Anthony Warnick

Where are you originally from and how did you hear about MCAD?

I was born in Washington D.C., raised in Los Angles, and graduated high school in Kansas City. I heard about MCAD from a girlfriend a few years after I graduated high school.

Where are you located now?

Manhattan, Kansas.

Thoughts on the Twin Cities?

They are the perfect lover. They will keep you in often. They have a seemingly endless capacity to teach and reward exploration. And they will kick your butt with their frigidness.

Who was your favorite teacher at MCAD and why?

There are so many—Stevie Rexroth, Rik Sferra, Katherine Turczan, Erik Brandt, and Jan Jancourt—but Piotr Szyhalski had the greatest impact upon both my thinking as a person/citizen and my artistic and design practice. His multi-modal approach to making allowed the whole world to open up for artistic engagement, and the critical and embedded nature approach to work gave my practice importance and reason for being beyond myself. These have remained central to my artistic practice and his example remains what I aspire to in the classroom.

What was your major and how did you choose it?

I graduated as a web and multimedia environments major. When I came to MCAD I thought I was going to major in printmaking or photography, but when I met Piotr I knew that whatever program he taught was where I wanted to be. That was about a semester and a half into my time at MCAD.

Did you receive any scholarships? If so, how did that impact you?

I received the Ethel Morrison Van Derlip Award in Media Arts, Media Arts Senior Merit Scholarship, and the Web and Multimedia Environments Merit Scholarship. These both encouraged me that the work I was beginning had merit and help pay for tuition and undertake an artistic project after graduation.

Describe your internships.

I was very lucky to intern with Futurefarmers, a collaborative socially engaged art and design group in San Fransisco. While I was there I completed an art project with them along with collaborating with them on the design and development of project documentation websites. I also had the privilege of interning with the New Media Initiatives at the Walker Art Center. While there I worked collaboratively with the developers and designers on the new online collections catalogue.

What advice do you have for current MCAD students?

Drink water often.
Or
Work makes work.

Best thing you ever got from the free shelf?

A pair of brown chelsea boots I still wear and some security paper that cannot be photocopied or duplicated guaranteeing that a document is an original.

Your biggest takeaway from MCAD?

The central importance of critical thinking and social engagement regardless of field, and with these tools one can undertake any type of project and MCAD imparted the audacity to believe any creative project was within reach.