History of Leben Productions



	A BRIEF HISTORY OF LEBEN PRODUCTIONS Leben Productions got it's start in Chicago in 1978. John Leben, the founder, had been working for several years as a free-lance art director, designing sets, animation sequences and assorted graphics for Chicago-area producers. As Leben's organizational skills in the production of extendeed animation programs became apparent to Chicago corporations, John began accepting more and more responsibilities in the finished programming. Finally, John bit the bullet and declared himself a producer, becoming fully responsible for the entire production of video and film projects for his clients. At first, Leben's work was done for business and industry, in the area of training, and mostly on projects that required heavy animation because that's where John Leben's backround was. As time evolved, more and more work came from corporate communications projects and corporate image programs, taking advantage of Leben's high production values and ability to reach an audience. The company continued to evolve as Leben moved the business to Saugatuck, Michigan, a quaint resort town on the shores of the Kalamazoo River near Lake Michigan. Being 2-1/2 hours away from Chicago was both a curse and a blessing. Leben continued to service Chicago clients but also took off in a new direction: independent programming. As this new direction evolved, Leben produced documentaries for both the home video and broadcast markets. He began feeding programming about Michigan to public television and selling copies in retail outlets around Michigan. During this time Leben Productions produced "The Ludington Carferry," "Tulip Time: A Colorful History," "Secrets of Successful Innkeeping," "Our Town: The Making of a Ballet," "The Sound of March," "The Badger: Flagship for a Dream," and 26 half hour episodes of "Painting on Location with Bob Fagan," a PBS TV series. In recent years, Leben Productions has grown into a multi-media marketing company, doing marketing consulting and media production in just about any media imaginable. The company has developed a new specialty in educational and government-sponsored media projects with a marketing focus. Most of the video, print and web-based samples on this web site feature media that is designed to win an audience over and change attitudes, in the educational arena and in government agencies like Michigan Rehabilitation Services and Family Services. John Leben's personal involvement in these projects reflects his commitment to making our educational institutions and our government agencies work to make society a better place.
			RESUME: John Leben • Artist/Producer/Writer 321 Lakeshore Drive • Box 611 • Douglas, MI 49406 jleben@LebenProductions.com 269-857-4780 (Voice)• 269-857-3905 (Fax) Website: http://www.LebenProductions.com Education: Animation Studies – 1974 – University of Illinois/Chicago MFA/Painting – 1971 – School of the Art Institute of Chicago Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture – 1968 BFA/Painting – 1968 – University of Illinois/Champaign Employment: Working artist/writer /producer– 1977-present Owner/president - Leben Productions, Inc. – 1980-present Owner/President – Leben Design – 1977-80 Video Instructor – Grand Valley State University – 1998-99 Art Director – Deltak, Inc. – 1973-77 Drawing Instructor – Prarie State College – 1972-73 Art Supervisor – Blue Island, Illinois Schools K-8 – 1969-71 Art Teacher - St. Anne High School, St. Anne, Illinois – 1968-69 Honors & Awards: 2007 – Pfizer Purchase Award For the digital painting, “Upstairs House” exhibited at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art 2004 – Silver “Telly” Award for “Choosing the Right Road” Vocational Rehab Video 2001 - ArtServe Michigan Creative Artist Grant $8000 grant. One of 25 Michigan artists to receive this grant. I produced a video installation piece called “The Haircut” and exhibited it as part of a one-man show at the South Haven Center for the Arts in autumn, 2001. 