in art
Performance by Ruth Burke (MFA ‘17) Cover artwork by Jon Verney (MFA ‘16), Thermophile Read more about John’s work on p. 22. 1
Photo by Nicholas Williams (BFA ‘16)
Table of Contents 3 / S T A M P S M FA E X P E R I E N C E
1 3 / Y O U R FA C U L T Y
3 5 / PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
7 / M FA S T U D I O S
1 5 / SM ALL SCHOOL , BIG UNIVERSITY
3 6 / A L U M N I S P O T L I G H T
9 / I N T E R N A T I O N A L T R AV E L
1 7 / A N N A R B O R
3 7 / D E G R E E R E Q U I R E M E N T S
1 1 / V I S I T I N G A R T I S T S
2 1 / M FA S T U D E N T W O R K
3 8 / H O W T O A P P LY
2
Photo by Nicholas Williams (BFA ‘16)
Stamps MFA Experience
F O R A R T I S T S W O R K I N G I N T H E 2 1 S T C E N T U R Y,
devise new approaches that push the boundaries
the array of approaches to researching concepts,
of their creative practice. When artists extend
exploring methods, and creating new work is
themselves into the world, working in and beyond
nearly limitless. Active inquiry — critical, creative,
the studio, incredible discoveries are made. Stamps
and cross-disciplinary — is an integral part of
MFA students synthesize knowledge, skills, and
graduate study at Stamps. Our MFA students have
experiences into creative work that provides (and
the freedom, resources, and support systems they
provokes) new insights about life, environments,
need to investigate concepts across fields of study,
culture, society, and the complex networks of
create work in a wide variety of mediums, and
relationships that bind them together.
Sculpture by Shane Darwent (MFA ’17)
3
Photo by James Rotz (MFA ‘14)
Having experienced dozens of MFA thesis shows over the years, I was incredibly impressed by the supportive and ambitious environment of the Stamps School of Art & Design. It was rare to visit a thesis program in which the execution of the work, the conceptual aspects of the work, and the presentation of the work were all equally considered. – LU M I TA N , C U R AT OR AT T H E K I T C H E N , N E W YOR K
T H E T W O -Y E A R M FA C U R R I C U L U M A T S T A M P S
environment, students at Stamps have direct
is ideal for artists interested in integrating
access to the unparalleled range of researchers,
their creative work with academic inquiry and
collaborators, and fields of study available only
international engagement in an environment
at a top-tier university. The result is a dynamic,
that provides access to a full range of media
synergy-rich environment where curiosity leads to
and technologies for art production. In addition
refreshing, conceptually strong creative output.
to strong faculty mentorships and a rich studio
The Stamps School of Art & Design is ranked among the top 20 art and design graduate schools in the U.S. U. S . N E WS & WOR L D R E PORT • 2 016
4
The power STAMPS FULL -TIME FACULTY
of mentorship OF ARTISTS AND SCHOLARS
and strategic HELP SHAPE THE PROGRAM
career planning
Installation by Carolyn Gennari (MFA ‘17) Photos by Nicholas Williams (BFA ‘16)
5
Throughout the two-year program, our faculty of artists and scholars work closely with students to shape an intellectually-rigorous program of study, individually suited to each candidate’s areas of interests and expertise. B E C AU S E C L O S E W O R K I N G R E L AT I O N S H I P S
In addition to their creative studies, each
with faculty are a key component of graduate
graduate student participates in a strategic
study at Stamps, applicants are asked to
planning process for post graduation,
identify three Stamps faculty members who
developing an individualized career
they feel would potentially be suitable mentors
trajectory, with financial support available
and advisors during their course of study.
for transitional professional opportunities.
6
Expansive IN FACULTY / GRADUATE
Individual STUDIO BUILDING
Studios 1919 GREEN RD, ANN ARBOR
Students conduct their creative work in spacious, fully equipped studios in a 33,000 square-foot building that also houses faculty studios, project space, wood shop, metals shop, digital media studio, and large shared working and meeting areas. A T S T A M P S , G R A D U A T E S T U D E N T S A L S O H AV E 2 4 / 7
access to large state-of-the-art metals, fibers, ceramics, sculpture, wood, printmaking, digital media, and digital fabrication studios, as well as a range of resources only available at a top research university, such as audio engineering booths, robotic labs, virtual reality studios, specialized libraries, institutes and collections, botanical gardens, and much more. Photo by James Rotz (MFA ‘14)
7
8
International Travel & Study
Ruth Burke at the Blue Mosque (MFA ‘17)
Each student leads a self-directed international project S TA M P S R E C O G N I Z E S T H AT C R E AT I V E PR AC T IC E
is now global in its scope and impact. With funding support from the School, each student conducts a self-directed international project. Past graduates’ international research has ranged from researching the residual effects of colonialism in South Africa; to conducting sound recordings in Egypt’s museums, tombs and temples; to traveling to Prague to participate in a two-month residency at the MeetFactory International Center of Contemporary Art.
