in Art

1

Juliet Hinely (MFA ‘14)

Per Mr. Handy

Per Mr. Handy is a site-specific audio-walk and

performance installation in the Jam Handy Building,

now abandoned but once a prolific movie studio

in Detroit’s heyday. Juliet’s research included

work with Dance, Urban Planning, and Museum

Studies, as well as an audio documentary course

at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies.

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ME X P A N D I N G T H E

FR E A C H O F

AC R E A T I V E W O R K

T H E S TA M P S M FA

Transdisciplinary,

Faculty Mentored,

Scholarly & Studio-focused

Installation by Collin McRae (MFA ‘12) Photo by Brad Smith

3

Current art practice is alive with synergies. The arena of creative work is expanding —responding to, integrating with, and inquiring into increasingly diverse fields, from Egyptology to theories of dark matter.

T H E T W O -Y E A R M FA C U R R I C U L U M AT T H E S T A M P S S C H O O L

is designed to support this momentum, and is ideal for artists

with an active engagement with one or more fields of knowledge

in addition to art. Graduate students are provided with direct

access to the unparalleled range of researchers, collaborators,

and fields of study available only at a top-tier university.

The Stamps MFA integrates creative work with academic

research, international study with regional community engagement,

and theoretical grounding with skills development, creating a

dynamic blend of both scholarly and studio-focused work.

4

The powerS T A M P S F U L L - T I M E F A C U L T Y

of mentorshipO F A R T I S T S A N D S C H O L A R S

and strategicH E L P S H A P E T H E P R O G R A M

career planning

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B E C AU S E C L O S E WO R K I N G R E L AT I O N S H I P S

with faculty are a key component of graduate

study at Stamps, applicants are asked to

identify three Stamps faculty members who

they feel would potentially be suitable mentors

and advisors during their course of study.

In addition to their creative studies, each

graduate student participates in a strategic

planning process for post graduation,

developing an individualized career

trajectory with financial support available

for transitional professional opportunities.

Throughout the two-year program,our full-time 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 talents.

Photo by James Rotz (MFA ‘14) 6

Students conduct their creative work in spacious, fully equipped studios in a 33,000 square-foot space that also houses faculty studios, a multi-purpose shop, digital media equipment, and large shared working and meeting spaces.

AT S T A M P S , G R A D U AT E S T U D E N T S A L S O H AV E

24/7 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)

SpaciousI N F A C U L T Y / G R A D U A T E

IndividualS T U D I O B U I L D I N G

Studios1 9 1 9 G R E E N R D , A N N A R B O R

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S T A M P S R E C O G N I Z E S T H AT C R E AT I V E P R A C T I C 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 travel to Prague to participate in

a two-month residency at the MeetFactory International

Center of Contemporary Art.

InternationalE A C H S T U D E N T

Travel &C O N D U C T S A S E L F - D I R E C T E D

StudyI N T E R N A T I O N A L P R O J E C T

Photo by Peter Leix (MFA ‘14)

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T H E S T A M P S S C H O O L O F F E R S G E N E R O U S

merit-based financial support to all graduate

students, from stipends and discretionary

funds that offset studio expenses and

International travel to teaching/research

assistantships and full tuition waivers. Financial

awards are held throughout both years of

study and enable focused creative work as

well as opportunities to gain experience in

teaching and arts management.

Ph

oto

by

Ja

me

s Ro

tz (M

FA

‘14)

GenerousS T I P E N D S

FinancialA S S I S T A N T S H I P S

SupportT U I T I O N W A I V E R S

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During the academic year, 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.

