Michael Burton Assistant Professor of Art and Design - Robert Hillestad Textiles Gallery Director - Faculty Fellow in the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
2007 M.F.A., University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2000 B.F.A., Green Mountain College
Michael is a teacher, artist, and filmmaker. He works with a team of scholars, writers, and alumni called Animating History to produce award-winning animated films. Their work makes visible the stories of marginalized and enslaved families by telling their stories and connecting them to the larger historical narrative of American history via the medium of animation.
Michael has produced seven films developing a specialized technique and aesthetic that combines real actors in costume with 3D animated environments. He has won eight filmmaking awards nationally and screened films in nineteen peer-reviewed (juried) film festivals across the US including two Academy Award qualifiers. Additionally, Michael has exhibited artwork in major museums across the US including the Denver Art Museum, Vero Beach Museum of Art, and Rhode Island School of Design Art Museum.
Michael teaches a range of course in TMFD including Computer Basics, Visualization Studio, Color Studio, Introduction to Design Theory and Criticism, Visual Communication with Animation, Advanced Design for Printed Textiles, and a new course - Digital Textile and Apparel Design. He is actively seeking Masters students with interst in Clo3D, motion capture, and/or 3D modeling to join his research team to create digital clothing and animated avatars for historical animations. (TA position when available)
Selected Film Festivals and Exhibitions:
2022 Silk Roads International Film Festival (juried)- October 2022 Cannes, France
2022 Prince George’s Film Festival (juried) – September 2022 Bowie, MD
2022 Art Struct – Vero Beach Museum of Art (invited) – Dec 2022 Vero Beach, FL
2022 The 15th Annual Digital Graffiti (juried)– May 2022 Alys Beach, FL
2021 Floor of the Sky (solo) Kiechel Fine Art Lincoln, NE.
2020 A Gold Slipper (solo) Kiechel Fine Art Lincoln, NE.
2020 Nebraska Now; Anna (solo) Museum of Nebraska Art Kearney, NE.
2020 A Gold Slipper (solo) Willa Cather Foundation Museum Red Cloud, NE.
2019 Hip Hop Film Festival (juried) Harlem, NY.
2018 Virginia Film Festival (juried) Charlottesville, VA
2018 New Media Film Festival (juried) Los Angeles, CA.
2018 Utopia Film Festival (juried) Greenbelt, MD.
2018 Atlantic Selects Film Screening Online
2018 Bronze Lens Film Festival (juried) Atlanta, GA
2015 Art Seen Joslyn Art Museum (juried) Omaha, NE
2011 Blink! Light, Sound and the Moving Image -Denver Art Museum Denver, CO
Grants:
Total: $313,570.00
External: $237,700
Institutional: $75,870
2022 Funded- UNL Research Council: Interdisciplinary Research Grant – Animating History Lab - Media Production $20,000
Pi with William Thomas and Kwakiutl Dreher
2022 Funded- UNL Convocations Grant – Kendra Benson – This Woman’s Work – $1,000
2021 Funded- Kitty M. Perkins Foundation NU Foundation - The Bell Affair finish costs for distribution $20,000
Co-pi with William Thomas and Kwakiutl Dreher
2021 Funded- Bridge Funds - CEHS Audrey Newton Innovation and Excellence fund– - $12,000
2021 Funded –GAP Funding – Office of the EVC - $2,000
2020 Funded – CEHS Technology Innovation Grant – Motion Capture for Animation $7,370
2019 Funded - National Endowment for the Humanities - Media Production grant $200,000
Co-pi with William Thomas and Kwakiutl Dreher
2019 Funded – Maryland Humanities Major Grant – Media Production grant $8,400
Co-pi with William Thomas and Kwakiutl Dreher
2018 Funded - UNL Cather Project $8,000
2016 Funded - Hatchfund.org Crowd-funding support for Ann[a] $4,300
2016 Funded – UNL Arts and Humanities Research Enhancement Program Grant - Media Production $10,000
2016 Funded - Project support from Hixson Lied Dean’s Office $2000
2013 Funded - NE Arts Council Distinguished Film Maker Award $5,000
2013 Funded - “Vault” Video Tutorial Database; CEHS Technology Innovation Grant, $13,500
Selected Press:
2022 William Ford, Animation Documentary Tells Story of Enslaved Family Who Fought for Freedom, Washington
Informer, June 2, 2022
2022 Sheilah Kast, The Searing Story of the Enslaved Family’s Fight for Freedom, On The Record, May 14, 2022 https://www.wypr.org/show/on-the-record/2022-05-19/the-searing-story-of-the-enslaved-bell-familys-fight-for-freedom
2022 Deann Gayman, New film,‘Bell Affair’ explores freedom suits in America, Nebraska Today, April 4, 2022
2022 Nelson, August UNL Professors Create Film Celebrating Black-led Emancipation, Daily Nebraskan Feb 23, 2022
2022 Kiechel Fine Art Center showcases NFTs by local artists, Nebraska News Service, April 2, 2022
2021 Nebraska Quarterly Magazine, Professor earns kudos for history of freedom suits, p34, Fall 2021
2021 Willa Cather’s ‘A Gold Slipper’ adapted for exhibition, Nebraska Today Dec 3, 2021
2021 L Kent Wolgamott, NFTs, The Hottest New Product in the Art Market, come to Lincoln, Lincoln Journal Star Sep 6,2021
2021 Kiechel features Burton’s Nebraska-inspired artworks, Nebraska Today, August 30, 2021
2021 Magic Alchemy; Artists Talk about Inventing the NFT and Digital Art at Kiechel Fine Art, Customs BMX.com, August 2021
2021 Friday Live radio program, Nebraska Public Media: Discussing The Bell Affair
2021 Deann Gayman, Thomas Earns Lynton Prize for a ‘Question of Freedom’, Nebraska Today, March 26, 2021
2020 L Kent Wolgamott, A Gold Slipper Illustrates and Illuminates Cather Short Story, Lincoln Journal Star Jan 23,2020
2020 Rick Brown, MONA to host ‘Collection Connection’ program Jan. 22, Grand Island Independent, Jan 8, 2020
2020 Rick Brown, UNL professor Michael Burton tells Anna's story of escaping slavery in 12-minute animated film Kearney Hub, Jan 16, 2020
Areas of Expertise:
Art and Design
Animation