Jeffrey Karl Reese Vallance (born January 25, 1955, in
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent Beach Cities, beach c ...
) is an American contemporary artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for projects that blur the lines between object-making,
installation,
performance
A performance is an act or process of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function.
Performance has evolved glo ...
, curation and anthropological study.
Early life
Raised in Southern California's
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...
during that region's transformation from a mix of agricultural and suburban communities into one enormous expanse of
strip mall
A strip mall, strip center, strip plaza or simply plaza is a type of shopping mall, shopping center common in North America and Australia where the stores are arranged in a row, with a footpath in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a ...
s and cookie-cutter houses, much of Vallance's early work is informed by regional iconography and
pop culture
Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
, including his parents' fascination with
Polynesian/
Tiki
In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small woo ...
imagery, and, later, his stepfather's affection for
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Richard M. Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
.
Vallance received a BA in Art from
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge), is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the ...
, in 1979, and an
MFA from the
Otis Art Institute
Otis College of Art and Design is a Private university, private Art school, art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is l ...
, Los Angeles, in 1981.
Vallance is the leading force in a distinct version of
Intervention Art called
Infiltration Art. He creates art by interacting with real-world institutions, communities, politicians, religions, museums and pop-culture figures, tampering within bureaucratic structures to create change without creating conflict. His first public infiltration took place in 1977, when, dressed as a janitor, he sneaked into the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
and exchanged the gallery wall-socket plates with his own hand-painted versions.
Vallance's childhood involvement with his local
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
church inspired much of his later interest in and depictions of religious subjects. Young Vallance was also influenced by the morbid humor of ''
The Addams Family
The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...
'' and ''
The Munsters
''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...
'' television shows, and the feature films ''
The Loved One Loved Ones, Loved One, The Loved Ones, or The Loved One may refer to:
Films
*The Loved One (film), ''The Loved One'' (film), a 1965 American satire based on the Evelyn Waugh novel
*The Loved Ones (film), ''The Loved Ones'' (film), a 2009 Australia ...
'', ''
Harold and Maude
''Harold and Maude'' is a 1971 American romantic black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot follows the exploits of Harold Chasen ...
'' and ''
Mondo Cane
''Mondo Cane'' (a somewhat coarse Italian expletive, literally ) is a 1962 Italian mondo documentary film and directed by the trio of Gualtiero Jacopetti, Paolo Cavara, and Franco E. Prosperi, with narration by Stefano Sibaldi. The film ...
'' (which he now describes as "a sick collection of imagery that warped my young mind").
His first formal training came from his maternal grandfather,
Norwegian folk artist
Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tra ...
Karl Reese, for whom he is (middle-)named.
Vallance's over 80 performances have often involved interactions with foreign dignitaries, including audiences with
King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...
at the Royal Palace in
Nuku'alofa,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
at the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
, and
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
ic presidents
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (; born 15 April 1930) is an Icelandic politician who served as the fourth president of Iceland from 1980 to 1996, the first woman to hold the position and the first in the world to be democratically elected president of ...
and
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (; born 14 May 1943) is an Icelandic politician who was the fifth president of Iceland, serving from 1996 to 2016. at Forseti Höll in
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
.
In the early 1970s, during the
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, Vallance corresponded with government officials in the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and
Red China, trading political badges with
communist party leaders. For his efforts, Vallance was investigated by US federal officials and earned a 12-page
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
file.
At Los Angeles Pierce College in the mid 1970s he created a series of his own wallets, complete with photos & I.D. cards, that he purposefully "lost" at government and public institutions such as The White House. Shown in the Library Building, the wallets were displayed alongside the letters received, on official stationery, when they were returned to him by U. S. Mail. He also did a series of drawings of a bearded and bespectacled Dr. Loam. The series depicted the good Dr. interacting with various and sundry aspects of life, culminating with one titled "Dr. Loam gets a Lobotomy". Quickly executed in colorful markers on poster board, they were hung all over the campus.