StampsS T A M P S D I S T I N G U I S H E D

VisitingS P E A K E R S E R I E S

Artists

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PA S T V I S I T O R S H AV E I N C L U D E D :

Director and Playwright Robert Wilson

Brazilian Installation Artist Ernesto Neto

Photographer Mary Ellen Mark

Composer Philip Glass

Interaction Designer Massimo Banzi

Multimedia Artist Janine Antoni

Fashion Designer Zandra Rhodes

Perfumier Sissel Tolaas

Graphic Designer Stefan Sagmeister

Sculptor Antony Gormley

Dancer and Choreographer Bill T. Jones

Video and Photographic Artist Mariko Mori

Painter and Collagist Wangechi Mutu

Installation Artist Mary Sibande

Painter Alexis Rockman

Sculptor Nick CavePaola Antonelli, Senior Curator, MOMA

Temple Grandin, Author and Designer

Ernesto Neto, Installation ArtistAnthropodino, photo by James Ewing

Ph

oto

by

Ja

me

s Ro

tz (M

FA

‘14)

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S T A M P S FA C U LT Y R E S E A R C H I N T E R E S T S I N C L U D E :

• performative technologies

• art and commerce

• audio narrative

• mixed race identity politics

• art and early childhood development

• african american history, culture and representation

• hybridized narratives and memory

• displacement, migration and alienation

• women’s criminalization and censorship

• performing arts and contemporary media

• the body as screen

• reproductive technology

• sustainable communities

• rapid prototyping technologies

and more...

Heidi Kumao

Heidi Kumao WinsBest Experimental Film at Female Eye Festival

FacultyM E N T O R S

ResearchR O L E M O D E L S

InterestsC O L L A B O R A T O R S

Are Vast

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Pulitzer Prize Winner David Turnley Chosen as BestNew Filmmaker

David Chung’s Drawing Placed in Whitney Permanent Collection

Matt Kenyon Selected as TED Fellow

Phoebe Gloeckner’s Diary of a Teenage Girl Becomes Major Motion Picture

Anne Mondro: Artist in Residence at the Icelandic Textile Center

Nick Tobier Awarded National Endowment for the Arts Grant

Endi Poskovic Awarded U.S.Senior Fulbright Scholar Grant

Holly Hughes Wins Award for Performanceand Activism

Read more Stamps faculty news at: stamps.umich.edu/news

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)

A S A M P L I N G O F FA C U LT Y W O R K R E C E N T

Faculty Accomplishments

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Small SchoolA C C E S S T O U N P A R A L L E L E D

Big UniversityR E S O U R C E S A N D F A C I L I T I E S

Artwork by Siyang Chen (MFA ‘13)

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and more… and more…

engineers

filmmakers

dancers

climatologists

architects

astrophysicists

playwrights

urban planners

musicians

art historians

public policy makers

journalists

microbiologists

nanotechnology researchers

anthropologists

curators

sound engineers

social workers

chemists

ecologists

neuroscientists

botanists

information architects

data analysts

cancer researchers

egyptologists

poets

forensic scientists

screenwriters

entrepreneurs

public health experts

3D modeling experts

world-class studios

2 Stamps School galleries

radiology lab

state of the art digital media labs

multi-camera HD video studios

robotics institute

virtual reality cave

3D printers, routers, and scanners

physical computing studio

materials library

computer and video game archive

nanotechnology institute

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

dance studios

Gamelan ensemble

1.7 million plants in the Herbarium

marine hydrodynamics lab

You

Access T O …

CollaborateW I T H …

Y O U ' L L H A V E Y O U ' L L

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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

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Stamps graduate students curate and exhibit in the heart

of Ann Arbor at Work Gallery.

Photo by James Rotz (MFA ‘14)

TheBest

College Town

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#1“The 10 Most Intelligent

College Towns in America”Z O O M T E N S . C O M   •   2 0 1 4

#2“Best Cities forYoung Adults”

K I P L I N G E R   •   2 0 1 3

#4“Most Walkable Cities”

G O V E R N I N G . C O M   •   2 0 1 3

#5“Happiest Cities

in America”T H E D A I LY B E A S T   •   2 0 1 2

#7“Best Cities forCollege Grads”

L I VA B I L I T Y   •   2 0 1 4

#4“Most Creative Cities”

T H E D A I LY B E A S T   •   2 0 1 2

#1“Most Educated Cities”

F O R B E S . C O M   •   2 0 1 4

#6“Best Cities for

Well-Being”U S A T O D AY A N D G A L L U P   •   2 0 1 4

Ann Arbor and BeyondAnn Arbor is consistently ranked one of America’s best

college towns, offering a rich cultural and intellectual life and

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.

