Stephanie L. Quintana – am known as “Elle” by most of her friends- graduated from UCLA School of Fine Arts. She is a creative director and photographer. A native Los Angeleno, she is currently living and working in San Francisco.
“Growing up in Los Angeles in the 90’s I was surrounded by the stories and storytellers of Hollywood. I wanted to be part of that history, and part of the stories that shape the way we view ourselves and others. Throughout my childhood and early adulthood I very rarely saw these stories depict me, depict women that were not stereotypically beautiful, conventional or easily identifiable. Not seeing myself reflected in the cultural narrative gave me a sense of not being worth the attention of culture as a whole. I realized the only way to change this was to be in creative control and to create narratives that are inclusive of all people. I realized that you can not change ‘the gaze’ unless you are ‘the gazer’. The visual stories we tell and those bodies we use to tell them become the heros and heroines of our daily lives. I never want another person to look in the mirror and think they could not be part of the dream.”
