Alexia Mellor, 33

As a girl in upstate New York, "I wanted to be a stewardess," Mellor says. As an artist, when she has an idea, she finds the medium to suit it: performance art, video, photography, painting, installation. For her thesis show, Mellor made a 1960s-era stewardess's uniform, donned it, and went out into the world. She performed the flight-safety routine in public, set other tasks for herself, and photographed what ensued. The photos, in a pattern recalling those on a flight safety card, entice the viewer to devise a story.

"I was embodying the presence - the uniform and nostalgia - of this icon, interacting with the public," she says. "It was fun to see the reactions."