The whole class has just gone back in time and is now sitting in the living room of a big mansion. There are photo albums lined up along the wall. Each student grabs a photo album off of the wall with the name of a famous photographer on the binding. But when you open the photo album, there is nothing inside! All the photographs and journal entries are mysteriously absent, so you decide in order to keep the owner of the house from getting angry, you are going to try and replace all the contents of the photo album with realistic copies.
Task: Your task is to research the artist who's photo album you have selected and try to replace the images and journal entries as if they were the original copies. You will need answer the following questions to the best of your abilities:
-what techniques did the artist use to create their image?
-what is that artist's style? what are they best known for?
-where did they receive their artistic training? did they go to school?
-if you can find it, how did they feel about being famous? how did they react to their success?
-what inspires them to take photographs?
-what are some important events in their lives? did they get married, have kids, create a successful art exhibition?
You will need to be creative when writing the journal entries! Although you do not know each photographer personally, try to make an accurate assumption of how they felt about their artwork, their fame, or the publicity they were or were not receiving. The journal entries must include personal details about the artists life so don't forget to research their families and their personal lives.
After you have done your research, you will need to use the information you have gathered about each artist's technical style in order to recreate their images. Using Tmax 400 film and your 35mm camera, you will take 2 rolls of black and white film in the style of your artist. You will need to create a contact sheet for each of the rolls of film. Later, you will conference with the teacher about what photographs look most like the originals. You will be given a grade based on completion and punctuality.
Next, you will compile all your journal entries and photographs into a photo album. Be creative and have fun with this step! You can include quotes, drawings, signatures, ticket stubs, or anything else that you think would make your photo album more realistic.
Resources: You can use the following list and the resources listed at the top of the blogpage.
Process:
1. Select a photographer
2. Research your photographer using the resources above, from the blog homepage, or from your own knowledge of the internet. CAUTION: Use reputable sources!
3. Once you have a good grasp on your artist's style, take two rolls of film using their style.
4. You will conference with me about which photographs are the strongest. At our meeting, bring your contact sheets. You will need to select 10 photographs for your photo album.
5. Once your photographs are selected, you will need to create 5-7 journal entries to include in your photo album. They can be letters that the artist wrote to someone else, they can be diary entries, or they can be notes about a particular photograph that you have created. Each journal entry needs to be 1/2 page to a page, single spaced, size 10-12 font. You can change the font style to better represent your artist, you can include doodles, ticket stubs, signatures, quotes, or anything else that you think would enhance the look of your photo album.
6. When we have returned to the present, we will have an exhibition of all the photo albums in class and you will give a short presentation about your artist.
Evaluation:
As stated above, you will be evaluated on 3 different components of the project.
1. Punctuality in turning in your two contact sheets and your research for the photo album
2. Your photo album; all components are there, the photo album is visually interesting and the journals speak to the life of the artist
3. Presenting the information you have gathered to assemble your photo album to the class
Conclusion:
Remember that this assignment is supposed to be fun! Be creative and get your imaginations going! The owner of the mansion that we have landed in should not be able to tell the difference between your photo albums and the actual photo album that the artist would have made themselves. Really try and put yourself in the shoes of the artist and don't hold back that gray matter!
As stated above, you will be evaluated on 3 different components of the project.
1. Punctuality in turning in your two contact sheets and your research for the photo album
2. Your photo album; all components are there, the photo album is visually interesting and the journals speak to the life of the artist
3. Presenting the information you have gathered to assemble your photo album to the class
Conclusion:
Remember that this assignment is supposed to be fun! Be creative and get your imaginations going! The owner of the mansion that we have landed in should not be able to tell the difference between your photo albums and the actual photo album that the artist would have made themselves. Really try and put yourself in the shoes of the artist and don't hold back that gray matter!
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