© Laura J Gerlach
www.laurajphotography.de
American interdisciplinary artist Michelle Jaffé creates immersive works that prompt active listening. Her sculpture, sound and video installations present complex experiential propositions. To enter them, can increase awareness of the volatile structures percolating in the underbelly of society. Jaffé sculpts sound in space, through cutting edge programing in SuperCollider, Reaper, Max & speaker technologies of Holosonic & Wave Field Synthesis. She works with sound to expand sculptural experience, as a gestalt to forge new neural connections, by engaging mind, body & limbic brain simultaneously.
Seminal influences: at a young age, Jaffé was transported by the immensity of Stanley Kubrick’s vision for “2001”: powerful images paired with compelling sound design. Other influences are LaMonte Young's "Well Tuned Piano" where overtones hang in the air as cumulative vibrational mass; and experiencing the physical, disorienting effect of Richard Serra’s “Tilted Arcs”. Jaffé shares a sensibility for scale with Jackson Pollock and a sense for the comedic and the theatrical with Oskar Schlemmer, Robert Wilson and Pina Bausch.
Jaffé has exhibited at The New Media Gallery, Vancouver, Beall Center for Art + Technology, UC Irvine, Duke University Power Plant Gallery, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, WhiteBox Harlem, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Milton Art Bank, PA, Morlan Gallery at Transylvania University, Lexington, KY and solo shows in New York City at 11 Rivington, Bosi Contemporary, Wald & Po Kim Foundation, Susan Berko-Conde Gallery.
Jaffé has been awarded a New Works grant from Harvestworks Digital Media, 3 Individual Artist grants from NYSCA, 4 QAF grants from Queens Council on the Arts and is a 4 time fiscally sponsored artist of NYFA and has been a panelist for NYSCA.
Jaffé was Artist-in-Residence to the Computer Music Department at Brooklyn College and has been awarded residencies at the Exchange Museum and The Newlyn Gallery in England, MacDowell Colony and Djerassi.
For Jaffé's iconic work Wappen Field, 12 chrome plated steel helmets, LED’s, vocal composition and SuperCollider are deployed to create an enveloping sonic installation. Poet Douglas Crase has said “Whether in the immersive dimensions of Wappen Field or the exquisite chamber work Awakening, (an experiential light and soundscape recorded at Walter De Maria’s Lightning Field), she has opened apertures on the sublime which render it visible, audible, and imminent.”
Video work, “Tea with Estelle” is in the museum collection of Listasafn Islands National Gallery of Iceland. Jaffé's design work is extensively collected by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology and Palais Galliera - Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.
Michelle Jaffé
SOLO EXHIBITIONS and INSTALLATIONS
2023
Harvestworks Govenor's Island, LocaleS3, Harvestworks New Works Residency award
2021
11 Rivington, NY, Murmur/Mutter/Yell, Lower East Side presentation
2019
White Box, NY, Differing Facets in our Distinct Futures, 3 person show curated by Lara Pan
Milton Art Bank, Milton, PA, Soul Junk
2016
NYCEMF, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Soul Junk: Work-in-Progress
2015
Transylvania University, Home and Field: Digital Explorations of Community (Wappen Field), Lexington, KY
Bosi Contemporary, Come to Bed!, 3-person solo show, curated by Roya Sachs, NY
2014
Valentine Gallery, Neural: Soul Junk, Work-in-Progress, NY
2013
Valentine Gallery, Neural: Cleave, Work-in-Progress, sound installation, NY
2012
Bosi Contemporary, Wappen Field, New York
