Division:	Arts and Communication
Education:	B.F.A., Brooklyn College M.F.A., School of Visual Arts
Office:	ET 134
Extension:	3543
E-Mail:	fiksy@mccc.edu

What areas of art did you study?
Before coming to Mercer, my training was really as a traditional painter. I was trained in the so-called Socialist Realist style. Something in between French impressionism and classical academic art. The professors I studied with in Moscow were all Socialist Realist painters.

Is Mercer your first teaching job?
Mercer is my first full time teaching job. I got it right after my MFA program after I graduated the School of Visual Arts in New York.

What were some of your jobs before coming to Mercer?
I actually worked for JP Morgan on Wall Street. I worked for the graphics department, but it was not very creative. It was business graphics. There was a whole floor of maybe hundreds of people doing charts for business presentations. JP Morgan has offices all over the world, but only the New York office has the graphics department. All presentations were done in New York, and executives would then take them to China and Europe to make presentations.

What do you teach here at Mercer?
I teach mostly digital art. It teach different levels of computer animations, several levels of 3D modeling, as well as some introduction classes. I also teach basic drawing, which is a traditional art class. To me, it makes sense because I practice both traditional and digital arts, so it makes sense to teach both.