Judy Pfaff

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Judy Pfaff
Born1946
London
EducationCass Technical High School
Alma materWashington University in St. Louis, Yale University
StyleInstallation art
AwardsMacArthur Fellow

Judy Pfaff (born 1946) is an American artist known mainly for installation art and sculptures, though she also produces paintings and prints.[1] Pfaff has received numerous awards for her work, including a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2004 and grants from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation[2] (1983) and the National Endowment for the Arts.[3][4] Major exhibitions of her work have been held at the University of Wisconsin–Madison,[5] the Denver Art Museum and Saint Louis Art Museum.[6] In 2013 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[7] Video interviews can be found on Art 21, Miles McEnery Gallery, MoMa, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and other sources.

Early life and education[edit]

Yoyogi (State II), 1984, is a woodcut print published by Crown Point Press in San Francisco. Pfaff went to Japan to learn the technique.[8]

Pfaff was born in London in 1946.[9] Her father, a Royal Air Force pilot, was absent from her life. Pfaff's mother moved to Detroit soon after Pfaff's birth, leaving Pfaff and her brother to be raised by their grandparents. Post-war London was bleak; Pfaff has described playing in bombed out and abandoned buildings, gathering "raw materials for fantasy buildings."[10] A reunion in 1956 with her mother in Detroit,[11] where she attended Cass Technical High School, did not end well. At age 15, Pfaff left home and eventually married a U.S. Air Force officer. She attended Wayne State University and Southern Illinois University, completing a BFA at Washington University in 1971.[12]

Pfaff enrolled in the MFA program at Yale University School of Art, where she embraced the use of heavy equipment and outsized materials. Other disciplines, such as physics, medicine, zoology and astronomy, also influenced her work.[10] At Yale, Pfaff studied with Al Held, who became her mentor. With Held's encouragement, she created an installation for her final project.[5] She completed her MFA in 1973 and then moved to New York City.

Teaching[edit]

Pfaff taught at the California Institute of the Arts from 1976 to 1979.[13] She joined the faculty at Bard College in New York in 1994,[14] where she is currently the co-director of the Studio Arts program.[15]

Style[edit]

Since the 70s, Pfaff has helped redefine contemporary notions of sculpture[16] and has been recognized for her innovative approach to space.[17] While others at the time subscribed to minimalist art forms, Pfaff began making colorful, visually active environments that encompassed an entire gallery[17] and complicated the relationship between sculpture and the architecture that contained it.[16]

Spanning across mediums such as painting, printmaking, sculpture and installation, it can be described as "painting in space".[18] Pfaff draws upon spiritual, botanical, and art historical imagery,[18] and "explores issues of creativity and the complexity of life by using strings, vines, spheres, and other objects arranged in a seemingly haphazard way".[19] Although, Pfaff has so far refused to give narrative meaning to her work, which shows an "urgent and ferocious need to labor for the visual and tactile […] in an era where language dominates artistic activity".[18]

Pfaff incorporates a range of everyday and industrial materials into her installations such as wire, plastic tubing, fabric,[17] steel, fiberglass, and plaster as well as salvaged signage and tree roots.[20] Her interest in natural motifs extends to a series of prints integrating vegetation, maps, and medical illustrations.[20] She has also used her dramatic sculptural abilities to make set designs for several theatrical stage productions.[20] In recent years, she has incorporated photographic and digital imagery into her installations and prints.[16]

Process[edit]

Pfaff enters an exhibition space not knowing exactly what will happen.[17] Rice Gallery describes her working process is intuitive and highly physical;[17] she relies on her knowledge, skill, and experience to carry her through.[17] Her art is site-specific;[17] each one of her installations considers the specific spatial geometries of the room so no two shows are ever alike.[21] Pfaff and her crew may labor for months or years on shows that last day or weeks; the work is deconstructed and sections are discarded after a show comes down.[21]

