Senior+Division

=Senior Division Studio Activity =

** Digital Photography: A Day in the Life of Hands **


This is a photo-mosaic inspired by the book, The Best Part of Me: Children Talk About their Bodies in Pictures and Words by Wendy Ewald. Ewald worked with fifteen students and their teachers to investigate how kids feel about their bodies. Black-and-white photographs of hands, feet, eyes, hair, necks, backs and elbows are accompanied by handwritten paragraphs and poems by the school children.

For this work, seventy-five images of school children's hands at work and play were taken throughout the day using a digital camera. The photos emulate the tight focus that Ewald uses in her book. The mosaic was created with free software for Macintosh computers called MacOSaiX. (Windows users can try AndreaMosiac or PictureMedley . ) The program allows you to choose a background image for the 'foundation' of the mosaic, and designate a set of images to 'populate' the mosaic. The software selects images from the designated set according to their colour and contrast to complete the mosaic.

Students were surprised that I wanted pictures of hands, not faces. I explained that my interest was in documenting how are hands used for work and play at school. When I review the collected pictures, I continue to be struck by how effectively the hands alone communicate emotion. Although there is no requirement that the background image and mosaic images be related in theme or content, I feel there is stronger visual and emotional impact when they are connected. The viewer is encouraged to look closely at each of the assembled pictures, while stepping back to appreciate how the collection creates the illusion of a unified image.

This activity could be adapted to many different themes and approaches: 'A Day in the Life Of...', 'A Timeline Of...', documenting a special event (e.g. a championship game; a field trip; a musical or concert), or displaying a student's portfolio of work.

I hope that this assignment will appeal to secondary school students in media arts or visual arts courses. Students could be introduced to the elements and principles of 'traditional' mosaics from a variety of settings and cultures. (Where do they appear? What do they depict or represent? How are they constructed?) Each student would need access to a digital camera in order to photograph an object, idea, theme or event over time, trying to capture their chosen subject matter from different points of view.

Selected expectations: Grade 10 Media Arts (Open)

Concepts and Terminology – identify and describe the use of elements and principles of media arts in selected works and productions; – identify and describe elements and principles borrowed from traditional art disciplines as found in media art. --- Creation – demonstrate skills in manipulating new and emergent digital technologies used in creating media art (e.g., digital camera, scanner, digital recorder, computer); – use the stages of the creative process to communicate their ideas individually and in groups (e.g., exploration, experimentation, production, evaluation); – use concepts and procedures from other art forms in creating media artworks. --- Production Skills – use a variety of the techniques and materials of traditional art forms related to media art; – communicate an idea through a traditional art form related to media art; – use appropriately the tools and equipment of traditional art forms related to media art; – use appropriately a variety of the techniques and materials of new and emergent technologies; – communicate an idea through the integrated use of digital techniques and materials; – create a digital portfolio of experiments and completed works using new and emergent technologies. --- Creative Process – research existing media artworks and productions to inspire new works (e.g., create a journal of existing works and productions); – experiment in traditional and digital media art techniques to create media artworks (e.g., create a file of sketches and ideas); – solve creative problems in production teams by following all stages of the creative process. --- Connections – use similarities between the arts to explore and experiment in the creation of media artworks; – identify and apply a specific idea, concept, or theme common to other art forms (e.g., narration, colour) to a media artwork.

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