Jeanne Jaffe (born 1950) is an American multidisciplinary artist known for her
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
and installations.
Biography
Jaffe is Professor Emeritus of Sculpture at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She is also a long-term visiting professor at Xi'An Academy of Fine Arts where in fall 2017, the sculpture department established the Jeanne Faye Jaffe Studio of Sculpture workshop space, the first long-term studio for foreign experts. Jaffe also serves as the coordinator of international programming at the Jaffe Center for Book Arts at
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...
.
Jaffe has been a recipient of fellowships and grants from the
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
, including the “Challenge America” grant (a partnership with Jersey Tech Park and the Rowan University College), the Gottlieb Foundation (individual support grant),
Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to strengthen the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of Pennsylvania's communities through the arts. This mission is paired wit ...
(sculpture fellowship), Mid/Atlantic Foundation, the Virginia A. Groot Foundation, and the Center for Emerging Artists in Philadelphia.
Her works have been domestically and internationally exhibited in museums such as the Mino Washi Museum in Mino, Japan, the Pennsylvania Academy of Art Museum in Philadelphia, the
Woodmere Art Museum
Woodmere Art Museum, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has a collection of paintings, prints, sculpture and photographs focusing on artists from the Delaware Valley and includes works by Thomas Pollock Anshutz, S ...
,
James A. Michener Art Museum
The Michener Art Museum is a private, non-profit museum that is located in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1988, it was named for the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer James A. Michener, a Doylestown resident.
Situated within ...
, Fuller Craft Museum, and the
Hunterdon Art Museum
The Hunterdon Art Museum, previously known as the Hunterdon Art Center and the Hunterdon Museum of Art, is located in a historic stone mill at 7 Lower Center Street in Clinton, New Jersey. It was founded in 1952 when it purchased Dunham's Mill, t ...
. Her work is included in collections at the Pennsylvanian Academy of Fine Arts Museum, the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art Alfred Ceramic Art Museum at Alfred University, the Sculpture Garden at Abington Art Center, and the Zimmerli Art Museum. She has participated in artist residencies in Mino Artist Residency in Mino, Japan,
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...
in New York state, , Women's Studio Workshop, Rutgers Innovative Printmaking Workshop in New Jersey, and the Virginia Center for Creative Arts.
In 1975, Jaffe received her BFA from the
Tyler School of Art
The Tyler School of Art and Architecture is based at Temple University, a large, urban, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tyler currently enrolls about 1,350 undergraduate students and about 200 graduate students in a wid ...
at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...
Alfred University
Alfred University is a private university in Alfred (village), New York, Alfred, New York. It has a total undergraduate population of approximately 1,600 students. The university hosts the New York State College of Ceramics, which includes The ...
.
Artwork
Jaffe's work has been described in '' Sculpture Magazine'' as “dreamlike,” “unsettling,” absurdist, and by John Thomason of ''Boca Raton Magazine'' as having “eerie resonance.” It examines culture, history, language, and the body.
Jaffe has often been inspired by literature and history. Her three-room installation “
Four Quartets
''Four Quartets'' is a set of four poems written by T. S. Eliot that were published over a six-year period. The first poem, ''Burnt Norton'', was published with a collection of his early works (1936's ''Collected Poems 1909–1935''). After a f ...
,” dedicated to
T.S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National B ...
and his series of poems by the same name included a tableau and sculptures of headless women who dangled from the ceiling. The installation incorporated Eliot's verses and was described in ''
Art in America
''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...
'' as surreal and haunting. Another piece, “Alice in Dystopia,” referenced the
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
classic, which Thomason said “receives an added jolt of contemporary decay” in the “marionette model.”
A historical reference, Jaffe featured inventor
Jaffe went on to create a technological installation of Tesla through an NEA-funded partnership with Jersey Tech Park and
Rowan University
Rowan University is a public research university in Glassboro, New Jersey, with a medical campus in Stratford and medical and academic campuses in Camden. It was founded in 1923 as Glassboro Normal School on a site donated by 107 residents.
...
College of Engineering. Another installation, “Field of Forms,” includes 23 bronze statues on steel poles which were inserted in the ground of the campus at the
State University of New York at New Paltz
The State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz or New Paltz) is a public university in New Paltz, New York. It traces its origins to the New Paltz Classical School, a secondary institution founded in 1828 and reorganized as an a ...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
.'' Retrieved 26 February 2020.
*Thomas, Jane; Jackson, Paul (2001). On Paper: New Paper Art. ' Retrieved 26 February 2020.
*Wei, Lilly (2013). Jeanne Jaffe ” ''
Art in America
''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...