lizavetar96

I don't know if I can post some good non-mfa related news here, but several of my photographs (that were part of my MFA Portfolio submission) are a part of a VR showcase for Blink Berlin gallery. If you are interested here is a link to check it out online (my stuff is under my name Elizabeth Rakhilkina, 4 photographs overall) https://blinkberlin.com/vrg/ also, I remember that SocialKonstruct was interested to see my work and I finally updated my portfolio section on my website, here is the link to my practice. all my serious stuff is in b&w https://erakhilkina.squarespace.com/photography#/black-white

Hey, did you apply for a departmental scholarship? (In the handbook that the chair sent the accepted applicants there should be a link to it)

The public art in Chicano Park is gorgeous. I would love to come and check it out after the pandemic madness subsides. It is very interesting how open to engagement your creative approach is. (I work with primarily Russian queer people so everything is very inwards, more behind closed doors type of the situation).

The public art in Chicano Park is gorgeous. I would love to come and check it out after the pandemic madness subsides. It is very interesting how open to engagement your creative approach is. (I work with primarily Russian queer people so everything is very inwards, more behind closed doors type of the situation).

Yeah, same here. I really hope they offer assistantships and scholarships etc, as I lost my job due to COVID and overall I am just not ready and never will be to go into such huge debt for any kind of education. i also checked out your work, it is really inspiring, I wish I could see some of your public arts stuff in person when I travel to California (I have never been there). but yeah, I am keeping my fingers crossed that USC has some funding opportunities.

Gotcha. Thank you. Maybe it is a dumb question but I always wonder what exactly is meant when I am asked about the process. Should I talk about practical and technical realities or my work? Or the way I conceptualise it? Or both? anyhow. I am a bit worried about all this.

They said that they have “a couple of follow up questions about my work”. Can I ask who you interviewed with you? last time for me it was James Ramer and Simone Douglas and tomorrow it will be Ramer and Arthur Ou.

I absolutely agree with you, it was my top choice too (I also got accepted to SVA). I am also flabbergasted that programs like UT that are accepting only 1 photo student this year have not been transparent about the situation from the start. They do not offer application fee waivers either. I lost my job because of the pandemic and my weekly unemployment benefit is 97$ and the application fee to UT ate my weekly benefit basically. And 1 person per program is a roll of a dice essentially. And then their answer is basically.... oh well you could have been rejected AND ALSO you could have forgotten to submit your application all together. Like come on guys. We all know what is going on, just be transparent with me. Can I see your work anywhere? My IG is @erakhilkina

Also, Parsons asked to have a second call with me for tomorrow (Photo program). I am quite nervous as our first interview was really long and intense. I am wondering what other questions they have.

I have got the same thing in my emails. i reached out as I thought that may be I fucked up part of my application and forgot to submit something and they emailed me back with this: ”I appreciate your inquiry, and understand the information on the Graduate Studies website may be unclear. In this case, the Studio admissions committee decided to not move forward with your application. Regarding the incomplete status, if applications are denied and also not complete at the time of review (at least one component is missing or pending), they cannot be processed as denials. They must be processed as cancellations. I do not have specific information regarding the factors that were part of application decisions, but you are welcome to re-apply for the next application cycle. Let me know if I can provide further clarification.” i do find this rejection incredibly confusing and misleading as they make it sound like it could have been that I just forgot to finish part of my application

But on a serious side: I looked through the art gallery artists you have brought together and it is an impressive bunch. Would love to collaborate one of these days!

Thank you very much! oh my god, it is 2 months into 2021 and you are already making work. Is there a link for you between working in the studio and in the public environment?

I apologise - I think my response came off too negative. I should have been more careful with the wording. I actually remember you from the Zoom orientation with Nao. Your father (or grandfather?) is also an artist, right? You are right about the rankings. I phrased my response more in terms of “I don’t know” as I really do not how much they matter to curators, buyers etc. I am very new to grad process. But I am on the same page with you about prestige - despite their prestige, I am not applying to any Ivy league schools for reasons I don’t want to discuss on this forum, as a lot of people here are involved in application process to Yale etc and i have nothing but respect for them and their strife. I am applying to CalArts and also places like Tulane which maybe is not ranked well, but I really love the work they produce and admire certain members of the faculty. And I am applying to USC partially because of Nao and the work she put forward, “America the Beautiful” had a big impact on me. That said, I DO think that the whole cohort walking out is a real big thing to keep in mind. It is no shade on the faculty (it is all gone anyway) but it is a hint towards the way admin is structured and the overall culture of the school. And it is not just one anonymous disgruntled person on the internet who wrote about this, but it was such a big shock to a lot of people and major publications wrote about it. Administration should nurture the students, not leach off them, especially considering that we are giving our time and finances to the school. Of course USC is one of the top choice schools for me and I absolutely love the faculty’s work, but at the same time I am weary about the administrative problems that can really diminish my grad experience

Thank you! I honestly need to update my website with my most consistent work but tomorrow I a collection of my photographs will go online - it is a part of the VR showcase Darkroom of a Virtual Gallery Blink Berlin in Germany. It is a part of a group exhibition that presents work of female-identified artists working in the analog medium. the collection is the same work I used for my MFA applications so I will enclose it here for everyone to see. I would love to hear your feedback! You seem like an incredibly insightful artist

Thank you! I appreciate you sharing some info. I am.... very very very bitter that CalArts did not offer me the interview. I would have done A LOT for that school.

I UCLA has been my dream school unlike Yale for a long time for many reasons (Catherine Opie is one of my biggest photo influences and she is the chair) so I was really sad they did not allow admissions for this year. I thought about applying for New Genres but that is just too much away from my practice and ultimately not what I want to do. Overall, I think about places like University of Washington for example which is ranked pretty highly, gives out funding etc and then about USC which is ranked much lower but then USC is in Los Angeles, has well established faculty, but I am not sure how much of a prestige the school really holds after the graduation. I don't know, maybe I am looking at this wrong.

What is a Magic Mountain lol? I am from Russia. I hate interview process to be honest. I think that I am pretty good at it, but my nerves just destroy me in the process of preparing. Best wishes to you too! Do you think USC is a huge deal though? I don't how much rankings matter but after that cohort walkout it has been still recovering. I don't know how much weight USC has in the contemporary art market or if it is more of the name of the past. Especially compared to giants like UCLA or CalArts (who probs passed on me) next to it.

i am a photo major and I know very little about contemporary painting but your work is astounding and I would actually spend $$ to buy something from you if you sell. program that pass on you are definitely losing out in my opinion.

i am a photo major and I know very little about contemporary painting but your work is astounding and I would actually spend $$ to buy something from you if you sell. program that pass on you are definitely losing out in my opinion.

Just got an interview from USC! Excited but so damn nervous. (I feel like the bulk of the interviews are scheduled for the 8th of March) according to the email: The review committee includes Edgar Arceneaux, Thomas Mueller, Ruben Ochoa, Jennifer West and Keith Mayerson, along with Nao Bustamante.

Hey, hey everyone. I just got an email from U of Washington to have a second interview for the Photo program. What the hell do they want to talk about, I am freaking out. Like what should I say to swing the pendalum my way. Damn. They say “it should be more casual”. Dows anyone have insight?

what?..... that is so weird.

I talked with one of their current students and she was really satisfied (she is a performance artist).

that is amazing! what department?