High School Studio Lesson
Art from overseas: INDIA
Left: I am French. Manon photographs herself using a photo booth approach in which she later
built a walk-in photo booth. Another photo booth strip showing an Indian influence.
Middle: Manon photographed me as part of her final project spurred on by this self-portrait
project. Ms. Keri-Claustrophobia in India.
THEMATIC
For a long-term project, I
challenged my students to
photograph themselves each
day for fourteen days using a
theme. I asked them to think about
how the final work would influence
the viewer to understand who they
are. Students first had to write a proposal for their idea, including what
type of lighting, props, and ideas
they were going to use. Some themes
were: “What I do behind closed
doors,” “The transition from child
into adult,” and “The various sides
of me as an ex-patriate.”
I opened the discussion with
“What is a portrait?” and “What is a
self-portrait?” We discussed the idea
of using objects as metaphors and
several students took that approach.
Contemporary Photographers
I showed a digital presentation
of various portrait photographers
including Cindy Sherman and her
Untitled Film Stills series. She
dressed the part of various film
characters and photographed herself
in various locations. I mentioned
that props, clothes, and background
must relate to the idea.
Yasuka Morimura photographed
himself as other characters, often
famous artists. Kelli Connell pho-
tographed herself twice in the same
frame as two characters. Steve Aish-man and Ben Sloat collaborated
on a project called the Half-Asian
Portraits. Finally, I presented Bobby
Fiedler’s work in which he transformed himself into a character that
did odd things.
The Importance of Concept
I teach that concept is as important
as technique. Each student had to
express a reason for photographing
and presenting their ideas as they
did. Writing, which helps students
process their ideas, was included
in the form of a proposal and final
assessment for technical and con-
