Michael Barlow

Instructor, Continuing Studies (1988), Art Education (2007). BFA, 1985, Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Art, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; MFA 1987, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Exhibition: DuSable Museum of Africa American History, Chicago, IL; Noyes Cultural Art Center, Evanston, IL; Koehnline Museum of Art, Des Plaines, IL; Publications: Crow Woods Publication, “Living Artists”, AIMprint, New Relationships in the Arts and Learning, Center for Community Arts Partnerships, Columbia College Chicago; Collections: Indiana University Campus Art Collection, Bloomington, IN.

Graduate School at SAIC in 1985 was very exciting! The opportunity to live in the city of Chicago and study at SAIC during the formative years of my professional career as a visual artist was challenging on my levels. The opportunity to engage in making and learning on multiple levels was unmatched and truly will be an experience and education that will last forever. The School of the Art Institute and the city of Chicago are iconic twins with similar looks and totally different personalities and has the ability to fool you or mislead you at the same time! These experiences and influences at SAIC formed the foundation of my teaching artist career. Being part of the SAIC community remains to be a vital component of my artistic imagination.

As a creative person and Fine Arts Entrepreneur my praxis explores the intersection between arts advocacy, arts education, art consulting and making. My art work addresses multiple issues of concerning man’s inhumanity to man, spirituality, the Holy Bible, and the 4 persistent themes in the history of painting, i.e., the self, society, spirituality, and nature. My teaching philosophy addresses contemporary issues, arts integration, academic freedom, collaboration and community outreach. In the classroom/studio I strive to be a “game changer” in the lives of my students.

The Holy Bible, man’s inhumanity to man, fighting racism, the 4 persistent themes in the history of painting and answering the question: What do Paintings Want?