Art School: Photography
Apr 15, 2011

In March, young photographers learned to see the world through a new lens at the Whitney. Kids joined us for Art School, our signature program especially for eight- to twelve-year-olds that takes an in-depth look at a specific artmaking medium. This month, we discussed works in the exhibition, Legacy: The Emily Fisher Landau Collection with a focus on photography.

Our class first looked at the series Oxfordshire Oaks, Fall 1990, in which Rodney Graham took black-and-white photographs of majestic oaks against a low, uncluttered horizon. His images are traditionally composed of a lone tree filling up the center of each massive print as its branches splay outward into the clear sky. The students were awed by Graham’s simple yet very unconventional decision: he exhibited the images upside down. One kid commented that the branches of the upturned trees now resemble chaotic systems of roots.

Like Graham, Lorna Simpson subverts a traditional photographic genre—the portrait—in her 1990 work Outline. Art Schoolers were at first puzzled by the sparse black-and-white photographs accompanied by a seemingly haphazard list of words. A dark braid forms a U-shape in the center of the left panel, surrounded by an expanse of black. On the right, an African American woman poses with her back towards us. A student observed that because we cannot see the subject’s face, we have no personal clues about the individual—she is anonymous. The text accompanying these images is equally cryptic. “Back” hovers below the braid, opposite a series of seemingly unrelated words: “lash,” “bone,” “ground, “ache,” “pay.” We paired the words together to make compound words like “backlash” and “backbone.” Students thought the text suggested a sense of pain—perhaps referring to the physical and psychological pain imposed by America’s tumultuous history of slavery and racism.

Inspired by Graham and Simpson, we used our cameras to give commonplace objects new meaning by capturing them in unusual ways. Applying their newfound knowledge of framing, scale, and perspective, students staged small toys and knickknacks against a natural backdrop during an excursion to Central Park.

At home, kids snapped photos of cherished everyday items, ranging from Jolly Ranchers candy to the Harry Potter series. We also learned how to manipulate images digitally, using iPhoto to crop, add contrast, and alter color levels. The result was a diverse series of beautiful 8 x10 inch prints that kids shared with their parents at the final reception.

Learn more about Art School and see a slideshow of our work!

By Desi Gonzalez, Education Assistant