Intro
This site is an ongoing destination for selected art and design work of Robert O’Neil.
His art and design career, in briefish:
After winning a Kent State art competition, judged by the Bulter Museum of Art, he was asked if he’d ever considered studying art.
Transferring to Cleveland Institute of Art, he studied fine art, ending with a industrial design degree. Like many art students, he was recruited and hired to working the Styling Department at Ford. He worked at industrial design firms in Pittsburgh and Chicago, and started his own office in the late 60’s. Initially, designing and creating designs and jukebox models in the basement of the family home for his first client Seeburg.
He once said he considered himself an artist who designed. This perspective informed the ideas and quality of his designs.
One impetus of this modest, belated online presence is a comment of friend and collaborator Brett Bortner. “If I search my name on the internet, hundreds of webpages come up. When I search his, nothing.” These pages are a way to put some life in art and design online. A few years ago the University of Illinois Chicago library accepted surviving design files, presentation boards, and misc product for archiving.
He cares about ideas. He cares about work. He cares about people. Each to the moment at hand.
***The last pages of this site, For Sale, has selected artwork being sold to cover storage costs, possible framing, moving, etc. ***
…more to come…