Michelle Handelman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Michelle Handelman
Portrait of Handelman by Rachel Stern, 2017.
Born	1960 (age 64–65) Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
Education	MFA Bard College, BFA San Francisco Art Institute
Awards	John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, Creative Capital, Art Matters

Michelle Handelman (born in 1960) is an American artist, filmmaker, and writer. She creates art using live performances, video installations, photography, and sound. Her work often explores challenging ideas and feelings. She is known for her video installations like Irma Vep, The Last Breath (2013-2015) and Dorian, A Cinematic Perfume (2009-2011). In 2011, she received a special award called the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for her film and video art.

About Michelle Handelman

Michelle Handelman was born on August 5, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois. She was the youngest of three children. When she was ten, her parents divorced. Her father moved to Los Angeles, and her mother stayed in Chicago. Her mother later married B.C. (Bud) Holland, a well-known art dealer in Chicago. From 1974 to 1978, Michelle spent her time living in both Chicago and Los Angeles.

Early Life and Education

In the early 1980s, Handelman lived in Chicago. She studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Some of her classmates became famous artists and writers, like Dread Scott and David Sedaris. From 1982 to 1985, she worked as a bartender at Cabaret Metro/Smart Bar. This was a popular music venue in Chicago that hosted punk, industrial, and New Wave bands.

From 1986 to 1998, Handelman lived in San Francisco. There, she worked with Monte Cazazza, a pioneer in Industrial music. They created several art projects together. She also performed in films by the artist Lynn Hershman Leeson. She worked with Eric Werner from the group Survival Research Laboratories and on Jon Moritsugu’s film Terminal USA. During this time, she also collaborated with artists from RE/Search Publications and members of bands like Throbbing Gristle and Coil.

In 1998, Handelman moved to New York City, where she has lived full-time since.

She earned her Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree from Bard College in 2000. Before that, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1990. Handelman taught as an associate professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design from 2007 to 2013. In 2013, she became a full professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. There, she helped start the undergraduate program for Film and Media. She retired from FIT in 2023.

Exhibitions and Recognition

Handelman's art has been shown all over the world. Her work has been seen at places like the British Film Institute in London, Film at Lincoln Center in New York, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. It has also been displayed at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

She received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow award in 2011. She also got a Creative Capital award in 2019. Her moving image installation, Beware The Lily Law, has been on permanent display at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia since 2011. This artwork focuses on the stories of people in prison.

Her art is part of important collections. These include the Moscow Museum of Contemporary Art, the Kadist Art Foundation, and the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

Key Artworks

Early Films and Collaborations

Michelle Handelman's early short films were part of a new wave of filmmaking. She collaborated with Industrial Music pioneer Monte Cazazza in the 1990s. They created visual art projects together. Handelman believes all her artworks are "living" projects. This means they can change each time they are shown. She might edit them differently or display them in new ways. This helps her connect the art to the present time and place.

Irma Vep, The Last Breath (2013-2015)

In 2013, Handelman finished Irma Vep, The Last Breath. This is a film installation with multiple screens. It is based on a character named Irma Vep from a silent film. The artwork explores stories of people from different generations and backgrounds. It features artists Zackary Drucker and Jack Doroshow. The artwork was first shown at The Eli & Edythe Broad Art Museum in 2013. It then traveled to many other places, including the BFI and Lincoln Center.

Dorian, A Cinematic Perfume (2009-2012)

Handelman's four-channel video installation Dorian, A Cinematic Perfume is a modern version of Oscar Wilde's famous story, The Picture of Dorian Gray. It features different performers as the characters. They communicate through music and movements that Handelman created with them. The artwork includes music by artists like Lustmord and Nadia Sirota. Dorian, A Cinematic Perfume has been shown at Participant, Inc. in New York City, the MIT List Visual Arts Center, and other galleries.

Beware the Lily Law (2011-2023)

Beware the Lily Law is a public art piece by Michelle Handelman. It has been on display at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia since 2011. The artwork uses the 1969 Stonewall riots as a starting point. It talks about issues faced by people in prison. Handelman's installation lets viewers experience sitting in a prison cell. A video projection shows an inmate speaking directly to the viewer, sharing their story. There is a bed where the viewer can sit and listen. The title "Beware the Lily Law" comes from secret words used to identify undercover police officers. The monologues in the piece are based on real experiences and performed by Becca Blackwell and Michael Lynch.

This Delicate Monster (2005-2007)

This Delicate Monster is a multimedia art project. It was inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s 19th-century poetry collection, Les Fleurs du Mal. Handelman created a dream-like story that mixes elements of horror films and fashion shoots. She worked with designer Garo Sparo and musicians like Larsen and Lustmord. The project includes several video pieces, photographs, and live performances.

The Laughing Lounge (2005)

Handelman created a live multimedia performance called The Laughing Lounge in 2005. It was part of Performa, a festival for visual art performance. The artwork was inspired by laughing clubs in India and the 1982 film Kamikaze 1989. The Laughing Lounge was a mix of a show and a healing space. It asked what happens when a group of people laughs for hours. Audiences gathered in a dimly lit room and were invited to laugh. Their laughter was filmed and projected onto performers who danced and laughed on a spinning platform.

Writing and Filmography

Michelle Handelman has also written fiction. Her stories have appeared in books like Inappropriate Behaviour. She has written for Filmmaker Magazine, where she interviewed directors like Kirby Dick and Beth B. She also co-wrote an essay called "The Media Conspiracy Against the Developing Mind" with Monte Cazazza.

Film and Video Installations

Awards and Honors

In 1999, Handelman won the Bravo Award from Bravo television for her film BloodSisters. She was named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2011 and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in 2010.

She has received many other awards. These include a 2014 Art Matters Grant, a 2018 New York State Council on the Arts grant, and a 2018 San Francisco Museum for Modern Art (SFMOMA) Film and Performance Commission. In 2019, she received a NYSCA/Wave Farm Media Arts Assistance Fund Grant and a Creative Capital award. She was also an artist-in-residence at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in 2020.

See also

• List of female film and television directors
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women

Images for kids

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  Portrait of Handelman by Rachel Stern, 2017.