We Are Constantly in a State of Becoming: New Ways of Seeing through Photography
What’s Going on in This Picture?
WHAT:
As part of the three-week set of art workshops for MADDFest 2021 at Western Academy of Beijing, a group of 45 students embarked on an exploration of photography as an expressive art and its relationship to personal and community change. This collaboration was an opportunity for students to develop photography skills and meaningful visual communication using Future Media’s Photo!Bomb as a publishing platform as well as mentors such as Lens Culture. Sessions ranged from technical skills to seeing the world through lenses of portraiture, black and white photography, nature, street photography, and imagination.
WHY:
As said wonderfully by Eric Kim:
I very much like this idea in photography and art; we are constantly in a state of becoming. We are constantly changing how we see the world, how we make photos, and whatever we find interesting.
We are constantly changing our tools, our processing methods, and our own visual acuity is in flux — some things become brighter in our eyes, some things more dim. We are becoming both more near-sighted and far-sighted at the same time.
The self-tyrant never allows themselves to change, evolve, or become anything else.
Never allow yourself to be a self-tyrant. Allow yourself to be open and free, to become anything and everything you desire to become.
These workshops shed light upon the importance of seeing the world through new perspectives, points of view, diverse topics, hidden stories in plain sight, and personal evolution in order to help students to be present and develop a deeper appreciation for the beauty of the world around us. Concepts such as wabi-sabi , finding beauty in imperfection and transience, were also explored and photographed.
HOW:
Set up your workshop experience to be a true workshop model: Clear mini-lessons, think-alouds, mentor examples, time to practice, time to get feedback, time to share and celebrate.
Identify a theme that can allow for diverse interpretations such as change, interdependence, and wabi-sabi.
Provide different photography genre studies to launch learners into opportunities to try on different skills and techniques.
Focus on “becoming” and “thinking like a photographer” as learning outcomes that can be connected to deeper learning, cognitive skills, and dispositions of an inspired photographer and global citizen.
Host workshops led by the students and/or an exhibition of photography with the photographers sharing their visions, learning, and artists’ statements.
