Category: Alumni Story

Shortly after Martin Krafft received his MFA in Photography, Video & Imaging from the University of Arizona School of Art, he headed to Montana and joined a hiking group through Facebook.

That’s where the filmmaker and social practice artist met Rachel Heysham, a free-spirited, young grandmother who had relocated to Missoula to start a new life out of her RV, only to learn her cancer had returned and doctors told her she had two months to live.

It was the summer of 2020. As the nation began to grapple with COVID-19, the two decided to make a documentary together — “her, in the hopes that she would survive and be an inspiration to people with cancer; me, because I was drawn to her enormous will to live,” Krafft said.

He began sleeping on Heysham’s RV couch, driving her to hiking trails, hot springs and doctor’s appointments, and fundraising for her living expenses. Filming took them from Montana to her hometown in Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania — where she had survived abuse, addiction, illness and poverty — to Kansas, back to Montana and finally again to Lawrenceville, where Heysham died in November 2022. She was only 47.

Krafft pressed on and finished the documentary, “Ain’t Got Time to Die.” His 67-minute film, edited by Emma Thatcher, won or took finalist honors at several festivals in the U.S. and abroad in 2024. With the festival run mostly done, he “got tired of waiting to be able to share the film with folks” and decided to release it to the public this year through Eventive, an online streaming platform dedicated to making independent films more accessible to audiences. 

“When I was making the film, I was so caught up in being present with Rachel that I did not have much capacity to think about the life of the documentary after it was made,” Krafft said. “I just knew I had to make it. I was very glad to be able to show Rachel about two-thirds of the film. It was hard for her to watch, but she felt seen by it, understood and appreciated for who she was, without having to be anyone else.”

Early in “Ain’t Got Time to Die,” he asks Heysham how she wants to be seen. “As a fighter,” she says. “As a survivor.” The documentary follows the highs and lows of navigating medical care with a terminal illness. (Heysham tells Krafft she was first diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma when she was 32 and had her cervix removed.) Despite debilitating pain, she rallies to go on adventures, such as hiking barefoot up mountains alongside her part-wolf puppy and kayaking.

For Krafft, though, being her medical advocate becomes a challenge, and the film looks candidly at their conflicts over her skepticism of conventional medicine and Heysham’s arguments with her daughter, Alisha. He counters the sadness with moments of levity and joy — showing heartfelt interactions between Heysham and her grandchildren and dogs.

“Now that the film is publicly available, I have to do the hard work of getting it out into the world,” Krafft said. “Everyone who I’ve gotten feedback from — family, friends and strangers — are deeply moved by it. Everyone sees how much Rachel wanted to live and are deeply moved by that.”

Social practice background

Bringing strangers into his filmmaking and art is important to Krafft. Based in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, he works as a stone mason and community and political organizer and runs Red Rock Rabbit Ranch, an artist residency that supports housing insecure artists.

Inspired by his Quaker practice, he uses video, photography, social practice, sculpture and writing to explore boundaries of “otherness” and share people’s voices not often heard in the media, he said. Krafft has worked in a Catholic Worker house serving the unhoused and Death Row inmates, as an inner-city teacher’s aide, as an alternative preschool teacher and as a nonviolence facilitator.

“Because of these experiences, I’ve interacted deeply with many different kinds of people, seen them in difficult situations,” said Krafft, who received his undergraduate degree in creative writing and economics at Emory University in Atlanta. “That’s taught me to be open to people who are different from me, to try to approach our differences with curiosity and compassion. And whenever that effort fails, to have the humility to learn from incongruities.”

While at the University of Arizona, he and fellow MFA graduate Elena Makansi held a 2018 interactive art exhibit, “A Memorial for Past and Potential Gun Victims,” at the Lionel Rombach Gallery. They invited participants to trace photographs of people who lost their lives to gun violence, with the option to hang the tracings on a wall for others to see. Kraft went on to hold a similar exhibit — “Who Will Be Next?” — on the U of A Mall in 2018 and in Rochester, New York, in 2023.

Krafft and Makansi also created “Traces,” a sculpture memorial for the 2019 Pima County victims of gun violence as part of the 2019 Marcia Grand Centennial Sculpture Award prize. They traced the 204 names and or faces of those who had been lost.

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Krafft hitchhiked across the country, accepting rides from both Trump and liberal supporters and interviewing them. He weaved together their videos for a website titled “Cassandra 2020,” with help from his Quaker community.

MFA program ‘got me up to speed’

Krafft made what he called his first “documentary-ish film” in a video class with School of Art Regents Professor Sama Alshaibi.

“Even though I was the only one making documentary work, Sama has a really good ability to see what you’re trying to make, what its strengths are, and where it needs to go,” he said. “(Now retired Professor) Joseph Labate and (Professor) Martina Shenal in the photo department were also very helpful. Beverly Seckinger, a professor in the School of Theatre, Film and Television, let me sit in on her documentary class.”

Krafft’s 2020 MFA thesis project, “matriarch,” reflected upon the death of his grandmother and how his family went “about mourning and recalibrating our relationships in her absence.” Centered around a three-part experimental documentary of the same name, the installation also featured a photo book with writing, chairs, a corner cupboard holding her purse and a poem — and a wall print made from one of her water-damaged photos.