9
Generous STIPENDS
Financial ASSISTANTSHIPS
Support TUITION WAIVERS
T H E S TA M P S S C HO OL OF F E R S G E N E ROU S
financial support to all graduate students, in addition to teaching/research assistantships, stipends, and discretionary funds that offset studio expenses and international travel. Financial awards are
Alisa Yang (MFA ‘16) Please Come Again Please Come Again is a multimedia
held throughout both years of study and enable focused creative work as well
exhibition exploring the sensory
as opportunities to gain experience in
environment and culture of love
teaching and arts management.
hotels in Japan. The show includes photography, installations, and a Photo by Carl Greene
three-channel projection navigating the themed rooms in love hotels as a metaphor for the female body in contemplating one’s memory, sexuality, and cultural identity. alisayang.com
10
Stamps Visiting STAMPS DISTINGUISHED
Artists, Writers SPEAKER SERIES
and Curators
Students have direct access to the wide array of creative innovators who are part of the Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series and the Witt Visitors Program. Visiting artists and lecturers meet with graduate students for individual studio visits.
11
Ryoji Ikeda, Installation Artist and Electronic Composer
PE N N Y S TA M P S S PE A K E R S E R I E S V I SI T OR S :
Artist and Photographer Vik Muniz Sculptor Antony Gormley Director and Playwright Robert Wilson Installation Artist Ernesto Neto Composer Philip Glass Multimedia Artist Janine Antoni Fashion Designer Zandra Rhodes Perfumier Sissel Tolaas Painter and Filmmaker Julian Schnabel Photographer Sally Mann Dancer and Choreographer Bill T. Jones Video and Photographic Artist Mariko Mori Painter and Collagist Wangechi Mutu Installation Artist Mary Sibande Painter Alexis Rockman Social Practice Artist Andrea Zittel Sculptor Nick Cave
R E C E N T V I S I T O R S T O T H E M FA S T U D I O S :
Senior Editor of Hyperallergic Jillian Steinhauer Curator of the Cranbrook Museum Laura Mott Toronto-based Independent Curator Heather Nicol Curator for the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago Hamza Walker Curator at the Kitchen, NYC Lumi Tan Writer, critic, and professor, VCU Gregory Volk
Scott Hocking, Installation Artist
12
Your Faculty
Photo by Doug Coombe
While Stamps MFA students select their own personal faculty advisor, Stamps is a tight-knit creative community with 27 highly engaged faculty members who act as mentors and collaborators to Stamps MFA students. W IT H 6 N E A R E CI PI E N TS , 2 F U L BR IGH T SCHOL A R S , 2 GUG GE N H EI M F E L L OWS ,
and a Pulitzer Prize winner as just a small sampling of the faculty accomplishments at Stamps, MFA students are able to make powerful, life-long connections to prominent culture-makers of our time. Read more Stamps faculty news at  stamps.umich.edu/news
13
Stamps Faculty Expertise FACULTY RESEARCH INTERESTS INCLUDE
MEDIUMS INCLUDE
Art and commerce
Photography
African American history, culture, and representation
Illustration
Displacement, migration, and alienation
Sculpture
Narrative and memory
Painting
Women’s criminalization and censorship
Drawing
Reproductive technology
Ceramics
Sustainable communities
Printmaking
Feminist theory and contemporary aesthetics
Textile design
Social practice
Installation
Relational aesthetics
Audio narrative
Monsters and the monstrous
Performing arts
Hybrids
Rapid prototyping technologies
Art and health Cosmology and dark matter
Video
Cross-border identities
Computational and interactive technologies
Shelter and vulnerability
Video projection and shadows
Disability culture
Functional/non-functional objects
& more…
& more…
There’s such a range of expertise among the faculty here. I was able to find faculty who mentored me and helped me define the perfect creative practice linked by sound, history and performance art. Juliet Hinely (MFA ‘14)
Heidi Kumao, Professor Swallowed Whole Experimental film 14
Small School ACCESS TO UNPARALLELED
Big University RESOURCES AND FACILITIES
Artwork by Siyang Chen (MFA ‘13)
15
YO U ' L L H AV E
YOU'LL
Access
Collaborate
TO…
WITH…
world-class studios
engineers
2 Stamps School galleries
filmmakers
radiology lab
dancers
state-of-the-art digital media labs
climatologists
multi-camera HD video studios
