My World IS 230

Welcome to one of Working Playground's network ArtSpace blogs!

This blog is a part of an afterschool digital photography My World model program at Intermediate School 230 in Jackson Heights, Queens. It will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays, in the library, from 3-5pm.

Essential Questions:
How can my world educate and inspire me? How can I educate and inspire my world?

Foundation Statement: The Unites States is a county of immigrants, a "melting pot" or "salad bowl" of diverse cultures and identities. Jackson Heights is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world. Through writing, storyboarding, and photography, students in this program will explore the art of storytelling, focusing on their own cultural identity and family stories. A workshop with a professional journalist will train students to ask questions and work in the field. Trips to the Y Gallery and the East Side Tenement Museum will look closely at immigration perspectives. Students will create a photo slideshow of their work in January. 

In the Spring, students will delve into the world of zines. Since the 14th C (before blogs), marginalized citizens all over the world have created their own leaflet styled publications as a way to give voice to their ideas. By being challenged to answer the question, "What about your world makes you angry?" students will choose a topic they would like to research through the internet, through first-hand interviews with community members, and through the lens of their cameras.  Each student will conceivably create one handmade book and zine with an edition of 10. The final project will be a group zine with a circulation of two to three hundred. Field trips include the Queens Museum of Art and the MET. 






Sunday, May 25, 2008

the end/reflection

A few pages from our zine:





Well, the end came and went. We made amazing zines full of our photography about the environment, presented at the parent/teacher exhibition at IS 230, presented at the Urban Arts Festival at the Bleecker Street Theater, and spent some time picking out which photos to leave behind in the hallways of the school. I am so proud of my students, they have grown as artists, photographers, and people. I will miss you!

Reflections:
Here are the students answering my questions, discussion style, about the year.

"Photos create memories, lots of memories. This program has been good for me because it could help me in the future, like it could help me get into a good school, the stuff that I've learned could help me in a lot of places." - Caryin

"Photos are like art. They represent something that you feel. Each pic can represent a different emotion and feeling you have inside." - Alan

"We got to express our emotions in our pictures, like we chose the pictures we took for a reason, like the one Dayana took of the flower, or the one Alan took of the tree..." - Daniela

"I liked best [Central] park and the MET, because I liked seeing nature and taking pictures. Or, you could take pictures of family and people you care about." - Dayana

"The school is so cramped up. All day long being inside the school is hard. [What I liked best here was] being outside and doing almost anything I wanted with the camera, you get to move and get better pics outside." - Caryin

"Pictures are like words." - Alan

"Pictures try to send messages in the attitude or the way the person or thing is doing or feeling or expressing." - Daniela

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

new work by Brenda

I like this picture because it shows the shadow of the tree but at the same time it shows all of my classmates in it too. I also like it because of the branches of the trees. We went to the MET museum to see the Lee Freidlander picture of a tree shaped like a hand. Then I tried to re-create the same picture but it came a little different. I think my picture looks like hands trying to reach us.

new work by Kevin

I like this picture because it shows a flower that is all alone and that’s its surrounded by leaves. It also shows loneliness

new work by Alan

I like this picture because in the picture it shows a flower but with some garbage around it and that shows how much litter is in the world.

Does this photograph change your perspective on nature?



I like the picture because it shows how the frown on what looks like a face on the tree shows how we are destroying nature.

Monday, May 12, 2008

new work by Nicole

I took this picture because it seemed to show something about nature and earth, it seemed to show how much trash there is on earth. It also shows my dog Oreo.- Nicole

Monday, April 28, 2008

new work by Daniela

I took this photo because I was playing in the playground and Dayana was under me I told her to stop. Also because it looks mysterious and sad, and half her face has light and half doesn’t.
I like this photo because I think that it shows that the garbage on the ground can hurt people and the environment. Also because it shows that garbage in the ground is hurting the person, which is the shadow.





The trees and earth save us. Don't cut it and don't damage it=( I like the emotion of the squirrel in this photo that why i chose it. Daniela

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Metropolitan Museum of Art




We took a nice long field trip to the MET to see the Lee Friedlander exhibit of Olmsted's parks. Then, we went to Central Park and tried to recreate our favorites. It seems like the environment is becoming our theme. We honor and cherish it in our photographs. We have hundreds of photos to edit this week, but they're coming soon! Above are our our favorites from Friedlander.