“I was coming to the Studio Art MFA degree from a writing background. I still used that writing, narrative perspective in my work, but the MFA got me up to speed on what was happening in the art world, what kind of questions were being asked,” Krafft said. “One of the most important questions for artists to sit with is who is making the work, and how does that identity shape what they are seeing.”

What advice does he have for School of Art students wanting to follow in his footsteps?

“For anyone who wants to make a film, I would say just get started,” Krafft said. “I didn’t have a nice camera when I started shooting ‘Ain’t Got Time to Die.’ And the footage wasn’t that great, and the sound was terrible. But it was enough to put me in the world of the film and realize how committed I was to the project, which prompted me to upgrade my gear and be able to use it better on the fly.”

Krafft also said students should heed a message from his old Emory University photography professor, Jason Francisco: “If you want to be an artist, you do it because you have to do it. No one will understand or validate that choice.”

Future projects

Continuing to take Francisco’s advice, Krafft said he’s working on a documentary, “Grampy’s Red Rock Rabbit Ranch,” about the farmhouse where he’s been living in Pennsylvania with his grandfather.

“I was lucky enough to make this film with my friend, a very talented filmmaker, Laura Asherman, so that made it much easier to create than ‘Ain’t Got time to Die.’ We just got to picture lock and will start applying to film festivals in a couple months,” Krafft said.

“I’m also finishing up a video essay on a socially engaged art project called, “Poetry for Strangers,” in which I recited a Rilke poem 1,000 times to strangers throughout Berlin.”

In the meantime, Krafft hopes more people will watch “Ain’t Got Time to Die” now that it’s on a streaming platform.

“As far as a message that I want the film to convey, it’s difficult to reduce to one,” he said, “but maybe the most important one would be an invitation for viewers to channel Rachel’s curiosity for the unknown.”

That message shines through late in the film, when Heysham’s granddaughter Amanda tells Krafft why she wants to be like her grandma:

“Because she explores.”

‘Ain’t Got Time to Die’ 2024 Awards

• Nawada International Film Festival. Best Documentary Winner. Nawada, India
• West Kortright Center Film Festival. Best Picture, Best Documentary Winner. West Kortright Center. East Meredith, New York
• We Make Movies International Film Festival. Best Picture Finalist. Los Angeles
• Lake County Film Festival. Best Picture Finalist. Lake Forest, Illinois
• Southern Maryland Film Festival. Audience Award Winner, Jury Award Finalist. California, Maryland
• Northeast Pennsylvania Film Festival. Best Documentary Finalist. Waverly, Pennsylvania

University of Arizona School of Art alumnus Michael Cajero, a prolific Tucson artist whose striking papier-mâché sculptures represented what he called the human condition, died on May 24. He was 77.

The Process Museum, on Tucson’s far southeast side, houses over 6,000 pieces of Cajero’s art, including ceramics, paintings and drawings. “I’ve dedicated a 5,700 square-foot building solely for his work,” said John Wells, owner of the museum, 8000 S. Kolb Road.

“I never get tired of the creative bombardment that poured from the mind of this artist,” U of A alum Paul Gold (BFA ’83, Studio Art), a Tucson publisher of regional art books, said about Cajero, who died one day before his 78^th birthday.

Born in Tucson in 1947 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Cajero learned how to draw looking at comic books and watching a local instructor on television, Charles “Chuck Waggin” Amesbury, whose “Cartoon Corral” show ran on KVOA-TV from the mid-1950s to the early ’60s.

Cajero received his BFA in painting in 1969 from the U of A and earned his master’s in Art History and Sculpture from Kent State University in Ohio. He was the recipient of Visual Arts Fellowships from the Tucson Pima Arts Council in 1994 and 2001 and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1993. In 2003, he was voted the city’s “best artist” by Tucson Weekly readers.

In his sculptures, Cajero wrapped skeletons of bendable aluminum wire with discarded wrapping paper, corrugated cardboard and other used paper products. He then painted or stained the form, usually in black.

“I like black because the sculptures stand out against the background,” he told Arizona Illustrated in a 2013 interview. “The key is to get a simple image, a quick image that reads really quickly. And black does that.”

Cajero said his creations started with an image and the form, not with words or with an idea. War and despair influenced his art.

“My interest is to shed pathos and feeling through the work about the human condition — and about living in the world,” he said.

In a 2009 Phoenix New Times review, Lila Menconi wrote that Cajero’s figures “communicate so much angst, despair, drive, survival, isolation and heart … name a heavy emotion and Cajero can sculpt it.”

“He uses figures of animals and humans to achieve visceral responses among his viewers,” Menconi wrote. “And he does this extremely well.”

Cajero moved his collection to the Process Museum because he ran out of room in his studio. Inside the building, “it was the first time in my life I’d been able to work with space the way I wanted to work with space,” he said. “I draw in space.”

He added: “Each room has a different installation. They deal with different ideas, different themes. And then I have some obscure rooms where the meaning is intentionally obscure so that people can bring their own meaning to the room.”

In fall 2024, Cajero presented a collection of drawings — “Muerte: Mom Series” — at Pima Community College’s West Campus Visual Arts Gallery that delved into themes of life, death and the poignant relationship between mother and child. His mother was hospitalized with dementia the final year of her life. Cajero visited her daily and recorded what he saw in over 100 drawings, Gold said.

