Michaele Jordana
Encyclopedia
Michaele Jordana, also known as Michaele Berman, is a Canadian pioneer in art and music.
Starting her career in the 1970s as a fine artist and super realist painter, her life-size airbrush paintings of slaughtered whales in Northern Canada are featured in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada
and Art Bank
. Her first show "Oceans of Blood" was exhibited at the Isaac's Gallery in Toronto
. By depicting the giant creatures with innocence and beauty, and presenting the slaughter in a way that was at once shocking but also stylized and aesthetically compelling, she enticed audiences to look and to grapple with the issue of animal rights
amidst the controversy of the seal hunts.
After living in the arctic to be near the mythical creatures she depicted in the paintings, Berman created the performance art piece "The Rites of Nuliajuk," which marked the beginning of her crossover from fine artist to musician. Collaborating with her partner Douglas Pringle and their production company Peak Productions, Berman started composing music and creating the on-stage persona of Michaele Jordana. With her band, The Poles, Jordana became a beacon in the New Wave
movement, and blazed a trail for female musicians in Canada.
With their hit single "CN Tower", The Poles won the first U-Know Award
, were nominated for a Juno
, and were regulars at legendary punk venues including Max's Kansas City
, the El Mocambo
and CBGB
, where they played alongside Devo
and the Ramones
.
Always a champion for those who could not speak for themselves, in the 1980s Jordana Berman directed and produced the award winning documentaries "Moving with the Light" and "Face to Face" which pioneered assistive technologies, as Jordana enabled down syndrome youth to communicate through the introduction of art, light and colored gels, and later arming them with video cameras to go out in the world and shatter stereotypes.
Jordana took a hiatus from the world of New wave music to have a child, Ramona Pringle
, and went on to integrate fine art and music in her future works as a multiplatform artist. Her stage show Storming Heaven, a rock opera
which cast a dystopia
n glance at the realities of animal testing, played to sold out audiences at the DuMaurier Center in Toronto and toured to the United States.
In the mid 1990s, Jordana started applying her photorealistic touch to digital art and design, and together with Pringle started integrating new media platforms into their work, producing music art and video for the web. By 2000, Peak Productions had evolved into the Peak Media Collective, a collective of artists, filmmakers, engineers and other creative minds, working independently and collaborating on large scale public installations such as The Media Tree at Casino Niagara
and Winter Sky, a 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) video fresco at Sherway Gardens
, in Toronto. Jordana continues to work at the helm of the Peak Collective, as the creative director on multiplatform projects, integrating her specialization in different creative fields.
As an art educator, she has taught courses in visual art, video production, media and design, and game design throughout her career at institutions including the art schools of York University
, the University of Guelph
and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology
, where she developed and taught drawing for animators and gameworlds for game designers. Most recently, Michaele has been professor and coordinator of the program in digital animation and game design and development at Centennial College's Centre for Creative Communication.
Starting her career in the 1970s as a fine artist and super realist painter, her life-size airbrush paintings of slaughtered whales in Northern Canada are featured in the collections of the National Gallery of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
and Art Bank
Art Bank
The Art Bank is a division of the Canada Council for the Arts that rents works of art to public and private sector offices.Established in the 1970s the Art Bank buys art from notable Canadian artists through a system of peer review juries. The Bank continues to expand its collection, buying 52...
. Her first show "Oceans of Blood" was exhibited at the Isaac's Gallery in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. By depicting the giant creatures with innocence and beauty, and presenting the slaughter in a way that was at once shocking but also stylized and aesthetically compelling, she enticed audiences to look and to grapple with the issue of animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
amidst the controversy of the seal hunts.
After living in the arctic to be near the mythical creatures she depicted in the paintings, Berman created the performance art piece "The Rites of Nuliajuk," which marked the beginning of her crossover from fine artist to musician. Collaborating with her partner Douglas Pringle and their production company Peak Productions, Berman started composing music and creating the on-stage persona of Michaele Jordana. With her band, The Poles, Jordana became a beacon in the New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
movement, and blazed a trail for female musicians in Canada.
With their hit single "CN Tower", The Poles won the first U-Know Award
CASBY Award
The CASBY Award is a Canadian award for independent and alternative music, presented annually by Toronto, Ontario radio station CFNY, currently branded as 102.1 The Edge. The name CASBY stands for Canadian Artists Selected By You....
, were nominated for a Juno
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
, and were regulars at legendary punk venues including Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, in New York City, which was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s.-Origin of name:...
, the El Mocambo
El Mocambo
The El Mocambo Tavern is a live music and entertainment venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Spadina Avenue, just south of College Street, the bar played an important role in the development of popular music in Toronto since the 19th century...
and CBGB
CBGB
CBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
, where they played alongside Devo
Devo
Devo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
and the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
.
Always a champion for those who could not speak for themselves, in the 1980s Jordana Berman directed and produced the award winning documentaries "Moving with the Light" and "Face to Face" which pioneered assistive technologies, as Jordana enabled down syndrome youth to communicate through the introduction of art, light and colored gels, and later arming them with video cameras to go out in the world and shatter stereotypes.
Jordana took a hiatus from the world of New wave music to have a child, Ramona Pringle
Ramona Pringle
Ramona Pringle is a Canadian actress, digital journalist, television host and multiplatform media producer.Born in Toronto, she was named after the Ramones by her punk rock parents, Michaele Jordana and Douglas Pringle...
, and went on to integrate fine art and music in her future works as a multiplatform artist. Her stage show Storming Heaven, a rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
which cast a dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n glance at the realities of animal testing, played to sold out audiences at the DuMaurier Center in Toronto and toured to the United States.
In the mid 1990s, Jordana started applying her photorealistic touch to digital art and design, and together with Pringle started integrating new media platforms into their work, producing music art and video for the web. By 2000, Peak Productions had evolved into the Peak Media Collective, a collective of artists, filmmakers, engineers and other creative minds, working independently and collaborating on large scale public installations such as The Media Tree at Casino Niagara
Casino Niagara
Casino Niagara is a commercial casino located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1996, on the site of the former Maple Leaf Village amusement park. It was originally an interim casino while the new Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort was constructed. Due to its prime location beside...
and Winter Sky, a 24000 square feet (2,229.7 m²) video fresco at Sherway Gardens
Sherway Gardens
Sherway Garden is a large shopping mall located in Etobicoke with over 200 stores. It is located on the south-east intersection of The Queensway and The West Mall in the west end of the city on the Mississauga border...
, in Toronto. Jordana continues to work at the helm of the Peak Collective, as the creative director on multiplatform projects, integrating her specialization in different creative fields.
As an art educator, she has taught courses in visual art, video production, media and design, and game design throughout her career at institutions including the art schools of York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
The University of Ontario Institute of Technology is located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university shares its campus with Durham College. The university was founded in 2002 and accepted its first students in 2003, making it one of Canada's newest universities...
, where she developed and taught drawing for animators and gameworlds for game designers. Most recently, Michaele has been professor and coordinator of the program in digital animation and game design and development at Centennial College's Centre for Creative Communication.
External links
- http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Pop_Encyclopedia/J/Jordana_Michaele.html
- Official Website