YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio –May 15, 2013—Antioch College alumnus, media coordinator, and adjunct media arts faculty Michael Casselli is the recipient of an Individual Excellence Awards from the Ohio Arts Council.
Casselli is one of three artists from Yellow Springs, and 47 statewide, to receive the award, which recognizes work that advances or exemplifies the discipline and the larger artistic community, and are meant to support the growth and development of talented artists.
A 1987 graduate of Antioch College, Casselli majored in visual and performance theory. While at Antioch, he created large-scale, outdoor, mixed-media performances whose primary focus was to clarify issues of sense-based perception as they relate to the physicality inherent in performative work.
Moving from Antioch to the master’s program at the Rhode Island School of Design, or RISD, he began to develop his signature style of the physical involvement of the viewer in the work, moving away from works based solely on performance.
Upon completing his degree at RISD, Casselli moved to New York, where he was an active member of the arts and performance community for twenty years. His work there, a range from large-scale installations to use of more contemporary media, also received a New York Performance and Dance Award, or Bessie, for his exceptional work in the performance arena, creating scenic and video design for dance and theater.
Casselli returned to Yellow Springs to establishment Manic Design Studio, where he continues to work on hybrid experimentation in media.