to hear is the one that comes from my own movement as I paint. It feels like my artwork is my dance partner. Actually, we take turns leading.”
Armed with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Jeanne studied in the male-dominated art environment during a time that emphasized conceptual and minimalist art—movements that did not resonate with her. Figurative drawing and painting, on the other hand, were techniques that she excelled at. After graduating from college, she moved to New York City, the art capital at the time, but found herself transferring her skills to the more practical realm of production design. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, she discovered a collaborative community that included talented painters, musicians, filmmakers and designers, many of whom were working on music videos, off-Broadway plays and operas. For two years, she studied under set and costume designer Lester Polokov at his New York Studio and Forum of Stage Design in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village. Here, she admits, she acquired more practical skills than from her training at
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art school. “The extensive skill set I gained there greatly contributed to my success in passing the rigorous exam to join the Scenic Artists Union.” Her career then launched into film production design. She felt honored and appreciated while working on set designs for seven major motion pic- tures filmed in Los Angeles and Chicago, working closely with direc- tor, writer, producer John Hughes, the creative force behind Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), followed by Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) and Uncle Buck (1989). On many of these films, Jeanne was given creative freedom to design imaginative sets, such as ceilings adorned with 33 rpm records. She also painted outdoor murals in Chicago that served as backdrops for Ferris Bueller’s Ferrari escapades.
[Top] Jeanne working with Keith Haring on a music video
[Below] Mural for Pretty in Pink
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