Priscilla BriggsFaculty

As a practicing artist, my work has evolved with my life experiences. I first realized my passion for the photographic image as a college student, when I spent every spare cent I had to buy film and photo paper. Since then, my work has evolved from portraiture to a more concept-driven approach to art-making. Lately, I have focused on themes related to consumerism and capitalism. This focus emerges from a concern for the environment and global economic inequities, as well as an interest in how identity and values are shaped or influenced by advertising and consumerism.

Since graduating with a BA degree from Carnegie Mellon University, my career path has been varied. Before coming to teach at Gustavus, I had many experiences teaching studio art to students of all ages and diverse backgrounds. I enjoy teaching within the liberal arts mission of Gustavus and guiding students in their experience of the visual arts as both an intuitive and intellectual process.

Currently, I teach both Digital and Darkroom Photography as well as Video Art. My video works have been screened in venues such as the Minneapolis International Film Festival, the Charles Theater in Baltimore, MD, and the Hillstrom Museum at Gustavus. Most recently my photography has been published in my monograph, Impossible Is Nothing: China's Theater of Consumerism, and the Thames & Hudson catalog for the exhibition Civilization: The Way We Live Now.

Courses Taught