“Known for his work in Arte Povera and Process Museum, Cajero infuses these drawings with the raw emotionality and ephemeral quality characteristic of his assemblage sculptures,” the PCC gallery said. “By merging bold lines and fragmented forms, Cajero creates powerful, evocative pieces that reflect his deep connection to Mexican folklore and social commentary, inviting viewers to explore the complexities of human existence and mortality.”

PCC Arts is holding a final exhibition of Cajero’s drawings, “Dying is an integral Part of Life,” through Oct. 1, 2025, in the new health and science building gallery on West Campus.

Cajero was preceded in death by two brothers who also graduated from the University of Arizona: Paul Cajero (’65, Theatre Arts), who enjoyed a 50-year career in television in Los Angeles as a producer, writer and director; and Roy Cajero (’72, English), who was a librarian in Memphis. Roy died in 2014 and Paul in 2017. Michael’s youngest brother, Nick F. Cajero (’79, Architecture), also is a U of A alumnus.

In addition to his own work, Michael Cajero taught art to youths and adults, including at the Tucson Museum of Art.

His time at the School of Art left an impression on classmates such as Dave Castelan (BFA ’69, Studio Art), who went on to become a graphic artist for the Arizona Daily Star.

“Michael was truly one of the great visionaries ever in Tucson,” Castelan said. “His vision was evident even (as a student at the U of A), and he was always moving on to his next creation. At the end of the semester, I found him sitting on the floor going through through his art before he destroyed them, I told him his work was beautiful, but he replied they were just a learning process and he had to move on. Such an amazing will.”

By Charlie Snyder / Arizona Arts

School of Art alumna Denisse Brito, learning and engagement manager at the Center for Creative Photography, received the 2025–2026 Museum Impact Award – a national honor from the American Alliance of Museums – for her community outreach, audience engagement and mentoring.

In addition, Brito was named to the 2025 class of “40 Under 40” honorees — an inspiring group of Tucson-area young professionals who exemplify leadership, service and a deep commitment to community — by the Southern Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Brito (BFA ’14, Art & Visual Education) was one of eight individuals and four institutions recognized this year for the Museum Impact Award.

“I was surprised and thrilled,” said Brito. “It’s very rewarding to see the field recognize CCP’s community outreach work. To me, it signifies that building bridges with the community and offering access it’s important to the field. That is what makes my work purposeful and impactful; and I’m glad it’s affirmed.”

In its announcement, AAM highlights Brito’s work across Southern Arizona:

 “Denisse collaborates with communities to create programs that reflect various perspectives and stories. She prioritizes engaging, educating, and inspiring curiosity, ensuring that museum content is accessible and relatable, encouraging deeper understanding and personal reflection. By incorporating multiple languages into her work, she helps visitors connect more deeply with the art and its context. Denisse advocates for mentorship, having mentored over 20 students in building practical skills for careers in the museum field.”

“Everyone on staff of the CCP is proud of Denisse’s accomplishments as Learning and Engagement Manger, and, as director I am very thankful for her efforts in making CCP programs welcoming for and accessible to folks beyond the campus walls in Tucson and beyond,” said Todd Tubutis, CCP Director.

Arizona Arts asked Brito about her role and accomplishments and why these areas of her work, including multilingual initiatives, community outreach, audience engagement and mentoring, mean so much to her.

Multilingual Initiatives

Developed fully bilingual (English/Spanish) exhibition experiences. Spearheaded the multilingual text for the exhibition The Place Where Clouds Are Formed in collaboration with Tohono O’odham Community College. Partnered with the Office of Native American Advancement and Tribal Engagement and the Chemehuevi Tribe to lead the Indigenous Language Sign Project.

Why it matters: “The multilingual initiatives are not just about translation; they are about invitation. By creating bilingual and trilingual exhibitions, this work acknowledges and validates the linguistic and cultural identities of many audiences. It ensures that Indigenous and Spanish-speaking communities see themselves represented and welcomed at CCP.”

Community Outreach

Built meaningful partnerships with communities across Southern Arizona, including Indigenous and Hispanic populations, co-creating culturally responsive programming.

Why it matters: “Community outreach builds trust. These collaborations demonstrate a shift from extractive models of engagement to mutual learning, which strengthens cultural relevance and belonging.

Audience Engagement

Increased CCP tour participation by 68%, demonstrating significant growth in public interest and accessibility.

Why it matters: “That kind of growth isn’t just about numbers, it’s a reflection of how connection and representation resonate.”

Student Mentorship

Mentored more than 20 University of Arizona students from varied academic and cultural backgrounds. Equipped students with foundational skills in museum education, programming, and community engagement.

Why It Matters: “Mentorship is about investing in the next generation. It opens pathways for those who might not have otherwise seen themselves reflected in these careers, while cultivating leaders who prioritize community and education.”

40 Under 40 Award

For Brito, being named a 40 Under 40 honoree “is more than just recognition — it is an affirmation of impact,” the Southern Arizona Hispanic Chamber said in a news release. “These individuals represent a diverse range of industries, from business and education to public service and the arts, yet share a common thread: their dedication to making Southern Arizona a better place for all.”

The 40 Under 40 Awards Breakfast will be held Aug. 25 at the Tucson Convention Center. The event will feature a keynote address by Olympic Gold Medalist Kerri Strug, a Tucson native and member of the legendary 1996 U.S. women’s gymnastics team, the “Magnificent Seven.” Strug’s vault on an injured ankle secured the first-ever Olympic gold medal for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team.