Bushwick Open Studios, Ridgewood, NY
Queens Museum of Art, Queens International 2012: Three Points Make a Traingle, NY
Queens Art Express 2012, Queens Council on the Arts, Wappen Field, New York
Sylvia Wald and Po Kim Art Gallery, Non Profit Foundation, Awakening,New York
2011
UICA, Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Wappen Field, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Park Avenue Armory, Kathleen Jewett, Curator Watusi Regime-Cod Variations, NY
2010
Susan Berko-Conde Gallery/E.M. Berko Archive, New Work, NY, NY
ArtWare at the Armory, NY, NY
2008
The Broadway Gallery, Malka Lubelski Cultural Foundation, Wappen Field: Work in Progress, NY, NY
Djerassi, Bed of Nails, Iraq 4000, Woodside, CA
PS1's Backside, Site Specific Installation, Between the Clock and the Bed, 45-46 21st Street, Long Island City, NY
2005
Brooklyn College, NY, The Booth Project, Sound Installation, Electro-Acoustic Festival
2004
150 m3 Largus, Austellungs und Projektraum, Installation, Cologne, Germany
Susan Conde Gallery, New York, NY, Vestments: New Sculpture
2002
Alison Bradley Salon, New York, New York
Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, New York, Vestment
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023
Listasafn Islands National Gallery of Iceland, museum permanent collection, gift of Helgi Þorgils-Friðjónsson and Rakel Halldorsdottir, Reykjavík, Iceland, Tea with Estelle: Covid 19
2022
White Box, Ballots not Bullets, (Crossing the Fire Wall), New York
Southampton Arts Center, A Celebration of Trees, curated by Laurie Dolphin, (Awakening)
Van der Grinten Galerie, The Schuh Show, curated by Ruth Marten, Cologne, Germany
2018
Artworks Advisory, Under the Parachute of Shapes & Colors, curated by Lara Pan, NY, NY
Newlyn Art Gallery, Structures, Newlyn, Cornwall, England
2017
New Media Gallery, Voicing, (Wappen Field) with Marcus Coates & Martin Backes, Vancouver
Platform Art Fair, Film, Anyone Can Apply for the Job, Los Angeles
AptArt, A View from the Cloud, curated by Nina Colosi, Streaming Museum, New York
IUCA+D Art Gallery, Indiana University, In Conversation, curator Stephanie Buhmann
The Power Plant, Duke University, Soundings: Protest\Politics\Dissent, Durham, NC
2016
The Sunview Luncheonette, curated by Michael Schumacher, Performance, NY
Stony Brook University, Fifty years of Music and Technology, From Sine Waves to Robots, NY
The Exchange Museum, Restructured, Penzance, England
Macy Art Gallery, Teachers College, Columbia University, In Conversation, by Stephanie Buhmann, NY
2015
Songs For Presidents, Total Styrene--True Believer, curated by Lizzie Scott, NY
Shirley Fiterman Art Center, BMCC, In Conversation, curated by Stephanie Buhmann
2014
Sylvia Wald & Po Kim Art Gallery Foundation, Painting Black, curated by Ivo Ringe, NY, NY
George Washington University, L.W. Brady Art Gallery, What Not to Wear: Women Sculptors, DC
2013
Beall Center for Art + Technology, University of California-Irvine, Sight and Sound, (Wappen Field)
Wave Hill, Tandem Pursuits: Armor & Ichthyology, New York
Stephan Stoyanov, All of Me, New York
NYFA Benefit, Wappen Field, curated by David Terry
2012
Arizona State University, Momentum: Women/Art/Technology, symposium by Muriel Magenta
1285 Avenue of the Americas Art Gallery, To be a Lady: a century of women in the arts, curated by Jason Andrew, New York
Queens Museum of Art, Dystorpia, Media series curated by Arlan Londano & Gabriel Roldos
Queens Museum of Art, Queens International 2012: Three Points Make a Triangle
Norte Maar, Bushwick Open Studios, NY
New York Foundation for the Arts, NYFA Boot Camp II Exhibition, New York
2011
Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Chain Letter, Santa Monica, CA
2010
New York Foundation for the Arts, NYFA Boot Camp Exhibition, New York
ArtWare at The Armory, New York, NY
2009
Susan Berko-Conde Gallery/E.M. Berko Archive, The Lightness of Being, New York
2008
Islip Art Museum, Fashion Forward, East Islip, NY
Lehman College Art Gallery, Informed by Function, Bronx, NY
2007
Truro Center for the Arts, Castle Hill, 10 Painters Invite 10 Others, MA
Middlebury College Museum of Art, Transparency, VT
2006
Corridor Gallery, Transparency, Reykjavik, Iceland
2006 Bellevue Biennial Sculpture Exhibition, Bellevue, WA
Victory Hall, ProArts, Beth Venn, Curator, Jersey City, NJ
Galerie Karin Sachs, Munich, Vienna Art Fair, Vienna, Austria
2005
Sacred Heart University, WetLab: The New Nexus between Art and Science, Fairfield, CT
150m3 Largus, Projektraum, Uns geht es gut und danke fur den Fisch, Cologne, Germany
2004
Islip Art Museum, Site Specifics ‘04, East Islip, NY
University of California Santa Barbara, Fracturing Fairy Tales, CA
2003
New York Studio School, Vulnerability, Bill Jensen, Curator, NY
2002
Nexus Gallery, Craig Houser, Curator, NY
Ceres Gallery, NY, Charlotta Kotik, Curator, NY
2001
Barrett Art Center, New Directions 01, Charlotta Kotik, Curator, Poughkeepsie, NY
New York Studio School, Beckoning Vision, Karen Wilkin, Curator, NY
2000
Artist’s Space, Drawing Benefit, NY
1996
New York Dharmadhatu/Shambala, Dharmic Expressions, Daniel Berlin, Curator, NY
1993
New York Studio School, Drawings, NY
1987
Museé de la Mode et du Costume, From the Museum’s Collection, Paris, France
1983
New York University, Political Art, Coosje Van Bruggen, Curator, NY
AWARDS and RESIDENCIES
2023
Queens Council on the Arts, QAF for Grifter’s Gambit
New York Foundation for the Arts, Fiscal Sponsorship for Grifter's Gambit
Harvestworks New Works award for LocaleS3
2021
New York State Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant for Murmur/Mutter/Yell
2020
Queens Council on the Arts, QAF Grant for Murmur/Mutter/Yell
New York Foundation for the Arts, Fiscal Sponsorship for Murmur/Mutter/Yell
Newlyn Art Gallery & The Exchange, Restructured Residency, Newlyn, England
2016
The Exchange Museum, The Engine Room, Restructured Residency, Penzance, England
2014
Queens Council on the Arts, QAF Grant for Neural: Cleave
2013
New York Foundation for the Arts, Fiscal Sponsorship for Soul Junk
Queens Council on the Arts, QAF Grant for Neural: Cleave
2011
New York State Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant, New Media
2010
New York Foundation for the Arts, Artist as Entrepreneur Boot Camp
2009
New York Foundation for the Arts, Education Opportunity Grant
Queens Council on the Arts, NY, Artist Leader Peer Circle
2008
New York State Council on the Arts, Individual Artist Grant for Wappen Field
Queens Council on the Arts, NY, IAI, Independent Artists Initiative
New York Foundation for the Arts, Fiscal Sponsorship for Wappen Field, Sculpture/Sound
Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Pritzker Foundation Endowed Fellowship, Woodside, CA
2005
The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH
2004
Brooklyn College, Artist-In-Residence, Department of Computer Music, Brooklyn, NY
MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Listasafn Islands National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavík
Palais Galleria-Museé de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, France
Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA, collection and archives
The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NY
SELECTED PRESS
2022
