This week I attended two very different art events. One was the dedication of a photo-poetry-collage, created by high-school students, sponsored by Artists Working in Education (AWE); the other was a juried show of nature photos by members of the Coalition of Photographic Arts (CoPA). Though both events were based around photography, they had very different results.
Shalom High School Residency: Artists Working in Education
At Shalom High School, poet Dan Vaughan and myself have spent time over the past 6 weeks working with students on a writing/photo project. Dan worked with the students on their writing, while I instructed them on the use of the AWE-provided Canon P+S digital cameras. The students wrote to a number of different prompts from Dan, including: a list “I AM” poem, a “From my window” poem, and “A letter to my future child” poem. I had the students do some technical exercises with the cameras, explore details of the area behind the school, and attempt some self-portraits.
Once the students had created a body of work from poems and photos, we had the students start to combine the poems and photos in their classroom PCs, using Picasa (as it’s a free software, and so fit into our small budget nicely). This part became a challenge for the students because they had to choose their favorite portion from a poem, not the entire thing, and add it to the photograph. Adding the text was a challenge, as they had to try and see the text as a “thing”, and not just words, fitting in the photo as a “collaborator” with the visual image to create something completely different. Once the students had combined their poems with their photos, they were then asked to combine all their photos into one big collage. Many of the students were doubtful, but came around eventually. The final piece is going to be mounted in the schools entry hallway.
You can learn more about Shalom High School HERE and about Artists Working in Education HERE.
[slideshow]
CoPA: Juried Nature Photography Show at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center (Brookfield)
CoPA, the Coalition of Photographic Arts, has been doing a good job of keeping photography in front of Milwaukee for a few years now. COPA’s latest effort is a show of nature photos, juried by photographer Wayne Nelson and painter Charlotte Fung Miller. There is quite a variety of photos in the show, and some definite standouts. If you go to this show (it’s up until July 30!), make sure to look for these pieces…
Cindy Lesky-“Spot” Her heavily-manipulated shot of a large cat succeeds because of the expertise she displays with her photo-editing skills. “Spot” really is a “wowza” of a photo-illustration.
Rikki Thompson, “Leaves” and Chuck Koosmann “Christchurch Tree” The photos from Rikki and Chuck stand out for their choice of format. While most of the photographs fit a “standard”-ish height-width ratio, these two photographs are of a more panoramic-like format.
Susan Foley “Hope Floats” This piece really stands out for me, as it seems to not have been digitally-manipulated, but still demonstrates a very unique vision of nature.
Dan Patrinos “Gulf Birds” Dan shows a beautiful triptych of seagulls. Each of the images is strong, but together they really become something special. It’s a unique approach, unduplicated by the other show entries.
Yong-ran Zhu “Waterfall in Rocks” I’ve been a fan of Zhu’s photographs for many years now. He creates classical images, beautiful and humble. They are always thoughtful images.
Beth Rodgers “From the Ashes” Another classic landscape shot, this is one that you wish you could walk into. Very nice!
Mary Dumont “Canon Beach Sunset” Like Thompson and Koosmann, Dumont’s photo stands out for its unique presentation. Her wrap-around canvas print makes her unique image even more effective.
Bernie Newman “Leaf on Leaf” This shot stood out, as the lighting looks so good you have to wonder if it’s been digitally manipulated, but there are no obvious clues that give it away.
