New
York State Funding for Arts Education
Partnerships - SAP
Young
Women's Leadership School of Astoria
with Magic Box Productions - "Through
Our Eyes"
The objective
of our partnership, entitled
"Through Our Eyes: Digital Photography
for Middle School Girls," was to
introduce middle school girls to the
use of digital photography and personal
narrative as a tool for self-examination
and reflection. The project was very
successful in meeting these goals. Four
classes of 20 girls each worked for over
15 weeks with Teaching Artist Jessica
Lauretti, Assistant Laura Chipley, and
Drama Teacher Caitlin Heibach to study
photography, discuss female self-images,
shoot a series of digital photographs,
and create original monologues or ‘ethnographies’ based
on the work of Anna Deveare Smith. The
program culminated in a gallery showing
and scenes from the ethnographies, presented
as part of the school’s Spring
Arts Fair and Multicultural Dinner, with
over 400 parents and family members in
attendance.
Students
learned a brief history of photography,
concentrated on Laura Greenfield’s
photography series about adolescent girls,
studied and practiced how to compose
a picture, how to use a digital camera
and digitize photographs on the computer.
In addition, they learned perspective
skills, varying
points of view for the camera, and the
ways that photographs can show narratives.
The
team agreed that using digital
photography was probably one of the two
biggest factors in the overall improvement
in quality of the photographs over the
last year. (The other cause was the increase
in the length of the residency, thanks
to SAP support.) The students could have
a lesson, use the digital cameras
in the classroom to practice, and
then immediately look at and critique
their work. This made a huge difference
in their learning.
In
the
"Abstraction" lesson,
girls came up with their own definition
after looking at models and discussing
the concept, and then were given
the task of photographing a chair
in an ‘abstract’ way.
The Abstraction lessons ‘helped
to take their attention off their
looks’ (one of the real challenges
for photographers at this age,
especially), helped them to make
intuitive connections with portraits,
and helped the girls to judge photos
more on artistic merit rather than
merely the appeal of the subject
matter (i.e., ‘It’s
a picture of my cat and I love
my cat, so therefore it must be
a good picture.”).
Mysterious
Stranger |
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“Capturing
the Moment” was a lesson
in movement and the photographer’s
eye. The students had to decide
on the most decisive moment in
a series of movements by the subject,
and then capture them. Since we
were working with digital photography,
they were able to take the shots
in class and then immediately share
and critique their work. This helped
the girls to become conscious of
the decision-making involved in
photography, as well as to become
more confident of their artistic
choices.
Singin' in the
Rain |
The girls
were incredibly enthusiastic about the
program. Well over 80% indicated
that they enjoyed the program, its instructors
and lessons. During our pilot program
in 2006-07, about 50-60% gave positive
responses to the same questions. The
improvement in the length of the program
(from 5 to 15 weeks) resulted in
a much more cohesive learning experience,
as well as the opportunity to delve more
deeply into photography, and allow the
pictures to become the inspiration for
the dramatic monologues. In an evaluation
meeting, the team agreed that while about
10 out of 80 girls’ work was exemplary
during the pilot year, this year that
number was three times higher.
The weekly
preparatory meetings were invaluable
in leading to a deep partnership. Teachers,
administrators and TA's alike were so
comfortable with each other and each
other’s
work that they felt eager to both show
lessons and share feedback with their
colleagues. In their words, “no
one questions anyone’s credentials.” Planning
has begun for a series of future
video documentary workshops for teachers
and staff, as well as a possible Video
or Photographic Journalism program in
the future, to link with the school’s
literacy goals and involve the ELA teachers
as well.
See more
of the students' photographs.
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