Alums - RIT
Misha Tulek
artist statement
These photographs describe an attempt to elucidate a point upon the perceptions which define social identity. Through the use of photography, sculpture, and a study of the economy of a landfill in the third world, I highlight questions about social space, and the nature of self-determination and versus. I did so by creating a group of sculptures which visually represented my conception of the identity ascribed to individuals living and working in La Chureca, Central America’s largest landfill. The flat nature of the sculptures combined with a caricature like form of the human head and torso speak of the nature of social space to be had as a landfill worker: flat, un-described, un-unique, filled with, and surrounded by, trash.
what do you love about the MFA program at RIT?
RIT's MFA in Imaging Arts program has taught me how to ask the deep questions of my artistic self. What do I really want to say? How do I want my work to look? What should people feel about the work?
Through a unique process of workshops, critiques, and technical instruction, RIT has given me to the tools to not only ask, but begin to answer these essential and practical questions about myself and my work.
graduation date: Spring 2012
Whitney Warne
artist statement about Puffery:
The external body is a place to perform a version of ourselves, rather than be ourselves. To perform is to strike a balance between the self and the rules, between individual action and gesture and the script––between what you know and what other people tell you to know. Puffery explores the culturally constructed performance and expected behaviors of the modern female. I have created video and photography documented durational performances that question a female’s relationship with exterior presentation. Viewers watch as she exposes her façade––examining it and breaking it down in an effort to negotiate self, power, and control.
what do you love about the MFA program at RIT?
The faculty and staff at RIT provide the complex infrastructure needed to help motivated students become critical thinkers and productive artists. The professors at RIT emphasize the diversity in the photographic medium and highlight the endless conceptual possibilities within the scope of the lens. The fully equipped facilities allow extensive exploration of equipment, ensuring a practical and technical education. My Masters of Fine Arts from RIT enables me to work in a wide range of professional settings including teaching, professional studio work, technical assistance, magazine work and freelance photographing.
graduation date: May 2012
Whitney Warne, from the series Self Control