Artist, Filmmaker, and Writer Michelle Handelman on Five Things You Need to Create a Highly Successful Career as an Artist
…It’s really important for artists to figure out the kind of life they want. It’s not just about the art, the job, the success; it’s about how do you envision your life? Do you want to live in the country or the city? Do you want to be single or partnered? Do you want kids or do you want to go to clubs every night? Or do you want to bring the kids to the club with you! It’s important to do everything you can to build the life you want because it’s your life. And then you have to make peace with your choices or change. Always remember that you can change…
I had the pleasure of talking with Michelle Handelman. Michelle is a prominent American contemporary artist, filmmaker, and writer. Her artistic journey is deeply intertwined with the cultural shifts and crises of her time, notably the AIDS epidemic and the Culture Wars. Handelman’s pioneering spirit and willingness to confront societal taboos have established her as a vital voice in contemporary art.
Handelman was the youngest of three children. Her parents divorced when she was ten, leading to a bifurcated childhood split between the conservative suburbs of Chicago with her mother and the counterculture scene of Los Angeles with her father.
Handelman pursued her passion for the arts at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she earned her BFA in 1990, and later at Bard College, where she completed her MFA in 2000. Her educational journey was marked by the mentorship of influential figures like George Kuchar, who encouraged her to carve out her unique path in the art world.
Handelman’s career began in the early 1980s in Chicago, where she immersed herself in the city’s vibrant underground music and art scenes. Her early works were characterized by experimental 16mm black-and-white films that blended performance art with provocative themes. Moving to San Francisco in the mid-1980s, Handelman collaborated with industrial music pioneer Monte Cazazza, producing works like “The Torture Series” (1994) and “Catscan” (1990). These projects garnered critical acclaim and won awards, including the Sony Visions Award in 1995. One of Handelman’s most significant contributions is her 1995 feature documentary, “BloodSisters.”
Handelman’s academic career is as distinguished as her artistic one. She has served as a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, where she helped establish the FIT Film and Media undergraduate program. Her influence on the next generation of artists and filmmakers is profound, as she has mentored numerous students, encouraging them to push the boundaries of their creative expression.
Handelman’s work has been exhibited internationally, from the British Film Institute in London to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris. Her multiscreen video installations, such as “Hustlers & Empires” (2018) and “Irma Vep, The Last Breath” (2013–2015), have been celebrated for their innovative approach and powerful themes.
Throughout her career, Handelman has received numerous awards and fellowships. She was awarded the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship in 2011 and a Creative Capital award in 2019. Her installations have been featured in prominent venues and festivals, including the Performa Biennial in New York and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Handelman’s recent project, “Delirium,” explores altered states of consciousness through a multiscreen installation with live performance, reflecting her continued commitment to pushing artistic boundaries.
Michelle Handelman’s work is a testament to the power of art to challenge societal norms and provoke critical discourse. As a trailblazer in contemporary art, Handelman’s influence extends beyond her creative output, inspiring a new generation of artists to embrace their authentic selves and push the limits of their artistic expression.
Michelle, it’s a delight to meet you. So before we dive in deep, our readers would love to learn about your personal origin story. Can you share the story of your childhood and how you grew up?
Wow, that’s quite a question, where to begin? Well, my parents were high school sweethearts. They were working-class Jews from the South Side of Chicago, who had three children by the time they were 24 years old. My dad was a traveling salesman, my mom was a homemaker, and that’s where it all started, on the South Side of Chicago.
But then the late ’60s hit, and my father became radicalized. He started to examine his life in relation to the growing counterculture revolution and took a sharp left turn. My parents divorce was the best thing to happen to my young artistic self. I was around 9 years old and my father started taking me to protests and rock concerts. He arranged for me to get a membership to the ACLU when I was 10 years old. And eventually he went completely off the grid.
My mother stayed in suburbia and married her way up the ladder. By the time I was 16 my mother had remarried, one of my brothers was living on the streets, and my father moved from Los Angeles where he was running a massage parlor, to the hills of Northern California, where he became part of the first wave of pot growers in the late ‘70s.
So, I had this split childhood, one half was a suburban existence with my mother and brothers, and the other was this political, radical counterculture with my father. I was always my father’s daughter, the wild and radical child, but now I carry a bit of both of them.
What brought you to this career as a successful artist, filmmaker, and avant-garde leader?
I can’t overestimate the influence my father had on me. He grew up in pre and post-war America during the 1930s-1950s, and watching him find a new way to live was pivotal. One of the most important things I learned from him was to treat everyone with equal respect. He always emphasized that you are no better than anyone else, whether they’re living on the street or living in a luxury apartment. And he also taught me to avoid falling into the trappings of capitalism, nor get a 9 to 5 job which would rob me of my most valuable asset — my time.
