Meet the Graduating Class

Kelsey Quinn Harrison (MFA 2017)

Hometown:
Orinda, California

Three words that describe you:
Intense, cozy, skeptical

Favorite class or teacher:
So many, Lan Tuazon's sculpture disciplinary seminar was foundational, historically and theoretically. Chris Cutrone's Adorno on Culture Industry. John Murphy's class Victorian Space (because we are in many ways still Victorian). I could go on.

Something that inspires you:

Nagging nonresolution. Delightful strangeness that defamiliarizes something too close to see.

One sentence that describes your work:
I make architectural fragments to speak of the built world at large and abstract them to undo the authority of given forms of architecture and move architecture toward figurative expression usually associated with the human body, which is meant to confuse the boundary between the subject and the environment.

Dream job:
I went to graduate school in order to teach sculpture at the college and graduate level and to continue to make artwork.

Herman Aguirre (BFA 2014, MFA 2017)

Hometown:
Chicago

Three words that describe you:
Loyal, creative, disciplined

Favorite class or teacher:
The Dream, a Painting and Drawing class taught by Tony Phillips. I took it three semesters in undergrad, and it changed my life and painting process. Tony is an extremely profound, articulate, and passionate teacher who leaves the door wide open for possibilities.

Most memorable moment at SAIC:
Receiving my acceptance letter for the MFA program.

Something that inspires you:
Painting, music, playing the drums, life, love, family, the universe, artworks, war, learning, and teaching.

One sentence that describes your work:
Extremely passionate, expressive, and experiential dense paintings.

Dream job:
An accomplished practicing artist/teacher. After years of being a student and assisting professors, I am passionate about learning from and teaching others. I also would love to support myself through my painting practice.

Brianna McIntyre (BFA 2017)

Hometown:
St. Louis, Missouri

Three words that describe you:
Fun-loving, reticent, ambitious

Favorite class or teacher:
Dimensional Forms with Dana Carter. Dana had the keys that unlocked a lot of my potential. She gave me so many useful techniques that I rely heavily on today, and she carved out time in each class for students to experiment.

Most memorable moment at SAIC:
The Black Experience last spring was one of the best events the School has hosted, and it was for us. Everyone was sweating it out and exuding Black joy.

Something that inspires you:
History inspires me. I dwell on the future when I learn something interesting about history.

One sentence that describes your work:
My work is intuitive; it reveals my self-awareness.

Dream job:
My dream job is to work for myself with a wood shop and a sewing lab at my disposal. I would love to be a brand of products ranging from furniture and designed objects to fashion.

Justin Nagle (BFA 2017)

Hometown:
Bridgewater, New Jersey

Three words that describe you:
Sarcastic, amicable, cultivated

Favorite class or teacher:
Anything in the Fiber and Material Studies department. It has amazing faculty who care about their students.

Most memorable moment at SAIC:
When Felice Dublon flipped her wig at orientation.

One thing you know now that you didn’t know before SAIC:
I expanded my technical abilities in both making and writing. The biggest thing that I learned is that you have be yourself and make the best of whatever situation that you are put into.

Something that inspires you:
I am inspired by excess and all that that it entails. I draw on the absurdity of life as a way to channel my vision, in both writing and making.

One sentence that describes your work:
Picture a princess party gone wrong, throw up everywhere.

Dream job:
I would love to earn from what I create, be it writing or installation, as well as teach.