More on Denisse Brito

In fall 2024, Brito received the College of Fine Arts’ Excellence in Service Award for community engagement. 

She also serves as co-principal investigator on two photovoice-based research projects supported by the University of Arizona’s Office of Research, Innovation & Impact (RII) and HSI Initiatives.

The first project, “The Arts, Health, and Binational Resilience,” was supported by the HSI Faculty Seed Grant Program. Students created visual narratives that explored immigration journeys through the U.S.–Mexico borderlands to generate dialogue around health and resilience.

The second project is “Building Health Resilience: Reflections on Care, Consciousness, and Community.” This exhibition at CCP was developed through an international collaboration with Universidad Sonora and Instituto Interamericano de Educación Superior para la Salud. It uses socially engaged art practices to spark conversations about health issues in Southern Arizona communities.

• CCP at 50: Center celebrates with ‘Picture Party’

Tucked in the back of Arizona Arts Live’s soothing audiorama installation near Centennial Hall is a small replica of El Tiradito, a popular wishing shrine in downtown Tucson.

For landscape designer and School of Art alumna Micaela Machado, helping create the sculpture out of hemp blocks and the surrounding garden was a chance to celebrate her Mexican-American roots.

“El Tiradito is special to my family, so it was a real honor to recreate it with love,” said Machado, who grew up in Nogales, Arizona, before moving to Tucson and attending Salpointe Catholic High School. “In all my designs, art and landscape, I try to honor the past and protect the future.”

Her past has been pretty special, too. After receiving a BA in studio art with a minor in business in 2007 from the University of Arizona, she landed a cool job as a local artistic fabricator and went back to earn her master’s in landscape architecture from the U of A. That led to Machado starting her own natural building company, Old Pueblo Hemp, which specializes in hemp-lime construction.

Visitors can see the El Tiradito replica inside the “Cuk Ṣon Audiorama” until Dec. 10. The open-air auditorium, just east of Centennial Hall, lets students and others rest in the company of nature and music. Cuk Ṣon is derived from the Tohono O’odham name for Tucson, referring to the 17th-century O’odham village “at the base of the black hill,” now “A” Mountain.

The School of Art recently spoke with Machado about the installation and her career:

Q. How did you get involved with the Audiorama project?

A. I was invited to collaborate on this project by my good friend and design buddy Carlos Arzate of Arzate Design Group. El Tiradito was Carlos’ idea, and when he suggested that we do it out of hemp, I jumped at the chance. We worked out the concept together, and I helped him source the plants, but it is his design. On install day, I was there for the hemp build and to unload and place plants while Carlos and the crew placed boulders. I used to work for Arzate Design Group, so we used to do installs together all the time. Carlos has been ultra-supportive of my choice to pursue contracting and starting my company, and he was happy to give me the opportunity to highlight hemp building in an artistic way.

Q. How did you get to know Carlos?

A. We met through a networking event. And not two weeks later, we were cast together on a TV pilot show in London. It was a landscape design competition show, and Carlos and I recreated an Aztec Pyramid in the middle of the English Countryside. Our tagline was: “We’re bringing the Raza to your English Casa!” It was a bonding experience, and we’ve been family friends and design partners ever since.

Putting this garden together again with Carlos has been a trip down memory lane. We even tagged our old TV producers to show them we are still at it. So, it’s pretty awesome that we are still “Bringing the Raza to your Casa” with this project. From Aztec pyramids in London to El Tiradito at Centennial Hall, we love to highlight our heritage.

Q. How did your childhood impact you as an artist and landscape designer?

A. Growing up on the Arizona-Mexico border and all its mixed culture has influenced my life completely. I am of both cultures. Mexican and American. I speak Spanish and English. “Soy del rancho,” but at the same time I’m super Americanized. It used to feel divided and like I’m not enough of either, but now it feels like a gift I’ve been given. I can connect and communicate with both cultures. I get to be a part if both worlds. I’m not divided. I’m the whole enchilada.

Q. How did your School of Art degree and business minor prepare you for your career?

A. Following my mother’s footsteps, I’ve always been very artistic, and thanks to her I was always very supported in pursuing art into a career. My father the lawyer, on the other hand, was a bit more realistic about my choice. He said that the only way that he would pay for me to go to art school was to get a minor in business, so I could be prepped for the real world, too. At the time I thought he was being dramatic, but in hindsight it really was very valuable advice.

My art degree and business minor really helped me figure out a plan on how to make money while making art — without having to sell my art to a gallery. Through the recommendation of my sculptor instructor, I got a fantastic job as an artistic fabricator for a (Tucson) company called Cemrock, and it really changed my life. I was totally happy traveling, making great money carving, sculpting and painting rockwork all over the country when the Great Recession hit, and we all lost our jobs.

Q. Is that what led you to pursue your master’s in landscape architecture?

A. I was devastated and realized that my position wasn’t as stable as I would want it to be. And by pure silly coincidence, I learned about the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture or CAPLA, and I was super intrigued. I was already manipulating landscapes and creating habitats through my rockwork, and I felt like this was the perfect next step for me. With my art degree, my business minor and my work experience with Cemrock, I felt my portfolio was strong and I was accepted into CAPLA.

