...And What We Can Learn From Them
MA Student Photogram |
Last week I was bowled over by the intelligent students at
Marin Academy, a high school in San Rafael, California. I visited to talk about
my alternative photography work to
students who, up until that point, were used to treating film and photo paper with
a traditional approach.
I walked them through the process and concepts behind the
photos, van dyke prints, glow-o-grams and photograms
that I’ve made over the years. As I moved along, the students really engaged,
asked smart questions and with each new project we discussed, I could see a
whole new world of photography was being revealed to them. MA Student Photogram - Detail I love the catalog kid image and interesting folds/shadows. |
LESSON #1: Express Enthusiasm
As they visibly leaned forward in their seats, I could see virtual light bulbs glow brighter and brighter over their heads as the new ideas entered their thought process. They were excited about learning and they weren’t afraid to show it. The interest was infectious and could be felt by the whole room. By sharing and expressing their enthusiasm, they showed a genuine side which was positively received by the larger group.
So adults, the next time you see something you really like, I
dare you to share your excitement about it with your family and friends. It
will spread positivity and help you to
connect with like-minded people.
Photogram Packages Out of the Changing Bag |
LESSON #2: Embrace Change
Photography has always been a medium with many transitions from one format to another. Changes in technology constantly modify the medium and migrate the popular concept of what it means to make a photograph.
When you get what I call a “technology smack down” that totally changes your art process, say
your camera dies or you can no longer get the materials you are used to, I
suggest you grieve it but find a way
to move on and embrace the possibilities of the new. Adults have a harder time
letting go of what they learned in the past than kids do but if we all allow our
minds to be a little more tolerant towards the change that comes at us each
day, including art making changes, I assure you, you will feel happier and less stressed.
Photogram Packages Head Off, into the Wild PO Yonder |
We all headed into the darkroom and gave making photograms a chance. The project: put light sensitive, unexposed photo paper in a package and send it through the mail. When you get it back, develop the paper to see the resulting photogram. This is one of my example projects I shared with them in the talk so we decided to try it.
The students manipulated the images by creating unique packages with many layers of
paper that allowed the light to pass through to produce a photogram. Everyone
put one chunky envelope in the mail hoping it would come back and be developed
into a photogram. Usually, there are a good number of papers that are fully
black and over exposed or just didn’t create an image that you like. If you are
lucky, you get one that looks good. A lot is left up to chance in this process but that’s part of the fun.
LESSON #3: Experiment More
If you are thinking about doing something new or a little different from what you normally do, approach it as an experiment where you give yourself the leeway to review the results, determine if you want to do it again, if it was helpful or if you can simply cross it off the list now that you’ve tried it. Also, consider if you discovered something informative during the process of experimenting that may apply to an entirely different project than the one where you were working.MA Student's Photogram Freshly Developed |
MA Student's Photogram Detail Really nice how the kid image and text left marks. |
Express Enthusiasm
Embrace Change
Experiment More
Kate
No comments:
Post a Comment