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Biography       Alamo & Costello (aka Michael "Chester" Costello, b. 1967) began his career as a photo-based artist in 1987 utilizing photography coupled with audience interaction in Indianapolis, Indiana. One of his early efforts, "Slurs, Blurs, Recent Renderings and Other Devices", was produced for the 431 Gallery. Collaborating with Jesse Bercowetz, photography, painting, and other two-dimensional artworks were produced with the assistance of the general public by opening the gallery and asking random passersby to aid in the production and installation of a large autoschediastic photo-painting measuring 9 by 108 feet over the course of 2 weeks.       In 1991, Costello co-founded  Armpit: A Roving Street Gallery in Indianapolis with Bercowetz and Michael Plaza. This collective relocated in 1993 to Chicago, Illinois. Between 1991 and 1997,  Armpit produced a number of impromptu performance works that utilized an ecclectic assortment of nontraditional mediums (e.g. dumpster-diving and video); these often random actions were presented throughout the Midwest in the United States. Frequently, these enterprises addressed current regional events through the creation of a street-level dialogue in areas outside the traditional gallery and museum environment. A central focus of the  Armpit projects was to comment upon the cloaked proclamations espoused by cultural elitists and the powerful individuals who supported them.       Costello continued this style in his use of photography and other media to stimulate public discourse in efforts produced in Chicago for the Museum of Contemporary Photography ( Heroic Efforts, 1997) and the Hyde Park Art Center ( The Men Who Sold the World, 2000). In each of these projects he offered money or selected artworks produced specifically for these exhibitions to the audience - free of charge - as a commentary on the pervasive ties between improperly regulated commercialism and the fine art establishment.       In 1998, Costello received a CAAP Grant from the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Chicago to produce "Searching for Geomantrick". This project consisted of the creation of 60 photo-transparency light boxes that were distributed to 20 Chicago parks for casual passersby to find, keep and respond to via a self-addressed envelope or a visit to the project's internet website.   "Searching for Geomantrick" was Costello's initial attempt to address issues of communication and trust through the creation of a photo-based social experiment.       In 1999, Costello began the  "Appleseed International" project with the support of another CAAP Grant from the City of Chicago. This project was developed to broaden the scope of  "Searching for Geomantrick" to include international venues. This social-based venture consisted of producing 280 natural light boxes (Appleseeds) and traveling to 40 cities (20 in the U.S. and 20 abroad) to distribute the artworks in city parks. As in Geomantrick, an introduction and invitation to participate in the project was included, but written in the primary language of each country visited. This information was translated from English into Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Italian, Russian, and Swedish. In addition to locations in the United States, Appleseed, included site visits to Belgium, Canada, England, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland. The final drop-offs were completed in August 2004. At this time, 72  Appleseed finders have responded to the photo-object deposits with cards, letters, e-mail messages, and artworks of their own. A catalog and traveling exhibition is currently under production on the Appleseed findings.       In 2005 Costello began " New Street Agenda" as a continuation of his previous works "Searching for Geomantrick" and "Appleseed International". Using information encountered in the public domain, " New Street Agenda" addresses the contradictory and deceptive approaches utilized in commercial advertising, political campaigning, social commentary, and other formats of literal and image-based description. In the spring of 2007, Costello placed the initial artworks in public places for retrieval in Rome, (IT); Salzburg, (AT); and Munich, (DE). In the autumn, artworks were placed in the Liverpool (UK) and Manchester (UK) and Indianapolis, IN (US). In the spring of 2008, art drops were placed in New York, NY (US).       In addition to the aforementioned experimental efforts, Alamo & Costello has maintained a strong relationship with what is frequently defined as "straight approaches" to image making. A handful of the ongoing projects currently being pursued consist of (7 Minutes SW of the Loop) a document on Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood southwest of the Loop, (University) a social and topographic look at the makeup of the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, and (Street Notes) a series of images that contrasts the aggressive and raw street graphics that appear in the public domain from various countries.       In July 2008, Costello's initial book, " Grandpa Danny" will be released by Dark Lark Press, Chicago, Illinois. Costello writes, "On September 10, 1967, I met Danny Uberto for the first time. Honestly, I do not recall our first meeting. I was most likely crying, kicking, and screaming at the top of my lungs. Danny was undoubtedly quiet, attentive, and a bit stunned. Memory of this conversation eludes me for this was the day that I became Danny’s first grandchild." This book is a collection of photographs made since 1987 contrasted with items from his family's archives, and objects that he located in private places in his grandfather's home.       Alamo & Costello completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts from John Herron School of Art (IUPUI) in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1991, and a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia College Chicago in 1998. From 1995 to 2001, he was an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Photography at Columbia College Chicago. In 1999, he began his tenure at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, as the Visual Arts Coordinator in the Department of Fine Arts. Since 2001, Costello has chaired the Department of Visual Arts.