Career
In 1983, Vallance traveled to
Polynesia
Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
in search of the myth of
Tiki
In Māori mythology, Tiki is the first man created by either Tūmatauenga or Tāne. He found the first woman, Marikoriko, in a pond; she seduced him and he became the father of Hine-kau-ataata. By extension, a tiki is a large or small woo ...
. The resulting artwork, exhibited first in Los Angeles and then internationally, inspired a new genre which came to be known as Tiki Art.
In 1992, while doing volunteer work for the city-council campaign of disgraced former
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
mayor
Marion Barry
Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Barr ...
(who had just been released from six months in federal prison for smoking
crack), Vallance curated "Splashing with Barry (Marion Barry Pool Party)," an art exhibit at Barry's residence in the Washington View Apartments.
Other projects include creating a Richard Nixon Museum; traveling to the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Geography
* Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy
* Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City
* Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome
* Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
,
Turin
Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
and
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, Italy to study
Christian relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
; installing an exhibit aboard a
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
in the
Västerbotten
Västerbotten (), sometimes called West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in northern Sweden, located by the Gulf of Bothnia. It borders the provinces of Ångermanland, Lapland and Norrbotten. The region is famous for Väs ...
Maritime Museum in
Umeå
Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County.
Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
; curating shows in the so-called fabulous museums of
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
—the
Liberace Museum,
Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood Hotel and Casino
Clarion Hotel and Casino was located near the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It included a 12-story hotel with approximately 200 rooms, and a small casino. The property opened as a Royal Inns of America, Royal Inn on April 19, 1970. It ...
,
Ocean Spray Cranberry World Museum and
Ron Lee's World of Clowns Museum; and initiating a campaign called "Preserving America's Cultural Heritage"—a federal bill that would establish a benefit fund for all living visual artists in the United States. In 2004, Vallance curated the first art-world exhibition of artist
Thomas Kinkade
William Thomas Kinkade III (January 19, 1958 – April 6, 2012) was an American painter of popular Realism (arts), realistic, pastoral, and Wikt:idyllic, idyllic subjects. He is notable for achieving success during his lifetime with the mas ...
, entitled "Thomas Kinkade: Heaven on Earth," at
CalState Fullerton's
Grand Central Art Center in
Orange County, California
Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...
.
Vallance's many forms of work have been exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the world, including
Dakar, Senegal
Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 million in 2023.
Dakar is situated on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the w ...
;
Reykjavik, Iceland;
Zürich, Switzerland
Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
;
Milan, Italy
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
;
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
;
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
,
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
;
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
and
Middelburg, Netherlands;
Vienna, Austria
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
;
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
and
Tasmania, Australia
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
;
Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
;
London, England
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
; and
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
. He is represented by Bernier/Eliades in Athens, Galerie
Nathalie Obadia in Paris, Margo Leavin Gallery in Los Angeles and
Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York.
In popular culture
In 1983, Vallance was the host of
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's ''
The Cutting Edge
''The Cutting Edge'' is a 1992 American sports-romantic comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and written by Tony Gilroy. The plot is about a wealthy, temperamental figure skater (played by Moira Kelly) who is paired with an injury-sidel ...
'', which premiered experimental music videos from such musicians as
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
,
The Bangles
The Bangles are an American all-female band, all-female pop rock band formed in Los Angeles, in 1981. They are known for hit singles during the 1980s that made them one of the most successful pop rock groups of the decade. The band’s biggest ...
and
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
, and featured Vallance's artwork. Also in 1983, Vallance appeared on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's ''
Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of the '' Late Night''. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by ...
'' to discuss what was then his best-known project, ''Blinky the Friendly Hen'', in which he purchased a frozen chicken from a grocery store and buried it at a Los Angeles pet cemetery, and ''Cultural Ties'', a "mail art" project involving the exchange of
neckwear
Neckwear is a category of clothing that is worn around or on the neck. Neckwear can be Utilitarian design, utilitarian in nature, usually to protect the neck from colder temperatures, or can be worn as a "fashion statement." Neckwear is distinguish ...
with such international dignitaries as
Anwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...