architects
robotics institute
astrophysicists
virtual reality cave
playwrights
3D printers, routers, and scanners
urban planners
physical computing studio
musicians
materials library
art historians
computer and video game archive
public policy makers
nanotechnology institute
journalists
industrial knitting machines map libraries 7-axis robotic fabrication system large-format printers electronic music studios 24-ft astro-tec dome planetarium 7 U-M museums artificial intelligence lab motion capture facility MRI scanners museum of zoology collections anatomy labs professional audio recording studios botanical gardens entrepreneurship clinic 121 music practice rooms
microbiologists
You
nanotechnology researchers anthropologists curators sound engineers social workers chemists ecologists neuroscientists botanists information architects data analysts cancer researchers egyptologists poets forensic scientists
dance studios
screenwriters
Gamelan ensemble
entrepreneurs
1.7 million plants in the herbarium marine hydrodynamics lab
& more…
public health experts 3D modeling experts
& more… 16
The city has the flavor of Europe, the intellectual horsepower of an Ivy League community and an honest Midwestern spirit that is reflected in hyperactive volunteering and a boundless local food movement as intense as California’s. Michelle Krell Kydd, Communications Specialist, Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) and ArtsEngine 17
The
Best College Town Stamps graduate students curate and exhibit in the heart of Ann Arbor at the Stamps Gallery.
Photo by James Rotz (MFA ‘14)
18
Ann Arbor
#2
“Best Cities for Young Adults”
by the
Numbers
K IPLINGER • 2013
#7
“Best Cities for College Grads”
Ann Arbor and Beyond
Ann Arbor is consistently ranked one of America’s best college towns, offering a rich cultural and intellectual life and
L I VA B I L I T Y • 2 0 1 4
a vibrant sense of community. Students also benefit from the urban energy and collaborative opportunities of a creative corridor extending from Toronto, through Detroit, to Chicago.
#4
“Most Creative Cities”
“Most Walkable Cities”
T H E D A I LY B E A S T • 2 0 1 2
G OV E R N I NG .COM • 2 01 3
#1
#6
“The 10 Most Intelligent College Towns in America”
“Best Cities for Well-Being”
ZOOMTENS .COM • 2014
U S A T O D AY A N D G A L L U P • 2 0 1 4
#5
#1
“Happiest Cities in America” T H E D A I LY B E A S T • 2 0 1 2
19
#4
“Most Educated Cities” FOR BE S .COM • 2014
#2
#9
“Best Cities for New Grads”
“Least Stressed Cities in America”
K IPLINGER • 2013
AOL .COM • 2 01 5
#13
#11
“Top 100 Best Cities to Live”
“Safest Michigan Cities”
L I VA B I L I T Y. C O M • 2 0 1 4
MLI V E • 2015
#4
#17
“Best College Towns for Food and Drink”
“Times Higher Education World Rankings”
THR ILLIST • 2015
T I M E S H IG H E R E DUC AT ION • 2 0 1 5
#1
#2
“Most desirable city to live and work for millenials”
“Most E-Literate Cities in America”
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC R ESEARCH • 2015
T H E AT L A N T IC . C OM • 2 0 1 2
#1
To learn more about life in Ann Arbor, visit the Ann Arbor
“Most Educated Cities”
Area Convention and Visitors Bureau website:
WA L L E T H U B . C O M • 2 0 1 5
V I SI TA N NA R B OR . ORG .
20
Student YOU’LL STUDY ALONGSIDE
Work TALENTED CREATIVES
Nate Morgan
(MFA ‘16)
Through an investigation of materials such as dust and accumulated breath, the exhibition Mouth at All Ends uses sculpture and documented actions to magnify situations enduring a somewhat quiet violence. walktothemountain.tumblr.com 21
Photo by Carl Greene
Mouth at All Ends
Jon Verney
(MFA ‘16)
Thermophile Tracing the artist’s journey across an array of volcanic landscapes, Thermophile presents the process and results of using geothermal water and mud to redevelop silver-based photographs. This elemental installation of photography, video, and painting explores the notion of cocreating artwork with the earth, and allowing natural systems equal agency in the process of transformation. jonverney.com
22
Mike Bianco Hive
(MFA ‘15)
Hive examines issues of sustainability and environmental and social justice, with a focus on honeybees. Mike is pursuing his PhD at SymbioticA, the art and biology research lab at the University of Western Australia, where
23
he has been awarded a prestigious Australian Postgraduate Award.
