Michelle A. Tippmann received her Bachelor of Art in Photography from Grand Valley State University in 2008.

Artist Statement for "Spaces Living in Places":

"Place. Can you define it? This body of work is my articulation of familiar places and the spaces in them, left open to our individual interpretation; in that these locations are first constructed and then personalized to meet specific needs. These images were sculpted through my understanding, belief and experience of these places and how they express both personal and public significance. 'A spot in the universe, with a gathering of physical stuff there, becomes a place only when it ensconces history or utopia, danger or security, identity or memory. In spite of its relatively enduring and imposing materiality, the meaning or value of the same place is flexible in the hands of different people or cultures, malleable over time, and inevitably contested.' -Thomas Gieryn." -Michelle A. Tippman