Through CAPLA, I learned about a new passion of mine which is sustainable design. I thought I’d be designing golf courses and theme parks, but I learned what a great opportunity and the important responsibility we have as designers to make better choices for our planet and our future generations. Especially here in the desert. It’s so important that we are designing to be in sync with nature. Things that excite me now are native plantings, water harvesting, solar power, food self-reliance, wildlife habitats, natural building materials.

Q. What attracted you to hemp construction, and what are the advantages of the material?

A. I was super happy being a sustainable landscape designer, but my life was disrupted when I learned about hemp. I’ve always been a cannabis advocate — the only plant that can house, clothe and feed you — and when I learned that you could build healthy homes from it, my mind was blown away. Currently, our traditionally built homes are not energy efficient, leach thousands of toxic chemicals and don’t last long enough. But there are so many benefits to building with hemp blocks. They are all natural, can save up to 70 percent in heating-cooling bills and are fire-, mold- and pest-resistant. They are sustainable — you can grow your own building materials — sequester carbon, last for thousands of years and are biodegradable. The price is also comparable to current building methods.

I had to get my hands on hemp, and when I did, it was a clear message from the universe that I should be building healthy hemp homes. So now I’m a licensed, bonded and insured general contractor that specializes in industrial hemp builds.

Q. How do you build with hemp?

A. There are several ways, but I specialize in “block making.” It’s a simple formula of hemp hurd, plus lime binder, plus water compressed into a building block that will last thousands of years. I’m blessed to have this information passed on to me, and now it’s my job to build healthy homes for our future. Hemp building is the way, and I’m excited that Tucson is onboard. It’s funny how this Audiorama project is the culmination of my career and life path. I just built a sculpture out of my own hemp blocks in a beautiful garden at the U of A. What a trip!

Q. Do you have any advice or tips for students at the School of Art?

A. Wear many hats. Art can lead you in many different directions, and it’s such a strong background that it can apply to many careers. Try the different hats out and see what makes you feel best. My career now is not what I thought it would be, but I let my life experiences and passions lead me. Gotta find those jobs that feed your creative side — while still paying the bills.

Before and after earning his BFA in Studio Art, Mike Srsen worked as a graphic designer for Arizona Athletics and for a local advertising firm. But he found his real calling — teaching — when he went back to get his master’s in Art & Visual Culture Education at the School of Art.

Nearly 20 years later, Srsen is now a “legend.”

The longtime Flowing Wells High School graphic design teacher has been named the 2024 Pima JTED Central Campus Legendary Teacher. JTED is short for the county’s Joint Technical Education District, which works with business, industry and 14 member public school districts to provide tuition-free Career and Technical Education programs to 22,000 high school students each year.

“When I sat down with professors in the art education department … it  was like something clicked for me, and I knew like, ‘Oh this is what I’ve been supposed to be doing my  whole life,’” Srsen said in a Pima JTED video. “So, my masters thesis was to create a new class for Flowing Wells’ art department and I added a single section of graphic design and it was kind of a hit on campus.”

That success led Srsen to start the Flowing Wells Central Campus JTED program. More than 100 students learn each school year how to be a creative professional by developing workplace and technical skills, including Adobe software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

Srsen oversees a student-business in which students produce design, print, silkscreen and embroidery work for paying customers. Upper-level students even earn college credit, while in high school, thanks to a dual-enrollment agreement with Pima Community College.

“They work with clients and customers. They see the extra work that goes into it, that’s not just  creativity, but it’s financials and billing and ordering supplies and dealing with people’s moods and personalities,” Srsen said. “Creativity is part of it, but it’s definitely not the whole picture of becoming  an artist in adult life.”

Srsen also takes his JTED students on field trips. Each year, they visit the University of Arizona School of Art for workshops and tour its facilities.

“Renowned for his his creativity, leadership and dedication, he has grown the JTED program into a bustling hub, empowering students through design, entrepreneurship and real-world experience,” Pima JTEd said in an Instagram post.

Srsen, who earned his BFA in 2001 and MA in 2006 from the School of Art, also taught studio art classes at Pima Community College as an adjunct instructor.

“I feel really fortunate to get to have my whole life revolve around art and creativity,” Srsen said, “and to be able to share that with the world and my students in meaningful ways every day.”

Even before the Oscar-winning film “Oppenheimer” hit theaters, University of Arizona School of Art alum Ernesto A. Trujillo created a striking collection of mixed-media prints that portrayed his father’s thoughts and fears of nuclear destruction as a defense industry engineer.

Trujillo first presented the gallery online in December 2022, but the public can now see his solo exhibition, “The Oppenheimers’: One is Dad, Dimensions of Engineering,” through June 7, 2024, at Pima Community College’s Desert Vista Art Gallery, 5901 S Calle Santa Cruz. The show features 23 prints.

A special projects professional at Pima’s Desert Vista campus, Trujillo also teaches business classes as an adjunct instructor at the college.

“It’s been a unique experience working as an artist and having other careers,” said Trujillo, who also is an insurance agent and web designer and consultant in Tucson.

The School of Art recently interviewed Trujillo, who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2004 and his Master of Fine Arts in 2010 — both in mixed media.