Before I became a filmmaker and artist, I thought I would be a civil rights attorney. As a pre-teen I was raising money for social justice organizations, and in high school I was a consumer rights activist. However, I became quickly disillusioned trying to get the city of Chicago to treat people fairly in the courts, as the corruption was rampant and I realized that if I continued down that path, I’d be miserable for the rest of my life. Additionally, my mom’s second husband, who really raised me, died shortly after I started college. All of this set me on a different path. For a while, I felt like, “What’s the point? Why do anything if we’re just going to die?” But then I came to realize, “Why not do anything because we’re just going to die?”
By my mid-20s, I started to take art-making seriously. It began with a camera and led to the expansive practice I have now. For me, it was a process of elimination — trying different things and searching for what truly electrified me. When I discovered photography and visual art filmmaking, it electrified me. From that point forward, success meant having the time to make my work, putting it out into the world and having an audience engage with it. I don’t measure my success through money or awards. Success is about touching people in some way, having conversations with the public and creating a cultural exchange. To get there, you must be willing to take risks, to make friends with fear, and just put yourself out there.
Amazing. So, you probably have many interesting stories from your textured and colorful career. I’m sure it’s difficult to narrow it down, but can you share one or two of your favorite memories or stories that exemplify your career or what your life is like?
I can think of one story that always sticks with me. While I was studying film at the San Francisco Art Institute, one of my mentors there, really the only professor who truly understood what I was trying to do, was an independent filmmaker named George Kuchar. One day, George took me aside and said, “What you want doesn’t exist. There’s no path out there with your name on it. There’s no job that will fulfill you, there’s no answer to your questions. You’re going to have to build your own path. It’s all up to you to create your life.”
That moment was mind-blowing. It was the first time an artist I admired took the time to tell me something specific and direct, just to me, not to a group, and it really struck a chord. George’s advice exemplifies my life and the expansive work I do. It captures the essence of the life I have built for myself.
It’s been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Do you have a story about a humorous mistake that you made when you were first starting and the lesson that you learned from it?
Oh, God, that’s a good question. Mistakes. I mean, I still make tons of mistakes all the time. I can’t think of a specific story right now, but I think, in general, the biggest mistake I made was not seeking out the guidance of older mentors. The example I just told you about with my professor, George Kuchar, was unique. He came to me; I didn’t go to him asking what I should do with my life.
I always felt like I knew better than anyone what I wanted for my life, so why should I ask for help? Youthful arrogance, combined with fear. I didn’t even know how to allow myself to be vulnerable enough to ask for help. So, I think the biggest mistakes I made were when there might have been opportunities to ask for support and guidance from someone, but I didn’t.
On a lighter note, recently I was at a private museum opening and was introduced to a woman. I asked her, “Oh, are you one of the artists in the show?” It turned out she was the executive director of the museum. So that’s one of those mistakes where you learn to do your homework before going to a party!
We love stories where somebody a little further ahead opens the door and creates an opportunity that changes someone’s career or life. Do you have stories like that, where an act of kindness puts you on a different trajectory?
Thankfully, yes! The first story that comes to mind is when Tony Labat, a Cuban-American artist who was a professor at the San Francisco Art Institute, offered me my first teaching job. I had never imagined I would be a professor, never had the desire to teach, nor be part of academia. But when he offered me a course I said, “Sure, I’ll try it.” It was frightening to stand up in front of 30 students for the first time, with all of them staring at you, expecting you to enlighten them, but I quickly got over my fear and realized that this was something I could do. And wanted to do. It made sense to me. I learned so much from my students. That random opportunity started me off on a 25-year teaching career, which I just retired from this past year. Who knew it was going to change my life.
Another supporter of mine was Michael Rush, a well-known video art curator who sadly passed away a few years ago. Michael had been talking to the New York Times about writing an article on performance art for several years, and when the article finally got the green light he needed to write it quickly. He called several NYC venues to find out about their current performance events, and I happened to be part of an exhibition at the Aldrich Museum. Michael called me up without knowing my work, and we hit it off right away. He wrote the article for the New York Times, and it featured a huge photo of me on the cover of the arts section. That catapulted my visibility, and began a decades-long relationship with Michael. He opened so many doors for me, like taking me to China to show my work — a place I never thought I would go, let alone have an exhibition.
So you have some amazing work and projects. Can you share with our readers any of the exciting things you’re working on now and anything you hope to be releasing or working on in the near future?
I’m working on a new project called Delirium. It’s a large-scale multi-screen installation with live performance, exploring altered states of consciousness through various lenses. Delirium is about getting outside your body, outside your mind, and transform into a pure, visceral state. I started this project while dealing with the grief of my mother’s death. The first section, Delirium, Part One: Death (The Breakdown) delves into psychological transformation, using bodies, dancers, light, and sound to convey the feeling of inhabiting the dark and untenable spaces of loss and grief. It features the No-Wave musician and spoken-word artist Lydia Lunch performing a text on death, violence and intimacy.
