Hello, I'm Swarty.

Hello, I'm John Swartwout (a.k.a. Swarty) John grew up in a rural area on the outskirts of Pine River, WI. Some say his family's nearest neighbor was two miles away, others say it was more like a mile and a half. Regardless of who you believe, he spent countless hours making things either in his family's garage or within the countless acreage of forest around his family home. Believe it or not, this almost limitless imagination led him to a path in the arts. He received his BFA from Viterbo University in La Crosse WI and later received his MFA from UW-Madison WI. Later, his art took him to the UK, Germany, and later Canada, where he was involved in community based art with ArtsAccess through the AGO in Toronto and wrangled teenagers for the Youth Arts Council(YAK). His artwork skates the peripheral of sculpture, film, and digital. He has shown his work nationally and internationally in venues such as: galleries, museums, and film festivals.