Q. How did you come up with the idea for your exhibit?

A. I started the concept for “The Oppenheimers” in 2020, before the pandemic hit. We were developing some WiFi stations for students at Desert Vista Campus who wanted to use our computer lab to continue their coursework. … With social distancing in full force, I needed to make some measurements based on the (room) plans. I remember I had my dad’s engineering Leroy measuring and calculation kits on my bookshelf. As I worked into the night, I thought about all the spoken and non-spoken projects this kit must have seen. 

I also remembered the last conversation my dad, Ernesto O. Trujillo, and I had regarding his time in mechanical engineering. He quoted, “Now I become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” from the Bhagavad Gita, which Robert Oppenheimer also used in his reflections to describe himself. This part of my dad’s life was an enigma because he chose not to speak of it too often. When he did share experiences, I listened. I was amazed at the ingenuity that he discovered and the innovative genius of his colleagues and team members. 

My dad suffered a lot throughout his life, knowing that his work was part of a large-scale destruction. Seeing him wrangle with his past while he was moving forward in another career was tough.

This sparked the question, “How would the visual representation of his unique stories look?” (Below: images from “The Oppenheimers’: One is Dad, Dimensions of Engineering”)

Q. Could you elaborate on that visual representation?

A. I started to write down my father’s stories from memory, as many as possible. I researched notes and memos; I had some pictures of him at work. Then, I spent time sketching, drawing, and making images. 

(The exhibit is partly influenced by) my series called “DDoS Chicano.” A DDoS attack is a Distributed Denial of Service attack, a cybercrime that prevents users from accessing online services and sites. It’s a subcategory of the more general denial-of-service (DoS) attack. The genre combines cyberpunk, technology, cognitive intelligence and Chicano art elements. I look at our humanistic touch points through the lens of computer information systems, trying to find the most efficient ways to connect to others.

I have been involved with information technology, cybersecurity, and cognitive intelligence or superintelligence for over twenty years. This genre fascinates me, and we live in extraordinary times. We have been taking leaps and bounds with processing capacities and learning exponentially. I’m curious if we will take technology down the path to help mankind improve our quality of life everywhere. 

In 2022, I did an online show with some test images and wanted to see an initial response. During the last six months of 2023, I finalized some of the work and was ready to show “The Oppenheimers” for 2024.

Q. What did you think of “Oppenheimer,” which won Best Picture and six other Oscars?

A. I had read several journals and stories about Robert Oppenheimer and other great minds of the time. I always wondered if a movie would be made about this incredible mind. Surprisingly, it came to fruition; I was stoked. I hope that Carl Sagan is next.

Director Christopher Nolan’s vision and all the splendid actors and actresses (conveyed) a sense of the inner turmoil that affected all the people involved in the atomic program. The moral and human dilemmas that challenged Oppenheimer and his team still exist.

Unfortunately, humans are attracted to a mindset of destruction. Imagine if we placed the same amount of innovative genius to create better circumstances for life. Our minds and souls would be free to do all that is possible for humankind. 

Q. Do you see a lot of parallels with your exhibit and the film?

A. Look carefully at the signs, symbols and marks of innovative destruction in my exhibit. Their display calls us to remember that we can change our immediate and foreseeable future as a civilization to a positive outcome. Out of some horrible, we can create a new one that will be the standard for advanced citizenship. My father’s story is proof that it can be better.

Q. How much influence did your dad have on your life? 

A. My father passed when I was 18 (in 1999 at age 61). It was a tragic experience; I inherited his insurance and investment firm overnight. Thus, I started my career in business. (Trujillo is also a licensed agent for the Kino Insurance Agency). Before my dad passed, we would have some heated arguments about my future. I wanted to go into engineering as he did. However, he would not support the future. He wanted me to pursue business or something in the arts. Uniquely, I ended up doing both. 

Q. Speaking of which, how does your art education help in your roles at Pima College?

I teach a Business eCommerce Introduction course … focusing on marketing, cybersecurity threats and eCommerce business strategies, concepts in data analytics AI and algorithmic programming. The other course is Business Information and Intelligence.

It’s been great using all my visual communication skills to fortify these concepts in a visual format. I am developing a unique learning system that connects uniquely with each learner to simultaneously deliver visual communication that best meets that person’s learning style under universal communication traits for all languages and genres of learning. 

Q. Who’s inspired you, both at the School of Art and professionally?

A. One of my mentors was Alfred Quiroz, a School of Art emeritus professor. I love how his artwork “tells a story.” He also takes a natural multimedia approach to expressing and creating these stories. For Alfred, a 2D and 3D all-at-once approach is a way to solve a visual problem. You have an idea to convey; use everything around you. Andy Polk, another School of Art emeritus professor, influenced my technical awareness of how printmaking, specifically lithography, can be robust and delicate simultaneously. Looking at the work carefully, you can recognize all forms of printmaking in every image. 

Edgar Soto, vice president of the Desert Vista Campus and Pima College’s previous Arts and Humanities dean, also helped me understand the value of good communication and investing in our students and community. Others who’ve helped me are David Andres, director of the Louis Carlos Bernal Gallery on Pima’s West Campus, and Dana Roes, dean of the Arts Division, as well as the Desert Vista Gallery and Fine Arts program at Pima.

Without their assistance, “The Oppenheimers” would have remained on the storyboard.

