| Photography: Success |
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Matt Obrakta
"When I started at MIAD, I saw the majors as very defined, and almost segregated. Later, especially as a junior and senior, you see the majors blending together and understand the full potential of the interdisciplinary opportunities available to you." Although Matt Obrakta's current work is mostly digital photography, he's no stranger to more traditional drawing and painting media. After devoting a large chuck of time to drawing, while majoring in photography at MIAD, Obrakta culminated his college experience by creating a large series of work using photographic materials on paper. The result was a painterly, spontaneous form of photography. Recently, Obrakta has worked diligently to get his own photography business going, pursuing commercial and commission venues while continuing to create fine art photography. Q. What did you think you wanted to be when you grew up? A. As a child, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do, but I was always into art. Maybe as a child and adolescent I wasn't sure what I could with a life as an artist. When I started high school, I knew I wanted to do something in the field of art.
Q. What is your first memorable experience with art and design? Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today? A. My MIAD education has made me think more about who I am as an artist, and has truly guided me on a unique path with my creative work.
Q. What's the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you've experienced life after graduation? A. Use all of the equipment that you can while you're there. Chances are that once you graduate from college you won't ever have another opportunity to use as much equipment and resources as MIAD has to offer its students. Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be? A. I am in the middle of starting my own photography business, while I work helping the handicapped.
Q. What are your goals for the future, in art and in life? Q. Please define how you saw your major while in school, and how that definition has changed over the years. A. When I started at MIAD, I saw the majors as very defined, and almost segregated. Later, especially as a junior and senior, you see the majors blending together and understand the full potential of the interdisciplinary opportunities available to you. to see more work by Obrkata or to inquire about commissions, please visit: www.matthewobraktaphotography.com.
Martin Wasserman
 "MIAD taught me how to see the world differently, it taught me the ins-and-outs of the art and design world, and it also taught me to respect myself as a photographer and artist." Q. What did you think you wanted to be when you grew up? A. When I was a kid, I used to see myself as a scientist when I'd be older. I used to read encyclopedias for fun, and would explore the small world around me whenever I could. Growing into a teenager, I realized I enjoyed people: being around them, working with them, and helping them. I was determined to be a doctor, because this would satisfy my people and scientific leanings. I had never even considered being an artist professionally. Q. What is your first memorable experience with art and design? A. My father's side of the family is filled designers and artists, so from a very early age, I had art all around me. My grandfather was an industrial designer in the 1950's. I remember my father's mother used to take my sister and I to the Milwaukee Art Museum often, and I remember loving to go there. I grew up with art, and it's always been a large part of my life.
Wasserman's concentration for his senior thesis project at MIAD focused on photographing Milwaukee-area Holocaust survivors, a project for which he was featured on National Public Radio, as well as in the local media. Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today? A. MIAD helped me put some resume-worthy items under my belt, so to speak. I spent the first semester of my junior year doing the New York Studio Program, where I interned at the Polaroid 20x24 Studio, meeting a variety of famous artists and photographers, including Chuck Close, Joyce Tenneson,and Andreas Serrano to name a few. Between my junior and senior year, through an internship project coordinated by MIAD, I served as David Turnley's assistant on the Northeast Harley-Davidson Ride Home. I was among the Best in Show for my senior thesis portraits of local Holocaust survivors, and was featured on NPR as well as the local news because of that project. All of these things were made possible because of MIAD, to which I am grateful. Since graduating, I've been published a number of times by the local press, as well as the recruitment catalog for the Milwaukee Jewish Day School. Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD? A. MIAD taught me how to see the world differently, it taught me the ins-and-outs of the art and design world, and it also taught me to respect myself as a photographer and artist. Of course I learned far more than this. But those three things, taken as a whole, definitely were the most valuable things my MIAD education taught me.
