Photography Semester (2022) - 12th Grade

In the first semester advanced art course, under the guidance of Mrs. Carstensen and Mr. Greaves, we explored the infinite depths of photography. Our generation today absorbs photography like no other. Due to digitalisation and our interconnectivity, we are exposed to photos from all over the world on a daily basis, but often fail to notice the artistic aspect particularly. We are also producers of photography and mostly unconsciously so, for example, when we capture memorable moments with our friends and family.

Together we worked on unraveling the history of our nowadays highly digitalized cameras and understanding the technical and theoretical intricacies of photography. In a series, we went out individually and captured moments around our school with analog cameras. Along the way, in the theoretical classes, we were given the tools to analyse photographs in order to understand what defines the works of the world's best photographers. Another focus for us was the great individuals of photography.

Since we were working pretty much equally theoretically and practically, it was ultimately time to combine the skills we had gained so far. Focusing on Cindy Sherman, who is known for her transformation skills and self-portraiture, we individually created our biggest semester project. In her style, we took on a different persona and assumed the role of not only model and director, but also photographer at the same time. This was a refreshing journey of self-exploration for sure!

Our class really enjoyed getting outside and into action themselves, because as we all know, reading forever makes you want to go out and try things out for yourself. It was certainly a privilege to be able to work with analog cameras, to get in touch with the way our grandparents used to take photos. All in all, it remains an experience that definitely gave us appreciation for the speed and simplicity of photography today.

Ultimately, it was a significant focus for our course to engage not only with art as a craft, but also as a form of political and social critique. Then, during a visit to C / O Berlin, we were able to attend, among other things, an exhibition on Queerness in Photography, which further expanded our previous knowledge and left a lasting impression on us.

Henri -12th grade