ARTWORK BY OREGON ARTIST
ACCEPTED INTO MDA ART COLLECTION

"My Father's Tulips"

TUCSON, Ariz., May 26, 2005 – Artwork by an Ashland, Ore., artist has been accepted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Art Collection. Now in its 14th year, the Collection features artwork by people from across the country with neuromuscular diseases.

“My Father’s Tulips” by Michael Koester was created by combining a traditional artist’s methods with computer-driven tools. Koester uses the computer just as he would oils and acrylics to emphasize the tulips’ detail with dramatic green foliage and brilliant red and yellow blossoms.

Koester’s art can be viewed as both abstract and realistic at the same time. By adding computer tools to his work with traditional media, Koester creates unusual and exciting works of art. Readers can reach Koester at his studio at nuart@mtashland.net for more information about his work.

Koester, 50, has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder that results in the loss of nerve cells in the spinal cord, affecting the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement. Weakness is most severe in muscles such as those of the shoulders, hips, thighs and upper back.

During his career as a commercial illustrator, Koester received design awards from Communication Arts magazine and many advertising trade associations. His artwork has been displayed in local art shows involving Women’s History Month and at Jackson County Courthouse in Medford.

In 2003, Koester received a Distinguished Service Award from the Oregon Disabilities Commission and the governor for the design and implementation of a statewide advocacy tool called the Cut-Out People of Oregon.

Koester attended Texas A&M University for three years, where he studied architecture and environmental design. He now provides free architectural consultations to members of his community on ways to increase accessibility in their homes and businesses for people with disabilities.

“We’re deeply honored to welcome work by Michael Koester into the permanent MDA Art Collection,” MDA President & CEO Robert Ross said. “His contribution to our Collection will undoubtedly delight all who see it as it travels to galleries and museums as part of special exhibits of the Collection.”

The new addition by Koester is on display at MDA’s national headquarters in Tucson, Ariz., and can be seen at www.mda.org/commprog/art/displayall.aspx. The work also will be included in MDA Art Collection traveling exhibits. The Collection was established in 1992 to focus attention on the achievements of artists with disabilities and to emphasize that physical disability is no barrier to creativity.

The permanent Collection comprises more than 300 works by artists aged 2 to 82 and represents all 50 states. Each artist is affected by one of the neuromuscular diseases in the MDA program.

Selected art from the Collection has been exhibited at the Dallas Museum of Art; Cork Gallery at Lincoln Center and Forbes Magazine Galleries in New York; Tucson Museum of Art; Bishop Museum in Honolulu; Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center; Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art; Los Angeles Children’s Museum; JFK Center at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn.; Fresno Metropolitan Museum; Duluth Art Institute; Capital Children’s Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Mich.

MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. MDA maintains four clinics for adults and children affected by neuromuscular diseases in Oregon, including one at Sacred Heart Hospital in Eugene, Providence Medical Center in Medford, and the Oregon Health Sciences University and Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland.

The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors.

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