NumbersAnn Arbor

by the

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#1“Most desirable city to live

and work for millenials” AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH • 2015

#17“Times Higher Education

World Rankings”T I M E S H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N   •   2 0 1 5

#2“Best Cities for

New GradsK I P L I N G E R   •   2 0 1 3

#2“Most E-Literate

Cities in America”T H E AT L A N T I C . C O M   •   2 0 1 2

#1“Best CollegeSports Town”

F O R B E S   •   2 0 1 0

#7“Best Cities in America

to Find a Job”U S N E W S   •   2 0 1 2

#1“Educational Attainment

in Communities with 100,000+ Residents”

B U S I N E S S J O U R N A L S “ O N N U M B E R S ”   •   2 0 1 1

#13“Best Cities for

Millennials”F O R B E S   •   2 0 1 5

#13“Top 100 BestCities to Live”

L I VA B I L I T Y. C O M   •   2 0 1 4

#4“Best College Townsfor Food and Drink”

T H R I L L I S T   •   2 0 1 5

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Amanda Lilleston (MFA ‘13)

Animal

Amanda spent hours each day in the anatomy

lab to research this series of woodblock print

collages that investigate what keeps us alive.

These fantastical forms are human parts—

susceptible to gravity, discomfort, decay,

growth, and adaptation.

StudentY O U ’ L L S T U D Y A L O N G S I D E

WorkT A L E N T E D C R E A T I V E S

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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

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)

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.

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23

Meghan Reynard (MFA ‘12)

One Year Daylight: Ann ArborInvestigating the experiences of daylight, latitude and time, and how the

daylight phenomenon can be perceived outside of conventional constraints.

Mike Bianco (MFA ‘15)

Hive

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

he has been awarded a prestigious Australian Postgraduate Award. 24

Cameron Van Dyke (MFA ‘15)

Future Cycles

At the intersection of engineering, urban planning, and art and design,

this project presents three vehicles that challenge American car culture to

consider the use of human power and alternative energy options.

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.

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In 2015, Cosmo received the International Sculpture Center’s

Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture

Award and a Vermont Studio Center Fellowship.

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?

Cosmo Whyte (MFA ‘15)

Wake the Town and Tell the People

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Mary Ayling (MFA ‘15)

Breathing Room

Questions of how fragile forms show

their strength and how seemingly

solid structures buckle arise in this

exploration of negotiating our own

private and shared spaces.

28

Emilia Javanica (MFA ‘13)

Red Blob Massacre

Maddy Blitz is a young woman with

horrendous-looking teeth. Maddy’s nightmares

about not fitting in clump together to form a

giant RED BLOB that confronts her tormenters.

A silent horror film and live performance.

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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

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.

31

Molly Dierks

(MFA ‘14)

home/Body

The sculptures in

home/Body deal with

the mother-daughter

bond, gendered role-

play, and self and body,

drawing on personal

experiences, memory,

and feminist theory.

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Artwork by Siyang Chen (MFA ‘13)

Artwork by Math Monahan (MFA ‘15)

Artwork by Katie St. Clair (MFA ‘14)

Artwork by Carolyn Clayton (MFA ‘16)Paintings by Jon Verney (MFA ‘16)

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Artwork by Siyang Chen (MFA ‘13)

Artwork by Joshua Nierodzinski (MFA ‘15)

Installation by Juliet Hinely (MFA ‘14)

Artwork by Natasa Prljevic (MFA ‘15)

Photo by Alex Mandrilla

34

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.

