teacher

February 2014

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Photography Scholars Program: Robert Frank's The Americans Revisited

This semester, working in collaboration with guest photographer Gloria Baker Feinstein, students will take a critical look at Robert Frank's pivotal work The Americans. We will examine how Frank's view of the cultural landscape of the mid 1950s influenced American photography. Students are encouraged to share their reactions, formulate theories based on observations, and make connections between art and life.

Following gallery and classroom activities, students will create their own photographic portfolio, drawing on themes and ideas discussed in class. Through the hands-on production of their own images, and writing assignments that encourage students to articulate the thoughts behind their work, participants will explore their own individual interpretation of the American experience. Additionally, students will collaborate to create a book that explores contemporary notions of the collective American identity, as seen through the eyes of teenagers living in and around Kansas City.

Class sessions are led by museum curators, museum educators, and visiting photographer Gloria Baker Feinstein. Sessions meet for five consecutive Saturdays starting February 1, 2014.

All application materials are due by midnight, December 8, 2013. Students and teachers will be notified of acceptance in the program by email by December 20, 2013.

If you've never thought of me in a teaching role, you're not alone. Yeah, I've taught my own children and some of their friends about photography, and I've worked with kids at Operation Breakthrough here in Kansas City and at the orphanage in Uganda, but I've never been particularly comfortable assuming the official position of teacher. 

That's going to change very soon. I'm a jumble of nerves and excitement.