2000 - Michigan Humanities Council Video Production Grant $5000 grant for research and scripting of The King of Beaver Island, a 60-minute public television documentary on the life and times of Mormon zealot, James Jesse Strang who, in the 1850’s declared Beaver Island a sovereign kingdom and himself it’s king. 2000 – Crooked Tree Arts Council Grant $2000 grant for production of The King of Beaver Island 2000 – Ransom Fidelity Company Grant $500. Grant for production of The King of Beaver Island 2000 - Cine Golden Eagle Award for Get It Done! Video documentary 1997 - Bronze “Telly” Award for The Lighthouse Keepers documentary 1997 - Honorable Mention: Grand Rapids Film Festival – Lighthouse Keepers 1997 - National “Vision” Award for Painting on Location TV Series 1997 - Bronze “Telly” Award – Painting on Location TV Series 1996 - National “Vision” Award for The Eaton-Bosch Alliance video 1995 - Finalist: Dance in Film – Steps in the Right Direction documentary 1995 - Best Documentary – Grand Rapids Film Festival – Steps in the Right Direction 1994 - Honorable Mention: Infocom Chicago – OUR TOWN: The Making of a Ballet 1994 - Bronze: Worldfest Houston – OUR TOWN: The Making of a Ballet documentary 1994 - Finalist: Danse ’94, Lyon, France – OUR TOWN: The Making of a Ballet 1993 - Gold: Worldfest Houston – Secrets of Successful Innkeeping documentary 1986 - Silver: Houston Int’l Film Festival – Adapt or Die documentary film 1985 - Emmy Nomination – WTTW-Chicago – Art Fair documentary 1971 - Raymond Post Graduate Fellowship – Art Institute of Chicago $3000 post graduate fellowship for study abroad 1969-71 - Scholarship – School of the Art Institute of Chicago Full 2-year tuition scholarship for completing the MFA program. 1968 - Kunioshi Fellowship - Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Fellowship for post BFA study at the Maine summer art school Fine Arts: Exhibits and Honors: My work in painting, drawing, sculpture and digital media has most often used technology as a theme, sometimes celebrating it, and other times, attacking its pervasive influence on our lives. I work in series, exhaustively exploring my themes with imagery springing from my intimate experience with the technology of media. Following is a select list of exhibitions I have participated in: 2007 – Upstairs House – Digital painting exhibited at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art West Michigan Regional Exhibition. 2006 – Snow Fence – Pen and Ink drawing exhibited in the national “Landscapes” exhibition at the Agora Online Art Gallery. 2001 – Haircut – Video installation and one-man show at the South Haven (Michigan) Center for the Arts 2000 –Digital etchings from the Mermaids & Speed Tiles series of digital etchings have won recognition at galleries and museums across the country including the Period Gallery in Omaha Nebraska, the Krempp Gallery in Jasper Indiana, the Muskegon (Michigan) Museum of Art, the Holland Area Arts Council, the Colfax Cultural Center in South Bend, Indiana, South Cobb Alliance in Mableton, Georgia, the Appleton (Wisconsin) Art Center, Gallery 212 in Ann Arbor, Michigan and the Texas Artist’s Museum in Corpus Christi. 2000 – Chamber - Digital Etching- Exhibitor at Union Images 2000 at the Chicago Cultural Center in Chicago 2000 – Chamber, Speed Tile Fish, Once A Mermaid – 3 digital etchings – exhibited at the Kranj Art Center in Kranj, Slovenia at the World Festival of Art on Paper Exhibition. 2000 – Of Speed Tiles & Mermaids – One-man show– Good Goods Gallery, Saugatuck 1999 – Slab Transport – Pen & Ink on paper – Included in “What’s So Funny” at the Marsh Art Gallery in Richmond VA and touring nationwide through 2000 1998 – Fabricated Nerd – Aluminum, wood and wire sculpture exhibited at the All Michigan Show at the Grand Rapids Art Museum. 1998 – Digital Spoons Playing Cards: Shuffle #6 – Set of playing cards created as digital prints. Exhibited at the1998 Area Show at the Kalamazoo Institute for the Arts. 1997 – I’ve Got the Tek-NO-Logical Blues – One-man show at Good Goods Gallery in Saugatuck, Michigan consisting of paintings, drawings, constructions, installation pieces and an allegorical game exploring the dangers of technological dependence. 1997 – Angry Slab With Speed Tile Birthing Grid – An installation piece for growing speed tiles. Exhibited in the Scratch & Sniff Show at the Gallery of the New School Academy in Grand Rapids, MI. 1997 – Digital Spoons: Shuffle #2 – A series of 54 digital playing cards displayed on one large panel for the Regional ’69 Exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art. 1997 – Speed Tile Migraine & Acceptance of the Hat – Two acrylic paintings on paper exhibited in the Great Lakes Regional Art Exhibition at the Midland Center for the Arts in Midland, Michigan. 1997 – Eating the Red Tiles – Acrylic painting on paper exhibited at the Three Rivers Arts Exhibition at CNG Towers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 1997 – Pandora’s Briefcase & So, What Did You Expect? Two aluminum and wire sculptures exhibited at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts small sculpture exhibit. 