Pfaff's studio in upstate New York is filled with winches, welding equipment, a forklift, and pressure washers.[17] When she and her assistants arrive to set up an installation, they bring with them a truck full of tools, welders, pre-cut installation components, as well as raw material, and begin to experiment.[17] Pfaff is used to working in large spaces; her permanent installation at the Philadelphia Convention Center, cirque, CIRQUE, is reputed to be the largest suspended sculpture in the world.[17]

Installation art[edit]

In New York, Pfaff created her first large-scale installation piece, J.A.S.O.N--J.A.S.O.N., at the nonprofit Artists Space in 1975.[22]

Pfaff describes her site-specific installations as abstract narratives based on personal experiences.[23] Art critic Benjamin Genocchio commented that Pfaff's installation work can seem disordered, but with a closer look an order seems to reveal itself.[14]

In 2006, Pfaff's Buckets of Rain was exhibited at the Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art gallery in New York.[24]

Pfaff's installation work has influenced other artists, including Jessica Stockholder and Sarah Sze.[25]

Other media[edit]

In addition to her installations, Pfaff creates paintings, sculpture, and prints. "I've always done prints and drawings," Pfaff says. "If you get an installation of mine, you inherit [my assistant] Ryan, myself, a crew, the dog, the noise, the dirt. We wreck the house. So if you don't want that, then you get prints and drawings."[26]

Pfaff has also done scenic design.[14] In 2010 Ameringer/McEnery/Yoke showed a retrospective from her oeuvre ranging from the late 1970s to recent work. In a review in The Brooklyn Rail, Kara L. Rooney wrote of the survey's cohesion, "somehow, Pfaff's eclectic interpretation of '80s flamboyance, '90s insecurity, and the aughts' incessant optimism succeeds."[27]

Solo exhibitions and installations[edit]

During her prolific career, Pfaff has mounted over 100 solo exhibitions and installations in galleries and museums worldwide.[17] She has had major exhibitions at Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin, Madison (2002); Denver Art Museum (1994); St. Louis Art Museum (1989); and Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo (1982).[20] Her work is also included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, Tate Gallery, Brooklyn Museum of Art, and Detroit Institute of Arts, among others.[28][29][30][31] Furthermore, she represented the United States in the 1998 Bienal de Sao Paolo.[20]

Pfaff's work is not restricted to Installation Art pieces. Her other notable works include Botanica, a mixed media on paper piece owned by the Orlando Museum of Art and Imperial Hotel, a relief print using the intaglio technique owned by the Tampa Museum of Art.[19]

Grants and awards[edit]

Pfaff has received several notable awards and grants including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sculpture Center (2014),[32] the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award (2004),[32] a Bessie (1984),[32] and fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (1983)[32] and the National Endowment for the Arts (1986).[32] She was also elected to become a member of the American Academy of Arts in 2009.[32]

Recent life[edit]

Pfaff is the Richard B. Fisher Professor in the Arts and co-director of the studio arts program at Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.[17][19] She continues to produce work for sale and for exhibition, including installations and prints. She currently lives and works in Tivoli, NY.[19][16]

See also[edit]

  • Inside the Artist's Studio, Princeton Architectural Press, 2015. (ISBN 978-1-61689-304-0)

