Hysteria

Melissa Stiefel
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:32:57 PDT

My name is Melissa Stiefel, and I am seeking an MFA in Photography with a secondary in Sculpture. In this thesis body of work, I have taken the concept of self-portraiture, the examined life behind the portrait, and combined the story with portrait with photomontage. The subject matter is personal, but I hope relatable. I have looked at my project from multiple points of view and various angles to come up with works that spoke to me and told the story I wanted to share. The reason I have chosen self-portraiture is twofold. First, I chose self-portraiture because Covid happened during the first semester of my second year. Quarantine made taking photos of other female models impossible. Secondly, once I started taking pictures of myself and sharing them, it was evident from the response of others to my images, and the personal growth that comes from staring at yourself for hours a day, that this was the direction I was meant to continue.