Sounds good to me the ABA AorB 4 year plan. Digital is a great hook and I'd use it but I believe film opens up more. If you really get into stuff it becomes much more interdisciplinarian than digital could ever hope to be. Most kids pick up photoshop basics at home now and many are pretty advanced. I took a college credit class in 99 as a HS senior that I bet most HS freshman could now -at least- pass without ever making it to one class.
If a school is supposed to educate students and open them up to things
Film wins
If school is supposed to set kids on the path to employment
Digital probably wins
To me, the one, most valuable learning experience is to have the opportunity to see and closely examine some really good prints.
I'm entirely analogue oriented, but I expect the same applies to digital prints.
If your curriculum instills an appreciation for quality, and creativity, it probably doesn't matter which path(s) your students take - they will benefit greatly.
Personally, I think that if they learn to appreciate quality, analogue/traditional materials and methods will have an advantage.
I teach a six week class on the basics and issue each student an Olympus OM 1 and a 50mm lens. I'm of the opinion the only way for folks to really get the relationship between aperture & shutter speed and how they work together to produce a final image is by using an all manual camera. Any of the camera with "Mr.Automatic" would not do the job. The OM 1 is perfect for this. IN my personal work I use Holga, Diana, Clack, pin hole, 35mm, MF, 4X5 and digital SLR. Bill Barber
I agree with previous posts and think you should go on doing what you have done until now. There is no point in a purist "Digital is sinful" approach, people will come to your classes with the initial attitude that digital is modern and cool but will become interested in film if (as you do) you show them what film can do that digital can't.
I don't know how much of it you already do, but I have 3 suggestions, based on what I would have loved to learn in high school:
- spend some of your time on art appreciation - eg, use of light, shadow and perspective in art/painting through the ages, and show how it relates to photography - where it's similar, and where it differs, the concept of the camera obscura, where painters/other artists "bend" or "break" the physical rules, etc. In addition to laying a theoretical foundation, it also has the advantage of being material perfect for testing Don't belabour the points, as likely most kids want to actually go out and try things, but it's a quality way to start.
- in addition to film SLRs/cameras, get your students to play with something more basic, such as a pinhole camera. Cardboard-based pinhole kits are pretty inexpensive, or they can make their own rudimentary ones - lots of plans out there, including ones made from matchboxes. It illustrates some of the most basic photographic principles, and shows the kids (and hopefully by extension, their parents) that you don't *need* anything electronic to make a good and/or interesting picture.
- combine something with the chemistry/science department as mentioned earlier - making cyanotypes comes to mind (you can even play with "cameraless photography", like a photogram), as long as you can get "potassium ferrocyanide" past the parents Lots of chemistry and physics in photography, no reason not to try.
Mabman,
I could not agree more.
I wish I had taken more of an interest in art, because things like composition and seeing light seem more important now than understanding the math behind f stops.
I feel there is so much to learn about photography that does not have much to do with your choice of camera technology.
Good luck to all,
Steve.
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I'm a teacher in a similar school, but one with a lot more money and a lot less serious commitment to the arts, or so it sounds. One thing I can address however:
Quote:
I do have to defend the analog portion of the curriculum, especially to parents who are paying a lot of money for a college preparatory school. They want the latest, greatest, and most advanced of everything!
Remember, you're not teaching art, you're teaching kids to think. The parents who are so focused on the newest and shiniest have to be reminded why they're spending big bucks to send their kids to a school like yours -- so that their children will be better equipped to "make it to the top". You can define what that means a lot of different ways, top college prospects, real world skills, ability to handle stressful and challenging situations, networking, etc. - but the bottom line is that they want their kids to be well educated. That is really what they are demanding, and they have a right to demand that.
What you seem to be doing, and I think you have the curriculum about right, is giving those kids just what they need. The darkroom teaches thinking in ways that screen-based work does not. No matter what they end up doing in college and after, they will think more clearly, plan more carefully and be more discerning, having learned to compose images, work through the process of development and printing with all the attendant variables and options, and take pride in a hand-made object. It's part an understanding and appreciation for the craft involved and part learning to notice minute variations and choose among them. There aren't many places in the traditional independent school curriculum where that kind of education takes place, and I would suggest no better place than the darkroom. Stick to your guns and have a discussion with some students who have gone through your program. I've found they are often the best advocates for the mix once they have gone all the way through, experienced both analogue and digital work and produced a body of work all their own - in whichever medium. Then take every opportunity you get to bring up the subject of art as education rather than art in education - with other teachers, with administrators and, most importantly, with parents. I think you'll find a good deal of support out there.
One other note Cara. I am a regular on the 'Intorduce yourself' forum. I love to welcome folks ot the fold. And I have noticed a lot of people who, in the past couple of years, have shot digital and either gotten away from film or never shot it to begin with and once introduced or reintroduced to film they find or remember that something special. There are scores of member that fall into this category. Train a child in the things of film and when they grow old they will not stray far from them. (Gospel according to Chris)
Thank you to everyone who has offered me some very valuable advice and words of wisdom! Although we already do some of the things that were suggested, it was nice to receive some reinforcement and new ways to offer support for our program. Rather than responding individually, I wanted to summarize the ideas that really rung true to me and seemed that they would fit into our school climate:
1. Study the "masters" as well as contemporary artists and their use of light, composition, and the camera obscura.
2. Emphasize the history of Photography so that students can gain a better understanding of the medium and make connections to other disciplines.
3. Use the science behind Photography to create an interdisciplinary approach to the class.
4. Look at and analyze examples of original prints (I am joining the Lets all print one negative, Blind Print, and Postcard Exchange so I hope to continue to gather a variety of examples!)
5. Stress the importance of the problem solving opportunities the darkroom and analog photography offers.
Again, thank you for you advice. I will continue to use this group as a source of ideas, inspiration, and knowledge.
Do you make museum trips? I was in St. Louis some years ago for a conference and managed to escape for a bit to see the St. Louis Art Museum and was very impressed by the collection of German Expressionists. Just checking the website, I see they have a study room for the photo collection, so that's probably worth a few visits or maybe an assignment based on research in the collection.
I also managed to wander around town a bit between conference panels, and it seemed like a very interesting place to make photographs--
Yes, we visit several of spots in St. Louis to photograph and the seniors visit the art museum and several of the contemporary art and photography galleries. We have not taken advantage of the study room at the museum, I will have to look into that. Thanks for the great idea!
Don't belabour the points, as likely most kids want to actually go out and try things, but it's a quality way to start.
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