Ernesto A. Trujillo describes some of his other work

• Ernesto A. Trujillo’s website

The University of Arizona Alumni Association has named Barbara Grygutis (BFA ’68, MFA ’71) the College of Fine Arts 2024 Alum of the Year.

Grygutis received her BFA in Studio Art in 1968 and her MFA in 1971 from the School of Art and she went on to become an award-winning public artist widely recognized and honored for her imaginative and compelling public art projects.  

“She’s one of only a handful of pioneering women in the world who work at the scale of city building, infrastructure design, and shaping large, active public spaces,” wrote Jack Becker, a public art magazine publisher in the introduction of the book, “Public Art / Public Space: The Sculptural Environments of Barbara Grygutis.” 

Creator of more than 75 large-scale projects, her work can be found throughout the United States, with several major examples in Tucson and Southern Arizona. Her connection to the university is also embedded in the heart of the university’s Arts District in the form of the “Front Row Center” sculpture project and the surrounding Arts Oasis. 

“This fall, Arizona Arts is celebrating the 25th anniversary of this commission by revitalizing these works as part of significant improvements to the Arts District,” said Andy Schulz, vice president for the arts. 

“Barbara has noted that ‘putting works of art into the public domain brings ideas into the public realm, and allows everyone to be part of the experience,’” said Schulz. “This ethos of deep civic and community engagement aligns strongly with the values of the College of Fine Arts and with the university’s land-grant mission.” 

A long-time resident of Tucson, Grygutis mentors School of Art students through internships at her art studio and judges aspiring artists’ project proposals through Sculpture Tucson. She was a critical participant in the school’s spring 2023 career forum entitled “Life Lessons from Alumni.”

“Here at the School of Art, we tell our students to “focus their passion” and effect meaningful change in today’s world,” said Karen Zimmerman, School of Art interim director. “Barbara’s passion is evident in her iconic public artwork that enhances the environment, enables civic interaction, and reveals unspoken relationships between nature and humanity. And she continues to help the next generation of artists nurture their passion by stressing innovation and life skills.”

BARBARA GRYGUTIS

During her celebrated career as a public artist, Barbara Grygutis has been commissioned to create over 75 large-scale works throughout North America and internationally, in settings including sculpture gardens, public plazas, gateways, memorials and monuments. She also has exhibited sculptures at venues like the Smithsonian Institution, the Bronx Museum and the White House.

In her work, Barbara uses varied materials — an array of metals and stones, brick, cement, ceramic, concrete, glass, and tile — to create public spaces that enhance the built environment, encourage civic interaction and reveal unspoken relationships between nature and humanity. For each piece, she engages the public by identifying themes meaningful to the specific site and community. Barbara’s work has garnered numerous awards, and she has received the National Endowment for the Arts’ Individual Artist’s Fellowship.

A two-time graduate of the University of Arizona, Barbara has remained dedicated to the university, the School of Art and the Tucson community. She mentors students through internships at her studio, judges project proposals for Sculpture Tucson and has participated in the school’s career forum. She also created the Front Row Center and Arts Oasis sculpture garden outside the Marroney Theatre on campus.

Barbara’s iconic work demonstrates her passion and enhances public spaces around the world, and her support for students nurtures the next generation of artists.

Past College of Fine Arts
Alumni of the Year 

2023-24 … Barbara Grygutis (BFA ’68, MFA ’71)
2022-23 … John F. Meyer ‘82

2020-21 … Lindsay Utz ’03 | video

2019 … Brad Slater ‘96 | video

2018 … Guy Moon | video

2017 … Sue Scott | video

2015 … Craig Huston | video

2014 … Jeffrey Haskell ’64 | video

2013 … Elizabeth Murphy Bruns ’67 | video

2012 … Henry E. Plimack

2011 … Peter D. Murrieta ‘88

2010 … Joan L. Ashcraft

When Kaitlyn Jo Smith received a prestigious early-career artist fellowship from Wellesley College, she thanked her professors at the University of Arizona School of Art for “believing in me and my work.”

“Graduate school taught me to think bigger, dream bigger and trust in my instincts,” said Smith, a 2020 Master of Fine Arts graduate in Photography, Video and Imaging whose interdisciplinary art focuses on America’s working class and the implications of automation on labor and religion.

Smith joins a long list of other recent alums and current students in the MFA and Art History/Art & Visual Culture Education programs to earn national recognition and realize their dreams. Some examples include:

• Ricardo Chavez (current Ph.D. student): Tyson Scholar in American Art
• Kendall Crabbe (Ph.D. ’22, AVCE): Elliot Eisner Doctoral Research Runner Up-Award in Art Education
• Karlito Miller Espinosa (MFA ’19): Whitney Independent Study Program
• Tehan Ketema (MFA ’22): First Wave Arts and Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Martin Krafft (’20 MFA): Residency at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York
• Naseem Navab (MFA ’19): Artists in Residence, Art Produce Gallery, San Diego
• Marina Shaltout (’20 MFA): Residencies at the Creative Centre in Stodvarfjordur, Iceland and at New Mexico State University
• Alex Turner (MFA ’20): Grand Prize, FOCUS Photo L.A. Summer 2021 Competition
• Bella Maria Varela (’21 MFA): Early Career Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin
• Kenzie Wells (’20 MFA): Residencies at the Wassaic Project Artist Residency in New York, Oxbow School of Art and Artists’ Residency in Michigan, and Penland School of Craft in North Carolina

“Our graduate programs are incredibly strong right now, and there is no better evidence of that than the success of our students after graduation,” School of Art Director Colin Blakely said. “Kaitlyn Jo is a perfect example. She pushed her work in new and truly innovative directions during her time here, and the recognition associated with this fellowship is a great and well-deserved validation of that.”