On Autumn Lake, The Collected Essays, Douglas Crase, 2022, Aperture on a Virtual World, p. 340-351
2017
Lines from London Terrace: Essays & Addresses, Douglas Crase, 2017, Aperture on a Virtual World, p. 229-238
2016
M/E/A/N/I/N/G, edited by Mira Schor & Susan Bee, Final Issue, December 17, 2016,
http://ayearofpositivethinking.com/2016/12/17/meaning-the-final-issue-on-a-year-of-positive-thinking-7/
Gorky's Granddaughter, Video Interview November 13, 2016, http://michellejaffe.com/soul-junk
Paris Diary by Laure de Gramont, http://parisdiarybylaure.com/cornwall-old-new/#comment-1891
WBAI FM Radio Interview, State of the Arts NYC, Savona Bailey-McClain, July 1, 2016
New York Studio Conversations: 17 Women Talk About Art, Stephanie Buhmann, The Green Box, Kunst Editionen, 2016, p. 174-183
2015
Under Main, Christine Huskisson, To What Do We Belong, October 9, 2015
Lexington Herald-Leader, September 2015 Gallery Hop Highlights, September 17, 2015
NYFA Current, A Conversation with Artist Michelle Jaffé, by Madeleine Cutrona, April 17, 2015
Bedford & Bowery, Come to Bed for some Pillow Talk with this Artist!, Angelica Frey, 3/26/2015
2014
Washington Post, In the galleries: Where nature and art come together, Women Sculptors, Mark Jenkins, June 20, 2014
2013
Queens Tribune, Sound Artist Visits QCA, Trisha Sakhuja, November 21, 2013
Interview: Beall Center for Art + Technology, “Sight and Sound: Michelle Jaffé - Wappen Field,” October 3, 2013
The New York Times, Where Medieval Armor Meets the Aquatic, Susan Hodara, 9/19/13, p. WE9
StephanieBuhmann.com, Interview 01, Stephanie Buhmann, January 29, 2013
2012
A Public Space, Aperture On A Virtual Field, Douglas Crase, Winter No. 17, 2012, p. 68-79
e_fagia, DisTorpia Media Series, exhibition brochure, Gabriel Roldos & Arlan Landano, p4
MacDowell Colony Bulletin, Cover, Wappen Field, Vol. 41, No 1 Summer 2012
NY Arts, 3rd Generation, from Rome to LES, by Sandro Bosi, July 25, 2012
World Sculpture News, Awakening by Michelle Jaffé, by Robert C. Morgan, Hong Kong
New York Culture Beat, Awakening by Michelle Jaffé & "Visitors" by Heather Sheehan, Suki Park, March 20, 2012, http://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?mid=Art&document_srl=36831
Wall Street Journal, Arts Scene Sprouts in Ridgewood, Queens, Kavita Mokha, 1/27/2012, p. A20
2011
The Profitable Artist, edited by Peter Cobb, Susan Ball, Felicity Hogan, p 212, p 218
Grand Rapids Press, UICA exhibit embodies ArtPrize, Joseph Becherer, 9/27/11, p. A7
Fox 17 News, Grand Rapids, Live Interview: Wappen Field, 9/19/11
Grand Rapids Press, GVSU ArtPrize Project, UICA review, Dale Johnson, 10/3/11
Grand Rapids Press, GVSU ArtPrize Project, review of UICA works, Jessica Smith, 10/8/11
Grand Rapids Press, Photo Opening Night UICA, 9/21/11
Yahoo News,
USA Today, ArtPrize draws Wild, wonderful works to Grand Rapids, October 2011
Channel 13 Grand Rapids, Jessica Puchala, 9/27/11
Rutgers University, Mason Gross Gallery, Momentum: Women/Art/Technology
Art Experience NYC, On Notice, Beyond Art Galleries, Claire Lieberman, Vol 1, No 4 Fall 2011, p 16-33, online magazine
Art Experience NYC, When Bad is Good, Creativity and the Downturn, Claire Lieberman, Vol 1., No 3 Summer 2011, p 26-37, online magazine
2010
The New York Times, Canterbury Tales in Staten Island and Other Budget Fun, November 4
California Home & Design, Fjord Collection, April 2010
New York Spaces, Fjord Collection, March 2010
The Denver Post, In House: Heartfelt Housewares, February 27, 2010
The New York Times, Bowls That Could Double as Hats, Elaine Louie, February 4, 2010, D3
2009
Walrus, The Whole Story, Helen Humphreys, April 2009, p.48-51
