Reflection – Photograms

Since I had no previous experience with photogram, finding subject matters for two assemblages for this project was not very easy for me. The consideration of the composition and the range of transparencies pushed me into deeper thinking on the choice of objects. Additionally, the juxtaposition of these objects has to have meanings for me on a certain level. Therefore, it took me a few days to finalize the gathering of objects I wanted to present.

I loved the result of the dried orchids from my trials, so I decided to use them again for this assignment. Although orchid is not my favorite flower, it has a special meaning to me. I do not own an orchid plant myself, but as a personal hobby, I collect and dry them in a book whenever I come across half-withered orchids. If you look closely, you will see that the orchids I used for this assignment are not the same ones that I used in my trials. The idea of my first photogram was to use objects that came from different places – dried orchids, a tree branch, plant leaves and coton – to achieve an imagery that looked natural and unaltered. For my second photogram, I combined a few objects as an answer to a question I often ask myself – what would you do if you are not an artist? If I were not in the field of fine art, I would probably be a writer – in another time and space (where I can actually write well, of course). I am aware that the use of pen, papers, ink splashes, and liquor glass might seem very cliché when associated with writer, but I could not think of other objects that offer a better representation.

My second experience in the darkroom went smoothly. Although I was still not very at ease working in a dark environment, I loved the process of creating photograms. With the previous experience in the darkroom, setting up the photo enlarger was effortless this time. The most enjoyable part of this assignment was to experiment with dodging and to achieve the effect I had in mind.

Due to the reason that the processing of photogram involves the use of chemical and dark working environment, I suppose that this assignment is more applicable for students who are in senor high school or older. Moreover, if I were to assign this project to students, I believe that a brief lecture on the history of photogram can broaden students’ knowledge on photography. As short as mentioning the photogram was accidentally discovered in 1725 by a German physicist, Johann Heinrich Schultze, can trigger students’ interest, prompt them to ask questions and engage them in the project.

For the assessing part, I think I would consider this project more like an exercise. According to Smith (1976), photography teachers tend forget that students go through a period of producing immature or imitative works called “early work” before mastering their skills. Since I believe that students are still in the phase of exploration, evaluation might be a bit soon. Therefore, by providing students the opportunity to discover and experiment, it will allow them to be equipped with the skills to move onto the next meaningful project.

References

Rudnick, Les. The Photogram - a History. Captured Shadows., 2004-2011. Retrieved from

http://www.photograms.org/chapter01.html

Smith, M. A., (1976). Exposure. On Teaching Photography. The Journal of Society for Photographic Education. Retrieved from

http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/onteachphoto.html