In late April, Smith received the 2023-2024 Alice C. Cole ’42 Fellowship in Studio Art at Wellesley College near Boston. The $35,000 award is intended to support outstanding artists at an early point in their career, by providing the necessary time to develop their art relatively independent of financial pressures.

“The work that I make is a direct reflection of my experiences growing up in a working-class family in rural middle America,” she said. “The fact that these stories resonate with others is validating for me not only as an artist, but as a young adult trying to understand my place in the world.”

Smith is from Sycamore in northwest Ohio, a town of about 800 people, where she joined 4H in fourth grade and took one of the youth organization’s photography classes. “I’ve been obsessed with images ever since,” she said. “I’m extremely fortunate that my parents have always been incredibly supportive in all of my creative pursuits.”

She was just a teen when the housing market crashed in 2007-08, leaving most of the adults she knew out of work. She earned her BFA in Photography from Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio before joining the University of Arizona School of Art’s Photography, Video and Imaging MFA program in its first year of expanding into technology.

“Kaitlyn entered as a traditional photographer-based artist but quickly pushed the limits of the medium and her own work to compel viewers to feel the despair of the U.S. manufacturing labor market’s waning,” Regents Professor Sama Alshaibi said. “Many of her art pieces involve the use of material that has been altered, replicated, exploited and out of place.”

Added Alshaibi: “I’m thrilled that Kaitlyn’s practice has been recognized by the Wellesley College Art Department as spanning Sculpture through an expansive lens, including new media and deep-learning production, social practice and virtual domains.”

Smith calls the graduate program at the School of Art “a pressure cooker of brilliant minds and high expectations.”

“Throughout my entire experience, I felt supported by a group of (faculty) mentors who I genuinely believe wanted me to succeed: Sama, Martina Shenal, David Taylor, Cerese Vaden and so many others,” Smith said. “I miss the intensity of critiques and the space for criticism in a nurturing environment.”

Smith’s “American Standard” MFA Thesis Exhibition project, put on hold until 2021 because of COVID, reflected her roots in the Midwest. She was longlisted for the 2021 Lumen Prize in Art and Technology (London) and received the College Art Association’s Services to Artists Committee Award for her video “Lights Out.”

Her “Fixtures” and “Lights Out” installations, which make the workers and the products they produce visible, are on display at the Arizona Biennial exhibition until Oct. 1 at the Tucson Museum of Art. 

“American Standard pushed me both conceptually and technically,” Smith said. “I’m even prouder of my most recent exhibition ‘Mass Production.’ It was the first solo show I have had since grad school and consisted of four entirely new projects. Since its installation, I have noticed a big shift in the way I see myself — I no longer felt like a student, but a professional.”

“Mass Production” ran from March 19 to April 30 at Bells Projects in Denver. The exhibition connected the repetition of Catholic mass to the rituals of factory production, Smith said.

“Each of my Catholic grandmother’s seven sons has worked in a factory,” she said. “When I think of their collective prayer at her funeral mass, I think of my father and his brothers on the assembly line. ‘Mass Production’ questions whether the learned rituals of Catholicism have conditioned them, and other blue-collar workers, for habitual lives of monotonous labor. …”

During her fellowship, Smith said she’ll continue “to explore the ways that automation and artificial intelligence are rapidly changing our understanding of work and how we structure our lives.”

Smith will take several trips to Wellesley, Massachusetts, but will remain based in Tucson and continue as an adjunct instructor at the School of Art. She’s taught various classes, including Introduction to Photographic Concepts.

“Kaitlyn has been a great asset to our extensive image/photography program because she has the ability to uniquely link established artistic techniques with cutting-edge technologies for relevant purposes,” Alshaibi said.

Smith’s work uses 3D printing and scanning “as a way to visually present the monotony of both automation and skilled manual labor,” she said.

“I love teaching. I love learning from my students,” Smith said. “There is something so inspiring about being surrounded by and helping realize so many wildly different ideas. I’m incredibly passionate in what I do and hope that I encourage that love of exploration and discovery in my students. Art is not easy, but I can think of nothing more rewarding than creating something out of nothing. I love watching my students experience that accomplishment.”

As part of her fellowship, Smith will give an artist’s talk at Wellesley this fall and work with students there. “While many of the subjects in my work have roots in the Midwest and Rust Belt, I believe that a lot of the themes are universal,” she said.

Smith’s work and teaching are important now more than ever because they combine science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, with the arts, Alshaibi said.

“While Kaitlyn produces exquisite and poetic work in photography and found archives, it’s her capacity to fully embrace innovation and creative risk-taking that sets her apart from others,” Alshaibi said. “She has personal experience with what it takes to uphold tradition while developing and inventing for the future.”

As for her own work, Smith said both her “American Standard” and “Mass Production” projects have left her with “more questions than answers, but I think that is why they’re successful.”

“I make art to try and understand the world around me,” Smith said. “I don’t understand it yet; there is more art to be made.”

• Kaitlyn Jo Smith’s website 
• ArtConnect interview