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Chicago Comics Live Drawing: Turtel Onli


Turtel Onli, Nog comic book page, 1980. Ink on paper; 18 x 24 in.

© 1981 Turtel Onli

Artists from Chicago Comics: 1960s to Now work onsite at the MCA while the exhibition is on view, sharing their art and practice live. Watch as the artists create their current projects in real time, projected on a screen in the Commons for visitors to see. For this event, Chris Ware joins us.

About the Artist

Turtel Onli is an American artist, entrepreneur, author, art therapist, educator, and publisher. Over Onli's career, his work has touched upon a variety of disciplines in fine and applied visual art, producing works in painting, drawing, illustration, publishing, fashion, and multimedia production. Onli has authored and illustrated numerous comic books and graphic novels, including NOG, Protector of the Pyramides, Malcolm 10, Nog Nu, and Grammar Patrol. He is known as the Father of the Black Age of Comics, a movement dedicated to the promotion, creation, and support of Afrocentric comic books and graphic novels. Onli coined the term "Rhythmism" to define and interpret his stylizations, which fuse primitive and futuristic concepts. A now-retired art teacher, Onli worked in the Chicago Public School system for more than two decades.