Elisa Jimenez (born 1965) is an interdisciplinary artist, primarily in

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates c ...

but also including

writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically Epigraphy, inscribed, Printing press, mechanically transferred, or Word processor, digitally represented Symbols (semiot ...

drawing Drawing is a visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface. The instruments used to make a drawing are pencils, crayons, pens with inks, brushes with paints, or combinations of these, and in more mod ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

, and

art installation Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

. Her main ongoing project is called "The Hunger World," a world of marionettes ranging from 2 inches to 30 feet in height.

Childhood and education

Born in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

, Jimenez is the daughter of sculptor Luis Jiménez and graphic designer Vicky Balcou. By the age of five, she was sewing doll clothes and fixing her own hems. She attended the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

where she earned a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree with a minor in anthropology. She went on to earn a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

degree from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

Career

After her father's sudden death in 2006, Jimenez moved to Santa Fe, NM from New York City. '' Vogue'' discovered Jimenez as "the scoop" and consistently has acknowledged her as being at the forefront of the new avant-garde as well as one of the top 10 American Designers in the independent realm. Her designs have appeared in the pages of '' Harper's Bazaar'', ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the ...

'', '' Dutch'', '' Black Book'', ''

Paper Mag ''Paper'' (also known as ''Paper Mag'') is a New York City-based independent magazine focusing on fashion, popular culture, nightlife, music, art, and film. Initially produced monthly, the magazine eventually became a quarterly publication, and a ...

'', '' Jane'', and '' Trace''. She has worked for a number of actors, musicians, films and television programs, including: Melissa Auf der Maur,

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industr ...

for her ''Believe'' album,

Jennifer Connelly Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She began her career as a child model before making her acting debut in the 1984 crime film ''Once Upon a Time in America''. After having worked as a model for several year ...

for her character in '' Requiem for a Dream'',

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She came to prominence as a cast member on ''The Cosby Show'' spin-off '' A Different World'' in 1987. After having minor roles in a few films, she came to international attention ...

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love ( née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence a ...

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

, ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the same name, the series premiered in the United St ...

'',

Pink Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

Cameron Diaz Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress. With a variety of works in film, she is widely recognised for her work in romantic comedies and animation. Diaz has received various accolades, including nominations for ...

, and art photographer

Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...

. Jimenez was invited to be in the Barbican Gallery's exhibit and book ''Rapture: Art and Fashion Since the 1970s'', curated by Chris Townsend of London. In 2007 Jimenez was a contestant on the fourth season of ''

Project Runway ''Project Runway'' is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on December 1, 2004. The series focuses on fashion design. The contestants compete with each other to create the best clothes and are restricted by time, mate ...

'', a reality show on Bravo in which designers compete against each other in various fashion challenges to win $100,000 to create their own fashion line, among other prizes. Jimenez had been picked to appear on the first season of the show but opted out to avoid separating from her young daughter and because of a scheduling conflict. Jimenez was eliminated in the show's sixth episode. In a Project Runway testimonial, Jimenez disclosed that she was the victim of a motor-vehicle impact as a pedestrian. She ran into the path of a Peugeot 205 and cracked her skull open "3, almost four inches". She made a significant recovery. In 2012 Jimenez participated in the first season of '' Project Runway: All Stars'' but was eliminated in the first episode.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Elisa American fashion designers Living people 1963 births Artists from Santa Fe, New Mexico Interdisciplinary artists Artists from El Paso, Texas Project Runway (American series) participants University of Arizona alumni University of Texas at El Paso alumni