four note friday 1.21 | Four MORE Exercises for Better Understanding Photovoice

As I noted within a previous post (1.14), learning about photovoice should include more than reading about photovoice. We must do more than read. In what follows, I outline four more exercises to try out—with the goal of fostering a deeper understanding of photovoice.

Play around. Have some fun. Do the activity you are most drawn toward. Not every exercise will catalyze an epiphany, yet you'll likely develop an insight from at least one of the activities below. In addition to doing these exercises, I encourage you to also reflect and write about your experiences and what you learned. And keep what you wrote, as it may serve as fodder for current or future projects.

🟣 Brainstorm all the things an image can do.

This exercise is inspired by the work of Lynda Barry. Here are some words to get you going on this brainstorm: verisimilitude, sympathy, and representation. What are some of the things you have seen images do in your experience? Write it all down.

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to view a photography exhibition at Aurora PhotoCenter called Relative Moments by Deanna Dikeman. The exhibition moved me to tears. Images can tell a story we can collectively relate to, and they can touch us deeply, activating a strong emotional response. This, too, is the stuff of photovoice.

Reflection/Journaling Prompt. How might photographs taken during a (your) photovoice project do some of those things?

🟣 Watch a documentary about a photographer or maker.

I love documentaries. Rather than scrolling through Netflix, intentionally select a documentary or two about a photographer or maker to view. As you watch, ask yourself how the film can offer you in terms of your understanding and practice of photovoice. Here are a few films I have enjoyed over the years that've made me think about photoovice in some new and different ways:

Obey Giant (available on Hulu); Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVvyI7BdYw8

What Remains: The Life and Work of Sally Mann (available on AppleTV); Trailer: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/what-remains-the-life-and-work-of-sally-mann/umc.cmc.6e8y8jh1of7x82xh3n8ytzjhi

Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters (available on kanopy); Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqtyUkGSS14

Reflection/Journaling Prompt. What did this film have to teach me about photovoice?

🟣 Build a diorama.

Imagine you were to host a photovoice exhibition of your project. Build a diorama of the space you plan to create. Keep the tenets of museum learning close at hand when you do this. Then, brainstorm ways to use the diorama as a mechanism to engage participants and encourage their input.

Reflection/Journaling Prompt. How does your diorama contain some of the same elements you have noticed at exhibitions you may have seen in the past?

🟣 Consider the role of technology.

Consider how extant and emerging technologies might affect the photovoice methodology and your project in particular. What elements of the total project will be analog (if any)? What elements will be digital (if any)? Use the following questions as prompts.

Reflection/Journaling Prompts.

➕ Will artificial intelligence play a role in your project? Why, or why not?

➕ What do current and emergent social media platforms tell us about the future of photovoice? Will social media be used in conjunction with your project? Why, or why not?

➕ What are the three most helpful available tools/technologies you would like to use with your photovoice project? How will you make decisions about what to use?

Working with photovoice is often an embodied experience—and the above activities can help you become more and more comfortable with that embodied work. Reading is vital, and we need to do more than read. Use one or more of the above activities as a spring board for deeper learning. Experiment and enjoy!

🥹 Thanks for spending a moment with me this Friday.
💌 If you’re new here, welcome! I hope this space becomes one you look forward to each week.

📬 Have a question you want me to answer in a future issue? Reach me at photovoicefieldnotes@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks for being here.

Warmly,
Mandy
photovoice field notes
photovoicefieldnotes.com