The New York Times, Where Fashion Meets Its Artistic Match, Benjamin Genocchio, LI edition, January 8, 2009
2008
New York Arts Magazine online, The Seen and Unseen, Milton Fletcher, November 2008
Newsday, Clothes calls: What the artists are saying, Steve Parks, November 28, 2008, p. B22
The Suffolk County News, Assorted apparel tapered as art, Tinamarie Caputo, December 18, 2008, p. 13
Islip Bulletin, Assorted apparel tapered as art, Tinamarie Caputo, December 11, 2008, p.12
2006
2006 Bellevue Biennial Sculpture Exhibition, Interview with the Artists, Podcast, WA, August 2006
City of Bellevue TV, It’s Your City, 2006 Bellevue Biennial Sculpture Exhibition, WA, July 2006
2005
Four Seasons, Forbes Publishing, The Home Collection, Brook S. Mason, December 2005, p. 124
2004
The New York Times, Site Specifics ‘04, Helen Harrison, July 11, 2004, p. 11, LI edition
Islip Art Museum, Site Specifics ‘04, Karen Shaw
TALKS, CRITS and TEACHING
2022
Arts Center Capital Region,Troy, NY, Co-lead NYSCA Immersive Art & Technology seminar with Seth Cluett, Demonstrations by Mike Bullock & Matthew Gantt
Arts Center Capital Region, NY, Critical Forum
2021
Panel Talk, Murmur/Mutter/Yell, Lara Pan moderator: Carol Parkinson, Sergio Krakowski, Ak2deru, Michelle Jaffé
Panelist for NYSCA 2022 Creativity Grant
Visiting Artist, Wonsook Kim School of Art at Illinois State University
ArtBox DMV Podcast with Jason T. Edwards, WERA 96.7 FM, Episode #52
Arts Center Capital Region, NY, Critical Forum
2020
Dr. Jill H. Casid in conversation with Michelle Jaffé about Murmur/Mutter/Yell
Columbia University MFA, Conversations with an Artist, Teacher: Susanna Coffey
Arts Center Capital Region, NY, Critical Forum
New York Studio School, In Conversation with Joy Episalla, NY
Arts Center Capital Region, NY, Critical Forum
2018
UC Davis, Mentor a Student, (Teacher: Gina Werfel)
Leonardo, Laser Talk, Creative Tech Week, LISA-Leaders in Software & Art, speakers: Zachary Kaplan, Ursula Endlicher, NY
2016
Queens Council on the Arts, Exhibitions & Representation for Artists, Valerie McKenzie & Nico Wheadon, Michelle Jaffé
Stony Brook University, 50th Anniversary of Experiments in Art & Technology, cDACT
Creative Tech Week, LISA-Leaders in Software & Art, Expert Talk: My Work, NY
2015
Leonardo, Laser Talk, invited by Ellen Levy & Patricia Olynyk, New York
2013
2011-2014
2010
NYFA, Ambitious Art Projects and How to Make Them Happen: Four Artists’ Stories
New York, 12 Artists Present, Salon by Catherine Eaton, Roger Smith Hotel
QMAD at Crossing Art, A-Lab Forum: Artivism, Curator: Hector Canonge, New York
EXHIBITIONS CURATED by Michelle Jaffé
Voices of Anxious Objects, Ken Butler performs at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY, 2019
Soul Junk Live, Electro Acoustic Music , Milton Art Bank, Joshua Fried, Dafna Naftali, Hans Tammen, 2017
Correspondences, group exhibition, Tibor de Nagy, New York, NY, 2017
PS1’s Backside, Chris Coffin, Kristine Robinson, Chris Walsh, Michelle Jaffé, LIC, NY, 2008
VIDEO FILMS - Interviews | Events
2021
Michelle Jaffé interviews assume vivid astro focus, Hairy What, Hairy How?, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY
2019
Connie Lewallen: Bill Berkson's A Frank O'Hara Notebook, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY
Ken Butler performs Voices of Anxious Objects at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY
2018
Douglas Crase reads The Revisionist, The Astropastorals, New York, August 21, 2018
A Converstion amongst Artists Delia Brown, Inka Essenhigh, Hilary Harkness, Critic Sarah Rodriguez, June 9, Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY
Douglas Crase reads at St. Mark's Poetry Project, May 9, New York
