manly Career Academy High School Mosaic Project Chicago Public Art Group, Chicago, IL With Caswell James, Assisting Artist. Led a team of 10 kids from various schools in the North Lawndale area of Chicago, designing and and building 3 mosaics, 23 square feet each for Manly Career Academy High School, 2935 W. Polk St.. Design/Build Consultant Lemonade Parade Redmoon Theater, Chicago, IL With Jim Lasko, Artistic Director & Jesse Bullock, builder, co-designed parade spectacle and built maquette for Puppetropolis, Chicago and Evanston 4th of July Parade.
2000	Volunteer Set Builder, Costumer, Performer Redmoon Theater, Chicago, IL Winter Pageant, Redmoon Theater, Chicago, IL
1999	Mosaic Artist Studio E, Evan Glassman, Chicago, IL Chief mosaicist/project coordinator for projects at Nine Restaurant in Chicago; and Bistro Banlieue in Lombard, IL. Mosaic Artist SkyLine Design, Chicago, IL Mosaicist on 1,800 square foot mosaic for DisneyQuest, Chicago. Also participated on DisneyQuest's entry to Cows on Parade, Virtual Cow in Reflective Moosaic. Design & Fabrication Assistant Kenneth Morrison Studio, Chicago, IL Design and fabrication of 26' art-metal fence. Assistant on cast concrete tables for Sushi Wabi, Chicago.
1990- 1994	Instructor, Arts Apprenticeship Program, Myaheyyun Day Treatment, Mancelona, MI Full session 1990-92, summer session 1994
(Top)	Professional Affiliations
	Board Member, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI Board Member, Pathways Arts Council, Kalkaska, MI Ever So Secret Order of the Lampreys SAMA: Society of American Mosaic Artists