When I applied, my practice was largely influenced by future technologies and biological imagery. I knew I needed to make work that was more directly informed by what was Jessica Joy London (MFA ‘13) Phenomena Each painting is an artifact of chance, conscious decision-making, fixed laws of natural phenomena (evaporation, surface tension, capillary action), and its surrounding environment.
going on in the scientific community, and to do that I had to immerse myself in a research lab. The University of Michigan is renowned for its scientific research. Jessica Joy London (MFA ‘13)
24
Carolyn Clayton (MFA ‘16) Chain of Contagion Chain of Contagion is part extraction laboratory and part morgue/seed bank for second-hand objects. Embracing the common human belief that everyday objects have an ability to retain and absorb invisible histories through contact, Carolyn Clayton uses sculptural machines and a participatory archive in an attempt to extract historical residues from objects with ambiguous or untraceable pasts. 
carolynclayton.net
25
Ann Bartges (MFA ‘14) Holding Still Working with the School of Music, Theater and Dance, Holding Still uses video projection and live performance to explore relationships among memory, photography, time, representation, self, and image.
26
Cosmo Whyte (MFA ‘15) Wake the Town and Tell the People
27
Taken in its entirety, the show seeks to ask the following question: can one form a sense of self while not owning or being owned by one place?
Emily Schiffer (MFA ‘16) Haul
In Haul, Emily Schiffer's photographs and sculptures manipulate the concept of a family album to examine how history, memory, and culture are passed between generations.  emilyschiffer.com
28
Trevor King (MFA ‘15) Listener A contemplative installation including ceramics, installation, video, sound, photography, and sculpture, Listener encourages sensory consideration of the human being as a vessel.
In 2015, Trevor received the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award.
29
Charles Fairbanks (MFA ‘10) Charles is a filmmaker and wrestler whose work focuses on Lucha Libre in Mexico. He fights as the One-Eyed Cat with a camera built into his mask. Recently, Charles was selected by Werner Herzog for the first Rogue Film School. In 2012 he received a Guggenheim Fellowship in the Creative Arts Film and Video category based on his work while a graduate student at Stamps.
30
Molly Dierks (MFA ‘14) home/Body The sculptures in home/Body deal with the mother-daughter bond, gendered roleplay, and self and body, drawing on personal experiences, memory, and feminist theory.
31
Parisa Ghaderi (MFA ‘14) Only an Inch Away Using research in American Culture, Social Work, and Public Health, Parisa uses video and audio installation, prints, and cinemagraphs to speak about holding onto memories of people when they leave, momentarily or forever.
32
Photo by Peter Leix (MFA ‘14)
Artwork by Emily Schiffer (MFA ‘16)
Artwork by Math Monahan (MFA ‘15)
Artwork by Clara McClenon (MFA ‘16)
33
Artwork by Natasa Prljevic (MFA ‘15)
Artwork by Collin McRae (MFA ‘12)
Artwork by Siyang Chen (MFA ‘13)
Video Installation by Alisa Yang (MFA ‘16)
34
Professional Development A Stamps MFA prepares creative practitioners for incredible careers.
I N T H E 2 0 1 5 - 2 0 1 6 AC A D E M I C Y E A R , S TA M P S M FA S T U D E N T S
were included in ten exhibitions — both nationally and internationally — and were featured as symposium presenters and speakers. Two MFA students were accepted to artist and 2016 Penny Stamps Speaker Series lecturer Andrea Zittel’s “Institute of Investigative Living” residency. In addition, MFA students also garnered a number of awards, including the AHL Foundation contemporary visual art competition and the Dedalus Foundation Master of Fine Arts Fellowship in Painting and Sculpture. Stamps MFA students have gone on to a wide range of careers, including exhibiting artists, entrepreneurs, cultural critics, professorships, and residencies. Post-graduate support — including residencies, grants, and a certificate program in museum studies — are also available.
Sound Installation by Juliet Hinely (MFA ‘14) 35
Alumni in the Spotlight
Lure/Rise, Chinese Culture Foundation, San Francisco 2008, photo by Frank Jang
Artprize is a city-wide art competition held in Grand Rapids,
Recently, Catherine Meier (MFA ‘09) was an Artist in
Michigan, that lets the public choose the winners of more
Residence at Badlands National Park in South Dakota. She
than $450,000 in total prize money. In 2010, Beili Liu
exhibited work generated through the residency in 2015
(MFA ‘03) took home the third prize, an award of $50,000,
with an exhibition entitled This Big Land: Catherine Meier
for Lure/Wave, a large installation made from red thread
at the Museum of Nebraska Art: MONA.
and sewing needles.
