Micha Klein — the “Steve Jobs of VJ art” — passed away last Friday.
As a young near–dropout at art school, he pushed a lonely Amiga computer in the school basement to produce colourful 3D computer graphics — something almost unseen at the time. This was years before Toy Story. In a conservative environment it was just enough to graduate. In the outside world, it was more than enough to start a revolution.
In the club scenes of Amsterdam and Ibiza, he pioneered the projection of artificial fantasy worlds that elevated house music — another revolution of that era.
I first encountered his work at his landmark 1998 exhibition at the Groninger Museum and was mesmerised: huge, vibrant prints of cartoon figures that felt like they had escaped from a time machine. His fusion of computer graphics with staged photography — reminiscent of David LaChapelle — was unlike anything I had seen before.
When I entered the VJ world (introduced by Daan Nolen), I always saw his slick bold happy style as a great reference point on how to apply 3D visuals. And - to this day- a unique example of a VJ making a name for himself.
We met him about ten years ago when he was a keynote speaker at the Amsterdam Dance Event. He was 45 minutes late, quite a character, super charming and the audience was exuberant. He graciously referred to our VjAcademy students as his Kleinkinderen — his grandchildren.
In the few conversations I had with him afterwards, he struck me as endlessly youthful: kind, playful, curious. It feels strange and sad that we can no longer call him a living legend.
Now he simply is a legend.
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Originally published on LinkedIn · 30 January 2026