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Jennifer Tipton Named MacArthur Fellow
Saratoga Springs, NY (October 3, 2008) – Yaddo artist and internationally recognized lighting designer Jennifer Tipton is among the 25 creative professionals working in a wide range of fields who are the recipients of a 2008 MacArthur Fellowship from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, it was announced recently in Chicago. The MacArthur Fellowship is a five-year grant to individuals who show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future. It is a "no strings attached" award designed to provide recipients with the flexibility to pursue their creative activities in the absence of specific obligations or reporting requirements. There are no limits on age or area of activity. Individuals cannot apply; they must be nominated. Each fellow receives a $500,000 stipend paid in quarterly installments over five years. Ms. Tipton, who was a Yaddo guest artist earlier this year, was cited by the award committee for “pushing the visible boundaries of her art form with painterly lighting that evokes mood and sculpts movement in dance, drama, and opera”. In a statement, the selection panel credited Ms. Tipton for “redefining the relationship between lighting and performance” and for pioneering the use of white light in theater and dance. A 1958 graduate of Cornell University, Ms. Tipton, 71, lives in New York City and serves as an adjunct professor of lighting design at the Yale University School of Drama. She has designed lighting for numerous dance performances for such companies as the New York City Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, Twyla Tharp Dance, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and for theatrical productions at such venues as St. Ann’s Warehouse, the Public Theatre, and the Metropolitan Opera, among many others. Similar to Yaddo, the MacArthur Fellows Program, sponsored by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, emphasizes the importance of creative individuals in society. Nominees are reviewed for their achievements, but the fellowship is an investment in a person's originality and potential rather than a reward for past accomplishments. In line with that goal, in 1990 the foundation established an endowed residency at Yaddo to annually support the visits of two creative artists working in any discipline. Painter Anne Connell most recently held the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Residency at Yaddo. To date, 25 Yaddo artists have received MacArthur Fellowships. For a list of all the Yaddo recipients, click here.
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