,
King Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hussein was traditionally considered a 40th-generatio ...
, Austrian president
Rudolf Kirchschläger
Rudolf Kirchschläger, GColIH (; 20 March 1915 – 30 March 2000) was an Austrian diplomat, politician and judge. From 1974 to 1986, he served as the president of Austria.
Early life and education
Born in Niederkappel, Upper Austria, Kirschl ...
and dozens of others.
In 1984, Vallance appeared on an episode of ''
The Regis Philbin Show'' to teach Philbin how to make art. He has also appeared in numerous European and Asian arts and culture documentaries.
Having created album-cover artwork for several early-'80s
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
bands including Monitor, Vallance was hired by Grammy-winning art director Kevin Reagan to create art for the cover of singer-songwriter
Peter Case
Peter Case (born April 5, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His career is wide-ranging, from rock n' roll and blues, to folk rock and solo acoustic performance.
Biography
Early career
Case was born in Buffalo, New York, B ...
's album ''Six-Pack of Love'' (Geffen) in 1992.
Vallance also created an onstage backdrop for the band
Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...
which was used on tour and seen on ''
The Joan Rivers Show
''The Joan Rivers Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Joan Rivers. The show ran for four seasons, from September 5, 1989, to December 26, 1993.
History
The show aired for five seasons and ended in December ...
''.
Awards
In 2004, Vallance received the prestigious
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation award for installation art. In 2001, he received a Stiftelsen Framtidens Kultur (Foundation Culture of the Future) grant to curate a performance festival at the
Ice Hotel
An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. Ice hotels, dependent on sub-freezing temperatures, are constructed from ice and snow and typically have to be rebuilt every year. Ice hotels exist in several countri ...
in northern
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. In 2000, he was conferred with the royal title of Honorary Noble by the Tongan National Center,
Nuku'alofa, Tonga, and also received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from
Otis College of Art and Design
Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aero ...
, Los Angeles.
Paranormalcy
Since 2003, when psychic medium Dorothy Maksym identified Vallance as being the earthly spokesperson for the disembodied spirit of former US president
Richard M. Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...
(''The Haunting of the Presidents'', by Joel Martin and William J. Birnes,
Signet
Signet may refer to:
*Signet, Kenya, A subsidiary of the Kenyan Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), specifically set up to broadcast and distribute the DTT signals
* Signet ring, a ring with a seal set into it, typically by leaving an impression in sea ...
), Vallance has taken an interest in the
paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
, contributing stories to the UK's ''
Fortean Times
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (from 2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (from ...
'' and leading ghost tours of the
Nixon Library
The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and burial site of Richard Milhous Nixon, the 37th president of the United States (1969–1974), and his wife Pat Nixon.
Located in Yorba Linda, California, on land ...
and Birthplace in
Yorba Linda, California
Yorba Linda is a suburban city in northeastern Orange County, California, United States, approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, and had a population of 68,336 at the 2020 United States ...
.
Vallance's interest in the paranormal was piqued by his paternal grandmother, a
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
, psychic who once appeared on ''
Art Linkletter's House Party'', and his maternal great-uncle
Emil Knudsen, a world-renowned Norwegian psychic who was often enlisted by police and private citizens to find missing persons, dead bodies and lost objects throughout the world.
Vallance's paranormal research projects include
Bigfoot
Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include:
*"A large, hairy, manlike ...
, the
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin (), also known as the Holy Shroud (), is a length of linen cloth that bears a faint image of the front and back of a naked man. Because details of the image are consistent with depiction of Jesus, traditional depictions o ...
, the
Holy Lance
The Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Longinus (named after Longinus, Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is alleged to be the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his Crucifixion of Jes ...
