Photos Do the Talking in Photo Conversation Project
“We live in a time when we have more connections, but fewer conversations, and I think the desire to move away from the screen and be present in something is essential. I can't imagine a more beautifully democratic medium than photography for this kind of exchange.”Those are the words of Abbey Hepner, assistant professor and area head of photography in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Art and Design. This semester, students in Hepner’s Advanced Photography course have been taking part in a “photo conversation” with their peers in Oklahoma State University’s (OSU) Intermediate/Advanced Photography course taught by Assistant Professor Andy Mattern.
The conversation began in mid-January when the OSU students received a prompt to which they were challenged to create a photo response. The students then printed their photos and Mattern mailed them to Hepner. With much anticipation, Hepner and her students opened the package to see the images to which they would craft their own responses through photos.
“Revealing the OSU student photos was like opening presents on Christmas day,” said senior Alexis Cunningham.
Cunningham and her SIUE classmates were each assigned an OSU partner and image to which they would respond conceptually, formally and visually – all without knowing the original prompt.
“The greatest challenge for me was following along with the ‘storyline,’” continued Cunningham. “We went into it blindly without knowing their prompt. I was constantly hoping my work would communicate something similar to theirs.”
This photo conversation is the second project of its kind that Hepner has coordinated since joining the SIUE faculty in August 2019. Last semester, Hepner’s Intermediate Photography students took part in a digital photo conversation with students at New Mexico State University. To provide an additional layer of depth to this semester’s project, Hepner included a requirement of physical photographic prints.
“A photograph is a 3-dimensional object that conveys meaning through its materiality, not just its subject matter,” explained Hepner. “This is something both Andy and I try to instill in our students and so it felt appropriate for an advanced class to require them not just to take photographs, but to physically make them as well.”
The added element of printed photographs required a greater investment of time and technique on behalf of the students and their instructors; additionally, they had to carefully manage mailing deadlines with the complexity of federal holidays and snow days thrown into the mix. Once those packets of photos arrived in the mail, though, it made all of the extra work worthwhile.
“So far, it has been the most successful photo conversation in terms of the quality of images, prints and sheer excitement to receive a box of photographs in the mail!” said Hepner, who spearheaded similar projects as a faculty member at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.
In all, this semester’s photo conversation included four photos shared between the two classes. With each photo, students gained creative problem-solving skills and enhanced their ability to communicate visually.
“This project helps students become more photographically literate and pay closer attention to how the principles and elements of design like color, contrast and space convey meaning,” explained Hepner. “I am always surprised at how carefully and creatively they respond, especially when they might only have two days to do so.”
The project culminated on Feb. 25 when the two classes Skyped with one another. This “face-to-face” conversation gave students the opportunity to ask their burning questions about their partners’ photos and artistic decision-making, in addition to finally learning the prompt that initiated each photo conversation.
“A number of students have told me this semester that this has been their favorite project that they have ever done. I think many of them surprised themselves at how creatively they were able to respond!” said Hepner. “I am hoping to grow the photography area here at SIUE and these collaborations have been a wonderful way of working with different schools across the country and showing off what we have to offer here.”
