Tag Archives: Student Profiles

Andrea Santizo: Pulling the Strand on view

PortraitThis Friday, April 10th, from 7pm – 9pm, an opening reception will be held for Andrea Santizo’s senior show, Pulling the Strand.

The work ranges in scale and media, from large wooden and wool wall pieces that encompass the viewer, to small copper and salt sculptures that could fit in a child’s hand. Her hybrid objects blend artistic and craft traditions with personal and art historical references. The result is a generous and inviting array of objects that want to shift when you grasp at them but linger in your mind long after the encounter.

In her own words:

As far back as I can remember, there has been a clash between my cultural background and the transplanted American culture in which I was raised. I find myself pushing together what is considered valuable art histories of: frames, prescribed minimalist shapes, drawing and painting, up to traditional textile, fiber, and domestic objects that lack validity within the same art worlds structure in which the formerly mentioned genres reside. In order to form a dynamic exhibition that allows for a critical viewing of such histories, traditions, and acceptable forms of high art, and in doing so directly confronting the polarized art histories and blatant appropriation of traditionally “female” shapes and practices, and questioning the exclusion of craft into the realm of “fine art.”

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Meet Sherry Wang

First term Illustration student Sherry Wang spent two years pursuing a degree in business before she found her true calling. A trip to Beijing changed everything.

“While idly browsing art galleries in Beijing, I met the manager of Primo Marella, Michela Sena,” explains Wang.

“We spoke of my interest in illustration, and I showed her my portfolio. She was very encouraging and suggested I attend art school. I applied to Art Center just days after returning home to L.A. I will always remember what Michela told me: ‘Anybody can do business, but not just anyone can do art. Art is a true talent, a gift.’”

Read more about Sherry and her first five weeks at Art Center in this great interview.

Meet Gabriel Wartofsky

Transportation Design student Gabriel Wartofsky first learned of Art Center from an automobile magazine when he was a child.

He says that his goal as a transportation designer is to “improve the way we move around our neighborhoods, our cities and our planet with desirable, responsible design solutions.”

Read more about Gabriel and his Art Center experience in this great interview.

Meet Olivier Agostini

Broadcast Cinema student Olivier Agostini says that although he is pursuing his Master’s in film, the many other disciplines at Art Center undeniably have an influence on him.

“One of the biggest benefits of being at Art Center is the almost subliminal influence of the other disciplines finding its way into my own work,” he says.

Read more about Agostini’s thoughts on studying at Art Center in this great interview, and check out his student film, 5 Gallons.

Meet Annis Naeem

What’s the most important life lesson that Entertainment Design student Annis Naeem has learned while at Art Center? It’s a pretty simple one—to share.

“Don’t hide what you create from your peers and the world because you are afraid of your idea being stolen,” explains Naeem. “If you do, you will never have the chance to hear someone else’s criticism, input and thoughts on the matter—and that might help improve your original idea.”

Read more about Annis and his Art Center experience at in this great interview.

Meet Steve Gavenas

Steve Gavenas had already earned numerous degrees, and enjoyed a successful career, before coming to Art Center to pursue his master’s in Graduate Art.

“I was looking for a world-class fine art graduate program that would challenge me and help me grow in my technical capability as well as the theoretical underpinning of my work, expand my artistic vision, and allow me to join the vibrant Los Angeles art scene,” explains Gavenas. “I also wanted a school that takes education seriously, with intensive faculty involvement and great classes—not just a residency program like some schools.”

Read more about Steve and his Art Center experience at in this great interview.

Meet Mikey Tnasuttimonkol

MDP student Mikey Tnasuttimonkol earned his BFA with an emphasis in advertising photography from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, N.Y. He chose to come to Art Center to attend the Media Design Program.

“The program is designed in a way that allows me to bring what knowledge I had from my photo background, and combine it with design, rather than just totally abandoning what I have learned in the past,” he explains.

Read more about Mikey and his Art Center experience at in this great interview.

Meet Andrew Kapamajian

Advertising student Andrew Kapamajian says that the incredible creativity of his classmates was one of the most surprising things about coming to Art Center.

“You come to Art Center thinking you have the most unique ideas, then you go to class and find at least three or four others there with the same idea,” he says. “It’s frustrating, but it pushes you to think harder.”

Read more about Andrew and his Art Center experience at in this great interview.

Meet Julia Tsao

Just what is Media Design?

Graduate Media Design student Julia Tsao defines it as “an opportunity space for designers to grapple with the existing elements in the world—whether those elements be tangible, intangible, digital, physical, cultural, social—and out of which create something new, exciting and sometimes confusing. It’s making the old feel new, and the new feel familiar, yet remarkable.”

Read more about Julia and her experiences studying Media Design at Art Center in this great interview.

Meet Steven Butler

Film student Steven Butler is a professional dancer and choreographer in addition to being a full-time Art Center student.

Recently, he worked on a project for a cinematography class where the assignment was to reveal objects in a frame using just one shot. Steven decided to capture a dance performance.

“The idea was to choreograph the camera movements of 10 to 15 dancers to match three minutes of pre-edited music. This meant I had to shoot a three-minute take with no mistakes,” he remembers. “I ran into obstacles with lighting and shadows and most of all, blocking the dancers’ movements off-camera. After about eight takes we got it right.”

Read more about Steven and his experiences at Art Center in this great interview.