In 2016, Carolyn Clayton (MFA ‘16) was awarded the
In 2015, Cosmo Whyte (MFA ‘15) was named a faculty
prestigious Dedalus Foundation MFA Fellowship in
member at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Painting and Sculpture.
Alisha Wessler (MFA ‘13) was featured in an exhibition
In 2015, Trevor King (MFA ‘15) received the International
of emerging sculptors at the Meijer Gardens &
Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in
Sculpture Park in 2014, and she was selected for a 2015
Contemporary Sculpture award.
artist's residency at Wave Hill in New York City. 36
MFA Degree Requirements MFA students complete 15 credits of coursework per semester for a total of 60 credits at the completion of the two-year program.
Summary → 30 CR EDITS – DIR ECTED STU DIO COU R SES Directed studios are the core of the MFA program. Each semester, students engage in at least six credit hours of intense exploration, research, production, and critique of their individual creative work, in close collaboration with their Stamps faculty advisors and peers.
→ 9 CR EDITS – ELECTI V E COU R SES TH E CU R R ICU LU M IS DE SIGN ED TO
Students choose elective courses to meet their
accommodate a range of art practices,
individual MFA curriculum goals: they can pursue
and combines studio-based inquiry with
additional studio courses to emphasize “making”
more scholarly, research-focused work.
and studio practice, or select academic courses to achieve a hybrid “maker/scholar” focus.
→ 1 2 CR EDITS – SEMINA R S Every semester, students participate in graduate seminars, including seminars in “Research Methods,” “Professional Practice,” and other topics related to contemporary art practice.
→ 6 C R E D I T S – H I S T O R Y/ T H E O R Y/ C R I T I C I S M MFA students take six credits of History/Theory/ Criticism, choosing courses to support their field of inquiry. These classes may be offered by Stamps, History of Art, or other units across the University. DIR ECTED STU DIO ELECTIVES
MFA students are required to participate in an
SEMINARS
approved international project. Stamps supports a
HISTORY / TH EORY / CR ITICISM
three- to five-week international experience for all
I N T E R N AT ION A L PRO J E C T
37
→ 3 C R E DI T S – I N T E R N AT ION A L PRO J E C T
graduate students during the summer between their first and second year.
→ Apply Now stamps.umich.edu/mfa-apply
MFA Program Attributes:
Successful applicants will:
• Opportunity to strengthen linkages between art practice and other fields of inquiry
• Hold a bachelor’s degree in art
• Access to resources only available at a top-tier research university
• Have a strong portfolio of creative work and a record of exhibitions • Demonstrate an interest in interdisciplinary inquiry
• Generous funding packages • Project support including annual stipends and grant opportunities
• Have substantive life experience to draw on in charting new directions for creative practice
• Integration of creative work and research
• Identify faculty at Stamps and within the University with whom to work
• Mentorship by faculty from the School and from U-M in fields beyond art
• Be prepared for intensive, focused creative inquiry and production
• Supported international travel and research
F OL L OW US ON:
• Individual studios in Faculty/Graduate facility • Direct involvement with visiting artists who come each week as part of the Stamps Speaker Series, and each year as Witt Fellows • Strategic, individualized professional development and post graduate transition funding
FA C E B O O K
→ facebook.com/umartanddesign
TUMBLR
→ umstampsschool.tumblr.com
→ twitter.com/UM _ Stamps
I N S TAG R A M
→ instagram.com/umstamps
C ON TAC T U S :
Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design • 2000 Bonisteel Blvd, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2069 734 764 5247 • stamps-mfa@umich.edu • stamps.umich.edu/mfa
MFA Program Directors
Editor
Art Direction & Design
David Chung and Osman Khan
Truly Render
Carl Greene
University of Michigan Regents
Nondiscrimination Policy Statement
Michael J. Behm, Grand Blanc
The University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/
in employment, educational programs and activities, and
Mark J. Bernstein, Ann Arbor
affirmative action employer, complies with all applicable
admissions. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to
Laurence B. Deitch, Bloomfield Hills
federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination
the Senior Director for Institutional Equity, and Title IX/
Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse Pointe
and affirmative action. The University of Michigan
Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Office for Institutional
Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms
is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all
Equity, 2072 Administrative Services Building, Ann
Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor
persons and does not discriminate on the basis of
Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-763-0235, TTY
Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park
race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex,
734-647-1388, institutional.equity@umich.edu. For other
Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor
sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression,
University of Michigan information call 734-764-1817.
Mark S. Schlissel, ex officio
disability, religion, height, weight, or veteran status
38
in art → Learn more: stamps.umich.edu/mfa