Q. What's the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you've experienced life after graduation? A. As far as what I'd tell a high school student, I would say this: MIAD is an amazing school, but you have to have the drive and ambition to want to make the most of it. It's not like a normal college or university in that regard. You have to want to go above and beyond the norm if you want to get the most out of MIAD. You have to go in there with the mindset that you're going to strive to be great. And if you have that drive, that ambition, you will find that MIAD prepared you for the sometimes harsh world of design and fine art (which is the reality) after graduation. Q. If you had to sum up your job, what would it be? A. I am currently a freelance photographer. I have done weddings, some event coverage, some freelance magazine covers, as well as promotional material for non-profit organizations. I would like to continue down this road, maybe opening my own portrait studio sometime in the near future. Q. Please define how you saw your major while you were in school, and how that definition has changed over the years. A. When I first declared my major as Photography, I saw it as a mixture of fine art and design. Personally, I never thought I'd have a career as a fine art photographer. I'd always wanted to go into commercial work, which is something I've accomplished (at least a little bit!) so far. I could've gone to a non-art school for the type of photography I'm doing now. But I made a conscious choice, and I stand by it to this date. MIAD helped me to understand and see differently, a concept that still shapes everything I do, from doing photography to merely walking down the street. I'm a believer in art school, you could say.
Lila Aryan
Q. What did you want to be when you grew up? A. An artist... Q. What was your first memorable experience with art and design? A. My first memorable experience was winning an award for cartoon drawings. Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today? A. It gave me that springboard from which to jump into my career. It gave me confidence for my career in photography. Confidence is everything.
Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD? A. The most valuable thing I learned at MIAD is how to see artistically/creatively... how to develop a vision and how to market that vision. Q. What's the one thing you would tell a high school student who is considering attending MIAD now that you've experienced life after graduation? A. If art is your passion, be persistent and steadfast and work very hard on your vision. There is no greater career experience than having a job that is also your passion.
Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be? A. I create images that reflect my vision, and sell them to the commercial and art world where they creatively and efficiently communicate my clients' message. Q. What are your goals for the future, in art/design and in life? A. To continue to grow my business; constantly creating visually stimulating images for companies and galleries.
Q. What are some of your hobbies/interests? A. I love church, singing, home improvement, softball, gardening, painting and writing poetry. I play soccer religiously! I volunteer as a set painter for my church's drama ministry, and do volunteer photography for Arab World Fest. I've also volunteered as a board member on MIAD's Alumni Association for fifteen years. Q. Are there any specific parts of your resume that you'd like to share? A. I created images for three world-wide jazz CD jackets by Narada records called Nightgrooves. I have many images in the database of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art for the Save Outdoor Sculpture project. I recently finished thirteen images for a book on Center of Wisconsin, Alverno College, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Shakespeare, Milwaukee County Transit System, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren Law Firm and more. Q. Please define how you saw your major while in school, and how that definition has changed over the years. A. Well, I really never knew what to expect in the real world, and now I know what it is like. I never knew how much hard work it would really take.
  
Her photography has been exhibited at:
Jessica Kaminski
"Putting together my thesis show prepared me for starting my own business. The whole concept of having a deadline, learning to create printed marketing materials, showing a cohesive body of work, and putting in my own physical labor were great lessons that were easily applied to being a small business owner." Q. What was your first memorable experience with art and design? A. I remember being in Kindergarten and being given a simple drawing of a dragon to color. I remember adding things to my dragon, such as lollipops for the scales on his back, because I wanted mine to be different. Unfortunately, everyone at my table started to copy my idea! But the memory I have is about first noticing that being creative seemed to be in my nature. Q. How did your MIAD education affect where you are today? A. Putting together my thesis show prepared me for starting my own business. The whole concept of having a deadline, learning to create printed marketing materials, showing a cohesive body of work, and putting in my own physical labor were great lessons that were easily applied to being a small business owner. Q. What was the most valuable thing you learned at MIAD? A. One of the most valuable things I learned while at MIAD was to think first. In the photography department during critique, it was always a question of what you were trying to convey, and whether or not it was being done successfully. I am always dealing with different types of clients who all have different needs and objectives, so this was a very important lesson.
Q. If you had to sum up your job in a single sentence, what would it be? A. All of the things that are great about my personality - my sensitivity, creativity, and versatility - are all Q. What are your goals for the A. I would love to be on set with Annie Liebowitz and watch her create a portrait! I don't know how to make that happen, but I thought I'd put the thought out there! Q. What are some of your hobbies/interests? A. I love traveling, listening to and discovering new music, and learning new things. I am also looking to get back into theater or taking up a dancing class. I'd like to learn Spanish, too... I am half Puerto Rican and would like to be more connected to that side of my heritage.
Kaminski's films have been awarded:
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"There is no greater career experience than having a job that is also your passion."