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Alisha Wessler (MFA ‘13)

Often working with hundreds of

individual objects in display cases,

Alisha Wessler’s work explores the

possibilities of sculpture through

installation. Following the completion of

her MFA in 2013, Alisha interned at the

Drawing Center as a project manager.

Her work was featured in an exhibition

of emerging sculptors at the Meier

Gardens & Sculpture Park in 2014, and

she was selected for a 2015 artist's

residency at Wave Hill in New York City.

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MFA students complete 15 credits of coursework per semester for a total of 60 credits at the completion of the two-year program.

T H E C U R R I C U L U M I S D E S I G N E D T O

accommodate a range of art practices,

and combines studio-based inquiry with

more scholarly, research-focused work.

D I R E C T E D S T U D I O

E L E C T I V E S

S E M I N A R S

H I S T O R Y / T H E O R Y / C R I T I C I S M

I N T E R N AT I O N A L P R O J E C T

Summary

3 0 C R E D I T S   –   D I R E C T E D S T U D I O C O U R S E S

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 C R E D I T S   –   E L E C T I V E C O U R S E S

Students choose elective courses to meet their

individual MFA curriculum goals: they can pursue

additional studio courses to emphasize “making”

and studio practice, or select academic courses to

achieve a hybrid “maker/scholar” focus.

1 2 C R E D I T S   –   S E M I N A 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.

3 C R E D I T S   –   I N T E R N AT I O N A L P R O J E C T

MFA students are required to participate in an

approved international project. Stamps supports a

three- to five-week international experience for all

graduate students during the summer between their

first and second year.

MFA Degree Requirements

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MFA Program Attributes:

• Opportunity to strengthen linkages between art practice and other fields of inquiry

• Access to resources only available at a top-tier research university

• Generous funding packages (partial to full)

• Project support including annual stipends and grant opportunities

• Integration of creative work and research

• Mentorship by faculty from the School and from U-M in fields beyond art

• Supported international travel and research

• 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

Successfulapplicants will:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree in art or related field

• Have a strong portfolio of creative work and a record of exhibitions

• Demonstrate an interest in interdisciplinary inquiry

• Have substantive life experience to draw on in charting new directions for creative practice

• Identify faculty at Stamps and within the University with whom to work

• Be prepared for intensive, focused creative inquiry and production

→ instagram.com/umstampsI N S T A G R A M

→ umstampsschool.tumblr.comT U M B L R

→ twitter.com/UM_StampsT W I T T E R

→ facebook.com/umartanddesignFA C E B O O K

F O L L O W U S O N :

Apply Nowstamps.umich.edu/mfa-apply

→

University of Michigan RegentsMark J. Bernstein, Ann Arbor

Julia Donovan Darlow, Ann Arbor

Laurence B. Deitch, Bloomfield Hills

Shauna Ryder Diggs, Grosse Pointe

Denise Ilitch, Bingham Farms

Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor

Andrew C. Richner, Grosse Pointe Park

Katherine E. White, Ann Arbor

Mark S. Schlissel, ex officio

Nondiscrimination Policy StatementThe University of Michigan, as an equal opportunity/

affirmative action employer, complies with all

applicable federal and state laws regarding

nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The

University of Michigan is committed to a policy

of equal opportunity for all persons and does not

discriminate on the basis of race, color, national

origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation,

gender identity, gender expression, disability,

religion, height, weight, or veteran status in employment,

educational programs and activities, and admissions.

Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to

the Senior Director for Institutional Equity, and

Title IX/Section 504/ADA Coordinator, Office of

Institutional Equity, 2072 Administrative Services

Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1432, 734-

763-0235, TTY 734-647-1388. For other University

of Michigan information call 734-764-1817.

C O N T A C 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

Editor

Kate West

MFA Program Director

David Chung

Art Direction & Design

Carl Greene

39

→ Learn more: stamps.umich.edu/mfa

MFA in Art