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Judy Pfaff . Biography . Documentary Film". Art21. PBT. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  2. ^ "Fellows Judy Pfaff". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "National Endowment for the Arts Annual Report 1986" (PDF). National Endowment for the Arts. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Judy Pfaff - MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  5. ^ a b Sandler, Irving; Panczenko, Russell (2003). "Judy Pfaff". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ "Saint Louis Art Museum Exhibition Archive". Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  7. ^ "Bard College professor Judy Pfaff elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences". 8 February 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  8. ^ "Yoyogi, detail". Flickr. Retrieved 2018-04-08.
  9. ^ "Judy Pfaff". Art21.
  10. ^ a b Princenthal, Nancy (2013). Judy Pfaff: Storming the White Cube, in After the Revolution: Women Who Transformed Contemporary Art. Munich: Prestel. p. 127. ISBN 978-3-7913-4755-4.
  11. ^ "Judy Pfaff: Early Works From the WSU Art Collection - University Art Collection - Wayne State University". artcollection.wayne.edu. 4 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Judy Pfaff: Early Works From the WSU Art Collection - University Art Collection - Wayne State University". artcollection.wayne.edu. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  13. ^ Richards, Judith. "Oral history interview with Judy Pfaff, 2010 Jan. 27-Feb. 4". Archives of American Art. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  14. ^ a b c Genocchio, Benjamin (May 22, 2005). "Now She Can Finish That Warehouse". New York Times.
  15. ^ "Academics / Faculty : Judy Pfaff, Richard B. Fisher Professor in the Arts; Codirector, Studio Arts Program". Bard College.
  16. ^ a b c d Mahoney, Brian K. "Portfolio: Judy Pfaff". Chronogram. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Judy Pfaff … all of the above". Rice Gallery. 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  18. ^ a b c < -- not stated--> (2019). "About". Judy Pfaff Studio. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Judy Pfaff Biography". Artnet. 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  20. ^ a b c d e "Judy Pfaff". Art21. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  21. ^ a b < -- not stated--> (2019). "About". Judy Pfaff Studio. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  22. ^ Heartney, Eleanor; Posner, Helaine; Princenthal, Nancy; Scott, Sue (2007). After the Revolution: Women Who Transformed Contemporary Art. New York: Prestel. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-3-7913-3732-6.
  23. ^ Pfaff, Judy (2008). "Buckets of Rain". The Georgia Review. 62 (3 (FALL 2008)): 523–532. JSTOR 41403026.
  24. ^ Castro, Jan Garden (2008). "New York: Judy Pfaff: Ameringer Yohe Fine Art". Sculpture. 27: 70–71 – via EBSCOhost.
  25. ^ Kardon, Dennis (2015). "Judy Pfaff". Art in America. 103: 90 – via Ebsco.
  26. ^ Mahoney, Brian K. (March 1, 2007). "Portfolio: Judy Pfaff". Chronogram Magazine. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  27. ^ Rooney, Kara L. (October 2010). "Judy Pfaff: Five Decades". The Brooklyn Rail.
  28. ^ "Judy Pfaff. Blue Vase with Nasturtiums. 1987 | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  29. ^ "Judy Pfaff | Squash". whitney.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  30. ^ "Brooklyn Museum". www.brooklynmuseum.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  31. ^ "You are being redirected..." www.dia.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h "CV". Judy Pfaff Studio. 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  33. ^ "Francis J. Greenburger Awards". artomi.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  34. ^ "Renowned artist Judy Pfaff comes to Tyler School of Art". Temple Now | news.temple.edu. 2017-04-03. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  35. ^ "Judy Pfaff & Ursula von Rydingsvard - Lifetime Achievement Awards - Sculpture.org". www.sculpture.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  36. ^ "Recipients to Date". Anonymous Was A Woman. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  37. ^ "SGC International - SGC International Awards". www.sgcinternational.org. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  38. ^ "United States Artists » Judy Pfaff". Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  39. ^ "2020 Art Award Winners – American Academy of Arts and Letters". Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  40. ^ "Awards For Distinction | Sam Fox School". www.samfoxschool.wustl.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  41. ^ "Judy Pfaff Biography – Judy Pfaff on artnet". www.artnet.com. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  42. ^ "Nancy Graves Foundation grant program". Nancy Graves Foundation. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  43. ^ "WheatonArts » Explore, Experience, Create". Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  44. ^ "Judy Pfaff's CV". Messums Wiltshire. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  45. ^ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation | Judy Pfaff". Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  46. ^ "Reed College | Art | Events | Ostrow | Judy Pfaff". www.reed.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-28.

External links[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Heartney, Eleanor; Posner, Helaine; Princenthal, Nancy; Scott, Sue (2013). After the Revolution: Women Who Transformed Contemporary Art. Prestel Publishing Ltd. pp. 126–153. ISBN 978-3-7913-4755-4.
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