1997 – The Keewatin – Pen and Ink on paper exhibited at the invitational Painting the Town exhibition at the Saugatuck Historical Museum. 1997 – Slab with Speed Tiles & Captured Slab – Acrylic painting and aluminum and construction exhibited at the 1997 Area Show at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art. 1971 – Nine – Touring group show of nine emerging artists from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The show hung in Chicago at the Harris Bank and the First National Bank and institutions in Brazil and Sweden. 1971 – My Brother’s Robot – One-man show at the Michael Wyman Gallery in Chicago consisting of paintings and drawings of a robot created by the artist’s brother. The work utilized the degenerative effects of Xerox machines in their creation. Media Productions: I have produced over 200 television programs and videos as head of Leben Productions, Inc. using an ever-evolving collection of media production tools from 16 and 35mm film animation to today’s digital video cameras. I’ve produced numerous documentaries for public television including a 26-part series that has aired on over 100 public television stations and Canada. Following is a selection of my productions: 2007 – Bumbley.com – Webmaster/Owner - An extensive retail-based online art and craft gallery featuring the work of 60-plus American and Canadian artists and craftsmen. 2007 – Step Up/Step Out– Writer/Director/Producer – A 22-minute multi-lingual Interactive DVD commissioned by the Van Buren Technology Center to promote the high tech offerings of this technical high school. 2005 – MCTI – Writer/Director/Producer/Artist – Interactive website and CD-ROM combining Flash animations, video segments and Photoshop graphics, commissioned by the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth to market the programs available to people with disabilities at the Michigan Career & Technical Institute 2004 – Career Pathways & Adventures in Careers – Writer/Director/Producer – Two videos commissioned by the Michigan Department of Career Development aimed at high school and Junior High students to market career preparation issues in education. 2000 – Get It Done! – Writer/Director/Producer – A 15-minute motivational video for the State of Michigan to encourage disabled youth to seek training and careers 1998 – The Sound of March – Writer/Director/Editor – A 60-minute broadcast documentary funded by the Holland Zeeland Foundation on the importance of art and music in our schools and community. Broadcast on Michigan public television. 1996 – The Lighthouse Keepers – Writer/Director/Producer – A 60-minute documentary on the evolution of lighthouse keepers in Michigan from guardian to preservationist. Broadcast nationally on public television and The History Channel 1996 – Painting on Location: The Lighthouses of Michigan -Writer/Producer 13 30-minute programs on the art of watercolor painting with a focus on 13 Michigan lighthouses. Broadcast nationally on public television. 1995 – Painting on Location: The West Michigan Series -Writer/Producer 13 30-minute programs on the art of watercolor painting with a focus on Michigan historical and environmental themes. Broadcast nationally on public television. 1995 – OUR TOWN: The Making of A Ballet –Writer/Director/Editor/Producer 60-minute documentary goes behind the scenes of Grand Rapids Ballet during the production of this ballet based on the Thornton Wilder play. 1993 – The Ludington Carferry – Writer/Director/Editor/Producer 60-minute historical documentary on the demise and rebirth of the carferry service crossing Lake Michigan between Michigan and Wisconsin. Broadcast on Michigan and Wisconsin Public Television and The History Channel. 1985 – Art Fair – Writer/Director/Editor 30-minute documentary exploring the motivations and ambitions of art fair artists in Florida. Broadcast nationally on public television. 1985 – Adapt or Die – Designer/Director – 20-minute animated film documentary dramatizing the importance of adaptability in the Electronics industry. Publications: *Speed Tile* – Author of this full-length allegorical novel on the dangers of technological dependence. Published in 2000 by iUniverse. *Mid-Coast Imagery Magazine* – Designer and copy editor of this quarterly art journal dedicated to following the art scene in West Michigan. Published quarterly 1998-2006
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Leben Productions, Inc. • 321 Lakeshore Drive - Box 611 • Douglas, MI 49406 • 1-800-353-2232 • Fax: 269-857-3905 jleben@lebenproductions.com