I. Read the excerpt from chapter 7 of The Photograph as Contemporary Art by Charlotte Cotton. The final portion of the course incorporates photography as a medium and research tool for your practice.
II. Based on your research and 2D making over the last few weeks create a photo essay this week out of class
- The essay can stay within the same topic or go a new direction
- The essay should build on the research you’ve been doing and any understanding you established in the last section of the course
- Include no less than 10 images and no more than 20
- Tell a story or convey ideas or emotions through images you create and or collate, and the order they are viewed
- This is meant to combine images that you make or take to create a story as a route for research or knowing
- Cite the sources for any images that you didn’t take or create
- This can be on a credits page at the end of the essay
- The final essay can be in any form or 2D medium
III. Upload your essay as a pdf to this assignment or put it on the LP and add the link to canvas
I based my photo essay on comparing the way my mom used to dress my sister and I when we were similar ages. My sister`s upbringing was in Moscow, Russia and mine was in New York, USA.My sister and I have a 8 year difference. The way that my mother would dress us was based on the setting of the time. There are clothing in Russia that a little kid would be able to wear that wouldn’t be seen as “regular” in NYC. These photos show the adjustment my mother made when she came to NYC. The way my mother dressed me was more simpler and covered. When you compare the photos, it is obvious that my sister wasn’t what a little kid in America would wear. I thought it was really interesting to see what location and a few years can do to clothing on a little child.
In modern times, we focus more on how style changes within adults, but never really focus on the style shift of kids. In Russia, my mom was a little more liberating in choosing the type of my clothes for my sister to wear than mine. American standards are very different than Russian standards. Crop tops for kids were acceptable in Russia, but in America people will look at the parent a certain way if their kid is wearing a crop top because it might not be deemed as acceptable. Everything depends on culture. Our different upbringings show how cultures think.
In these photos, my sister and I range from the ages of 6-8 years old. I enjoy seeing photos of us little and comparing how different we were. I asked my mother if it was just her own style change to dress us differently, but she said that she had to match us to the culture we were brought up in. In my perspective, I would’ve enjoyed the clothing from Russia more. I feel that my mom dressed my sister more loosely didn’t think too hard of what she would dress her in. Even the haircuts of my sister and I were different when we were the same age. My mom shaved my sister`s head in order for my sister to grow healthy hair, but she didn’t want to risk me getting teased in our school system. Its very common to see the style I wore as a kid to what little kids wear currently.
