Final Project: Thoughts and Resources

After grappling with technical difficulties and mastering the ins and outs of Dreamweaver (well, almost) through the Unit 2 project, our final project feels like a simple task. At first glance, the concept a "digital collage portfolio" seems like a return our famine collage project. Instead of making a paper collage, just take some digital pictures, Photoshop them together, tie it all up in a slideshow, and stick it on a website. Easy, right?

Not quite. Even though I have previous experience in artmaking, I'm not a trained photographer and this project feels a lot like a crash course in Photography 101. Plus, I can't rely on my experience in persuasive writing as I did on the unit 2 site. You know the rule of thirds? Negative space? Contrast is good, right? So, I'm not feeling prepared this time around. But I'm starting to understand how each of the units we've covered has contributed to build a set of solid composition skills that I can apply to any task. I'm not 100% solid on each frame of my Unit 3 collage yet, but I can see how the skills I learned through the first 2 units will help me get there.

For my digital collage I've decided to tackle the issue of school bullying as it affects lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) teens. Over the past few years bullying has resulted in a dramatic increase in the suicide rate among LGBT teens and young adults. Last fall this issue made national news when at least 5 teens committed suicide within a 6 week period. Among other daytime TV celebrities, prominent LGBT advocate Ellen DeGeneres spoke up about the devastating effects of bullying. Many are working to save lives by putting an end to bullying in our nation's schools. Here's a few helpful resources from around the web:

Dan Savage's It Gets Better Campaign went viral last year and continues to inspire teens worldwide with its message of hope for the future. Celebrities, corporations, activists, and all manner of public figures submitted YouTube videos to the "It Gets Better" channel. I found Pixar's submission especially sincere and touching.

The Trevor Project aims to prevent suicide and self-harm among LGBT teens and young adults through providing resources, guidance and a listening ear during times of distress. In addition to online materials the organization runs a no-cost phone help line for teens who may be contemplating suicide. Learn more about the project's namesake and how this effort came to be.

Everyone is Gay is a nonprofit organization committed to making a difference in the lives of LGBT youth. The cornerstone of the site is a laugh-out-loud hilarious advice blog, in which founders Dannielle Owens-Reid and Kristin Russo guide readers through everyday struggles and relationship drama. Though the blog focuses on gay and lesbian relationships, the witty yet wise advice featured can help anyone through the confusing business of growing up (and yes, the relationship advice often applies equally to straight readers).
Their resources page provides a gateway for LGBT teens and young adults to access community centers, alliances, and non-profit organizations in their communities.

Trying My Hand at Photography

As I discussed in my last post, I found out about photojournalist Lowell Handler through a course assignment for my Therapeutic Arts class. Our investigation of art and disability also included a personal artmaking activity: after researching an artist, we were to create a piece of art that references the artist's style or vision. I snapped a series of photos using my webcam, manipulated the lighting and texture, and combined them using Photoshop.

A series of images of me stretching, edited and combined to make a photo collage.

This picture incorporates many of the photoediting skills and collage elements we utilized while working on the Unit 1 famine collage project. Like Handler's work, my photo collage transforms a movement into a series of static images. I have very little experience in photography (so I'm all set for the Unit 3 project, right?) and wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone for this project. I'm satisfied and surprised by the end result...here's hoping for the same outcome for Unit 3 as I piece together my Digital Collage Portfolio.

Photojournalist spotlight: Lowell Handler

While poring over the work of my favorite photographers for Mini-Project 6, I remembered an acclaimed photojournalist I recently learned about in my Therapeutic Arts course. We were studying artists with disabilities and how artists express their views on disability and contextualize their life experiences through their work. Lowell Handler is a professional photojournalist who has traveled across North America to document the experiences of individuals with Tourette syndrome. After being diagnosed with Tourette’s, Handler turned to photography as a way to cope with the socially isolating symptoms of the disorder, which causes the affected individual to perform repetitive movements or vocal inflections.

He finds a sense of community in documenting the experiences of others who struggle with the disease. Many of Handler’s photos depict individuals at the moment when they are overtaken by Tourettic movements; the artist chronicles these involuntary movements in a series of static images.

By documenting these physically uncomfortable and socially unacceptable motions, Handler directs the viewer’s attention to moments that typically make us uncomfortable. Through his photographs Handler seeks to examine the relationship between the observed (people with disabilities) and the viewer.

“I want to force people to observe that which is usually ignored,” Handler writes of his work. “If people are going to look away from me in shame because of my oddity, I will force them to see, through my photographs, every aspect of life, however vile or beautiful.”

Handler’s photos have been featured in LIFE magazine, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, along with other highly selective publications. Handler served as associate producer and narrator of the Emmy-nominated PBS Documentary Twitch and Shout (1995) and published a memoir entitled Twitch and Shout: A Touretter’s Tale (1998). The images in this post are featured in Twitch and Shout, which is available at your friendly local library.

Finally Finished!

Here's the URL for my Unit 2 site!
wwwstu.tcu.edu/kejwalker