I’m currently working on the remaining parts of Delirium featuring composer and vocalist M Lamar, musician CHRISTEENE, and founder of the band Light Asylum, Shannon Funchess. I’m also speaking with potential premiere venues. This four-part production is about harnessing the tsunami of emotions we all carry, and releasing them in some form. It’s difficult to confine to words, as it’s about experiences that go beyond spoken language.
What would you say is the main motif or take away you want people to have when they experience it?
I want people to be shaken to the core. I want them to leave having found something within themselves that they didn’t know existed.
That’s fascinating. So you’re suggesting that to find that hidden part of yourself, you need to be shaken to your core?
Yes, exactly. I think it can take many forms, but first we need to dissolve the masks and shatter the mirroring between ourselves and society to get to the core of ourselves.
So when you say being shaken to your core, do you mean shaking off limitations and obstacles to see yourself as you really are, not as you want the world to see you?
Yes, that’s part of it, but it’s not simply about shaking off the mask that you put on for the world, it’s more about shaking off the boxes and masks that the world forces upon you, peeling off the projections of the oppressors. I hope people can find a part of themselves that has been dormant or silenced.
This sounds like part of your work on altered states of consciousness. Are you saying you can access these states without mind-altering drugs, just through experiencing art?
Yes. While mind-altering drugs can also achieve these states, sound and light are powerful tools, too!
So, if you could take all of your work — your films, your art, everything you’ve done — put it into a bucket and blend it with a blender, what would be the overall message you could take from your work?
First of all, I’m not telling people what to think. I don’t have a specific message that people need to “get”. My work is created in such a way that the viewer makes their own meaning, they find their own message. So, if you really want to nail it down to a specific message, it’s to tell people to follow their imagination. And when they think they’ve reached the limits of their imagination, to go further.
OK, so this is our signature question, Michelle. You’ve been blessed with a lot of success. Looking back to when you started, can you share five things you need to create a successful career as an artist?
OK, well, the first thing I would say goes back to the story I told you about my mentor, George Kuchar. Know that the world you want for yourself doesn’t exist — you have to create it.
And the next thing is, I know everyone says this so it’s going to sound cliché but, follow your vision. However sometimes you don’t know what your vision is, so maybe it’s better to say, if you’re going to be a successful artist, you have to have visions — plural. You have to have dreams. It’s not just about following your vision; it’s about staying true to who you are. Don’t be trendy or follow what other people are doing, even if it seems like a path to “success.” You know, you do you. There’s only one you, and even though it’s such a cliché, it’s true. You really have to stay true to who you are.
Another thing you need to be a successful artist is to find the urgency in what you’re doing. You need to find that urgency — the feeling that you have to make this. You don’t know why, you don’t know if it makes sense to anyone else, but you have to make it. If you don’t have that urgency, you shouldn’t be making whatever it is you’re making. Just stop and do something else until you find that urgency, and don’t let anyone talk you out of it.
Most importantly, you have to make friends with fear. Know that fear is part of the creative process. Many of us let fear hold us back, but you can’t get rid of fear. It’s a given. You have to take fear by the hand and go, “OK, fear, here we are. Let’s go do this.” That goes hand in hand with what Jack Doroshow aka Flawless Sabrina, another mentor of mine always said to me: “If it doesn’t make you nervous, it’s not worth doing.”
To be a successful artist, you also need to ask for support. Whether it’s specific like asking for financial support, or asking an older artist to introduce you to someone, you need to ask for support and build relationships. This is crucial because you never know where people will end up or where help will come from. I was recently nominated for an award by someone I had a unique encounter with many years ago, and never imagined that they still thought about me. Relationships and respect, past and future, are key.
Lastly, it’s really important for artists to figure out the kind of life they want. It’s not just about the art, the job, the success; it’s about how do you envision your life? Do you want to live in the country or the city? Do you want to be single or partnered? Do you want kids or do you want to go to clubs every night? Or do you want to bring the kids to the club with you! It’s important to do everything you can to build the life you want because it’s your life. And then you have to make peace with your choices or change. Always remember that you can change.
And one more thing: having been through intensive chemotherapy and cancer treatments, I think the most important thing any artist can do is to just stay alive. Stay alive and keep working. Keep making the work you’re compelled to make. Because being a survivor is its own success, longevity is everything.
How can our readers continue to follow your work? How can they see your exhibit and support you in any way? How could they purchase anything that could support you?
People can follow me on Instagram @michellehandelman and visit my websites www.michellehandelman.com where they can sign up for my newsletter and www.bloodsistersthemovie.com where they can rent my films from Kino Lorber.
So beautiful. Michelle, it’s really been an honor and a true pleasure to meet you. I hope that we can stay in touch.
Thank you.
Artist, Filmmaker, and Writer Michelle Handelman on Five Things You Need to Create a Highly… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.