Heather Sheehan reads from An Unfinished Novel - for Dieter, February 20, Penzance, UK
2017
Brice Brown of Milton Art Bank interviews Michelle Jaffé about Soul Junk , November
Michelle Jaffé interviews artist Brice Brown about non profit Milton Art Bank, November
Joshua Fried & Hans Tammen perform Soul Junk Live excerpts
2016
Shirley Jaffe, Artist Memorial at Tibor de Nagy Gallery, NY
EDUCATION
2002
Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center, NY, Certificate
1992
New York Studio School, NY, Sculpture
1991
Sculpture Center School, NY, Stone Carving
1979
University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, BA Honours, Fine Arts and French Literature
Dissertation: Henri Michaux: Un Poete Peintre Nietzchien
Like the canary in the coal mine, I alert people to psychologically hazardous conditions. My interdisciplinary sculpture, sound and video installations present complex experiential propositions. Each medium serves the whole to create a unified realm greater than the sum of its parts. To enter it, can increase awareness of the volatile structures percolating in the underbelly of society, illuminating alternative pathways where new neural connections can forge positive change.
From 2000, my work probes the psychic and architectural housing of clothing that serve as protective shields. Armored behind a logo or curated style, we proclaim the desire to belong and the fear of the other. Sculpting volume out of aluminum, steel, nylon and vinyl with a precise economy of line, I explored these themes in the series Vestments (2000-2004) and Cod Variations (2005-2007). The archetypal shapes reflected how we signal community to the group, family, team, tribe or religious order we identify with.
Since 2003, I have woven sound into installation using innovative speaker technologies. The resulting 3-dimensional experience punctures rational and linguistic defenses, engaging mind & body simultaneously. WAPPEN FIELD (2003-2015) is a participatory sculpture installation. A confrontational phalanx of 12 chrome plated steel helmets recruit visitors to enter and hear a 27-minute vocal composition through SuperCollider programming. Each helmet is a resonant chamber, where their dedicated speakers transform the sculptural installation into an immersive audio environment.
SOUL JUNK (2013-2019) is an experiential 3-channel audio/video installation. We are placed inside a female mind contemplating love, family trauma and attitudes of those in power, to witness stream of consciousness synaptic firing in the brain. Video is projected onto sculptural materials, creating fractured images. Audio spotlight speakers focus sound physically & aurally. We walk in and out of their beams. Speaker/projections triangulate. Standing where the focused beam of two speakers cross, we hear opposing narratives. Hurled against one another in rapid fire, they echo the information overload of our times. Conversely, standing further away from a source, we hear its singular voice more acutely. Ultimately, we experience both the hive & the clarity of one.
MURMUR / MUTTER / YELL (M/M/Y 2019 - ) sound and light installation, employs Wave Field Synthesis speakers to sculpt the 35 minute vocal composition dynamically in space. The libretto creates a dreamlike conversation between the conscious & subconscious mind as it processes the implications of private data mined every time we click 'Agree'. The experience is designed to attenuate how we, the raw material of 21st century colonization, are ripe for manipulation. M/M/Y highlights the powerful forces at work in the dark matter of connectivity.