Alumni in the Arts
Jessica Abel
Cartoonist
AB’91
She has authored such popular graphic novels and comics as La Perdida, Artbabe, and Life Sucks, and a DIY guide to making your own graphic novel.
Over the past century, University of Chicago alumni have had worldwide impact in the arts, from dance to contemporary music to the creation of the art of improvisational comedy.
(Photo by Carl Van Vechten)
Katherine Dunham, PhB’36 (1909–2006)
Internationally renowned dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and activist, who researched dance in Haiti and used her studies there to create pioneering work in folk and ethnic choreography.
On the set of Stop-Loss
Kimberly Peirce, AB’90
Film director, writer, and producer most noted for her award-winning debut feature, Boys Don’t Cry (1999), and Stop-Loss (2008), a film about the multiple redeployments of American soldiers to Iraq.
(Photo courtesy of Reuter’s)
Susan Sontag, AB’51 (1933–2004)
Critic, literary theorist, political activist, and author, perhaps most noted for her critical essays, Against Interpretation (1966).
(Photo courtesy of Reuter’s)
Kurt Vonnegut, AM’71 (1922–2007)
Author of Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions.
