“Jazz Goat” | Tim Decker

Zion, IL

Tim Decker helped come up with the idea for Black Cat Alley when, as a professor in UWM’s animation department, he saw students cutting through the dark alley after classes. His idea: why not light up the alley, and cover it with art, so that a negative could be turned into a positive? Tim was one of the first ones to paint a mural in the alley, and he graced us with the crazy “Jazz Goat,” and a little scribble promising, “Art = Change.” The Black Cat Alley, per Tim’s advice, is named after the UWM Panther mascot. The Jazz Goat piece was featured in the Alley through the Summer of 2020.

Tim Decker has played an important role in children’s entertainment over the past several decades. With extensive experience in-game animation, character design, and children’s television, Tim has taken on the roles of Animation Supervisor for Disney Interactive, lead animator for Knowledge Adventure, and layout artist/animator for the award-winning television series The Simpsons. As well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Alvin and Chipmunks, and the Critic. He has also appeared on many episodes of the Imagination Station as a guest artist inspiring children in the art of animation and cartooning. He has extensive experience directing animation in Canada, India, Korea, and the United States.