, ghosts of dead US presidents, the
Ravens of the Tower of London
Ravens may refer to:
* Raven, a species of the genus ''Corvus'' of passerine birds
Sports
* Anderson Ravens, the intercollegiate athletic program of Anderson University in Indiana
* Baltimore Ravens, a professional American football franchise
* ...
and the
Loch Ness Monster
The Loch Ness Monster (), known affectionately as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protrud ...
.
For a project at the
Frieze Art Fair
Frieze Art Fair is an annual contemporary art, contemporary art festival, art fair first held in 2003 in London's Regent's Park. Developed by the founders of the contemporary art magazine ''Frieze (magazine), Frieze'', the fair has since expan ...
in London, Vallance assembled psychic mediums to channel the spirits of five famous dead artists:
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...
,
Marcel Duchamp
Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...
,
Frida Kahlo
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...
,
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks ...
and
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock (; January 28, 1912August 11, 1956) was an American painter. A major figure in the abstract expressionist movement, Pollock was widely noticed for his "Drip painting, drip technique" of pouring or splashing liquid household ...
. The project took the familiar form of a panel discussion, wherein the artist spirits responded to a series of questions prepared by Vallance. At the end of the program, the spirits responded to questions from the audience as well.
Writings
Vallance has written for such publications and journals as ''Artforum'', ''Art issues'', ''L.A. Weekly'', ''Juxtapoz'', ''Frieze'' and ''Fortean Times'', and has published nine books: ''Blinky the Friendly Hen''; ''The World of Jeffrey Vallance: Collected Writings 1978–1994''; ''Christian Dinosaur''; ''Art on the Rocks''; ''Preserving America's Cultural Heritage''; ''Thomas Kinkade: Heaven on Earth''; ''My Life with Dick''; ''Relics and Reliquaries''; and ''The Vallance Bible'' (2011).
Academia
Since the mid-1980, Vallance has taught various forms of art at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
;
Otis/Parsons; the
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the ...
;
Umeå University
Umeå University (; Ume Sami language, Ume Sami: ) is a public university, public research university located in Umeå, in the mid-northern region of Sweden. The university was founded in 1965 and is the fifth oldest within Sweden's present bord ...
(Sweden); the
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA or UT San Antonio) is a Public university, public research university in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Established in 1969,[University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...]
(Australia),
California State University Channel Islands
California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI, CSU Channel Islands) is a public university in Ventura County, California. Located near the city of Camarillo, it opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system. ...
; and the
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...
.
He currently teaches a course called "The Art of Infiltration" at
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...
(CalArts), in
Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-most populous city in Los Angeles County, the 17th-most popul ...
.
References
Jeffrey Vallance: "Relics and Reliquaries" at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery ''Art in America'', March 2010.
Jeffrey Vallance at Margo Leavin Gallery by Jan Tumlir, ''Artforum'', April 2008. (Via BNet.)
Van Gogh, Kahlo Speak from Beyond the Grave at Frieze Art Fair October 19, 2010.
January 2009.
by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, ''Los Angeles Times'', April 4, 2004.
External links
''Fortean Times'', November 2007.
Artist Talk: a lecture at the Hammer Museum Los Angeles, California, USA. Video/Slide show. The artist gives an hourlong discussion of his career, Spring 2009.
Los Angeles, California, USA.
''Fortean Times'', January 2005.
Page at the Lehmann Maupin Gallery New York, New York, USA
Description of some of Vallance's works
Jeffrey Vallanceat
Kadist Art Foundation
KADIST is an interdisciplinary contemporary arts organization with an international contemporary art collection. KADIST hosts artist residencies and produces exhibitions, publications, and public events. Founded by Vincent Worms and Sandra Te ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vallance, Jeffrey
1955 births
Living people
People from Redondo Beach, California
American contemporary artists
Otis College of Art and Design alumni