Rodney Quiriconi Collection
Bulk Dates
circa 1961 – 1972
Abstract
Small collection of home movies shot by Chicago artist Rodney Quiriconi. They depict gallery openings, trips to Maxwell Street, friends from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and family.
Collection Items
To request more information about the items in this collection, please contact the archive at
info@chicagofilmarchives.org.
Items with Viewable Media
Collection Identifier
C.2026-10
Extent of Collection
4 reels of 16mm (approx. 650'), 2 reels of 8mm (approx. 100') and one reel of Super 8mm (approx. 150').
Language Of Materials
English
Custodial History
CFA received the films from Tom Palazzolo in April 2026. He was given the films by Quiriconi's widow Donna after his passing.
Related Materials
Several films that Quiriconi worked on are part of the Tom Palazzolo Collection.
Use Restrictions
Chicago Film Archives holds the copyrights to the films in this collection.
Creators
Quiriconi, Rodney
(was created by)
Rodney Quiriconi was born in Chicago on October 10, 1933. His parents came from the same small town outside of Florence, Italy; when they emigrated to US, they moved to a Northern Italian neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago. He drew and painted as a child, and as a young man he shot film at family events.
Quiriconi served as a photographer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps near Stuttgart, Germany in 1954. Afterwards, he lived in Mexico for several months, then he went to live in NYC for a year before eventually coming home to Chicago in 1960. With help from the GI Bill, he enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and studied painting, receiving his BFA in 1961. Among the friends he made at SAIC were Jordan Davies, José Garcia, and independent filmmaker Tom Palazzolo. Palazzolo’s films and subject matter had a big influence on Quiriconi; they were both interested in life in Chicago and the variety of people and neighborhoods. Quiriconi was also a friend and colleague of many of the Hairy Who and other Chicago Imagists.
At the outset of the 1960s, Quiriconi was working as a painter, but gradually moved into making intricate, exquisitely crafted box constructions, using metal, glass, wood, and mirror. The earliest boxes were relatives of Joseph Cornell’s, with similar roots in a Surrealist collage sensibility, but deeper into the 1960s they became more stripped down and experimental. Quiriconi was neighbors with H.C. Westermann, whose use of rare woods directly influenced him. Over the years, Quiriconi was associated with several legendary Chicago galleries, including Dell Gallery and Phyllis Kind, and he participated in numerous exhibitions at the Hyde Park Art Center.[1]
He went on to get an MFA from SAIC in 1966, and won a traveling fellowship and went to Europe. He lectured on film and painting at the Art Institute for a few years, and then went on to teach at the City Colleges of Chicago Truman campus.
Quiriconi and his wife Donna had two children, Rico and Katrina. The couple retired in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin in the late 1990s, where Rodney continued to practice art of different mediums, often under the pseudonyms A.E. Boccanegra and Don Tutto-Matto. He passed away in March 2026.
Quiriconi served as a photographer in the U.S. Army Signal Corps near Stuttgart, Germany in 1954. Afterwards, he lived in Mexico for several months, then he went to live in NYC for a year before eventually coming home to Chicago in 1960. With help from the GI Bill, he enrolled at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and studied painting, receiving his BFA in 1961. Among the friends he made at SAIC were Jordan Davies, José Garcia, and independent filmmaker Tom Palazzolo. Palazzolo’s films and subject matter had a big influence on Quiriconi; they were both interested in life in Chicago and the variety of people and neighborhoods. Quiriconi was also a friend and colleague of many of the Hairy Who and other Chicago Imagists.
At the outset of the 1960s, Quiriconi was working as a painter, but gradually moved into making intricate, exquisitely crafted box constructions, using metal, glass, wood, and mirror. The earliest boxes were relatives of Joseph Cornell’s, with similar roots in a Surrealist collage sensibility, but deeper into the 1960s they became more stripped down and experimental. Quiriconi was neighbors with H.C. Westermann, whose use of rare woods directly influenced him. Over the years, Quiriconi was associated with several legendary Chicago galleries, including Dell Gallery and Phyllis Kind, and he participated in numerous exhibitions at the Hyde Park Art Center.[1]
He went on to get an MFA from SAIC in 1966, and won a traveling fellowship and went to Europe. He lectured on film and painting at the Art Institute for a few years, and then went on to teach at the City Colleges of Chicago Truman campus.
Quiriconi and his wife Donna had two children, Rico and Katrina. The couple retired in Manitowish Waters, Wisconsin in the late 1990s, where Rodney continued to practice art of different mediums, often under the pseudonyms A.E. Boccanegra and Don Tutto-Matto. He passed away in March 2026.