Lita Tirak MPS-1996Mercyhurst College
Erie, PA
BA Studio Art
College of William and Mary
MA American Studies
College of William and Mary
PhD candidate American Studies
At MPS, Lita was active in the visual arts and the International Baccalaureate program, receiving IB certificates in both Art and English. She fully participated in the creative arts that Mercyhurst offered, all of which influenced her artwork. After graduation, she pursued studies in studio art at Mercyhurst College and animation at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Following Lita's 2000 graduation from Mercyhurst College, she taught art classes for teenage students at Gannondale. In 2001, her professional development expanded to include museum work at George Eastman House: International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, NY. At the museum Lita spent four years working in the photography archives, assisting in the Conservation Department and researching for the exhibition Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth and Hawes. She also spent three years performing research for the Development Department and the Administration Department. During this time, Lita continued practicing and exhibiting her own photographs. In 2008, she left the museum and matriculated to the American Studies graduate program at the College of William and Mary. There she acted as the assistant director of the Global Film Festival, co-curated a museum exhibit and presented numerous papers at symposiums. After receiving her MA, Lita continued as a PhD candidate specializing in 19th and 20th century visual culture. Visual culture consists of art history and all visual media outside of the canon, with an emphasis on race, gender, class and trans-national perspectives. She anticipates her dissertation will focus on the visual culture of x-rays. This course of study allows Lita to take advantage of her past work experiences as well as her own experiences as an artist.
"Mercyhurst Prep offered me a tremendous start on my professional and educational path...intense IB final examinations prepared me well for both my undergraduate and graduate work."
