Peel This

My classroom has a very large darkroom, large enough to comfortably hold 8 to 12 students assuming that the students all used deodorant that morning and use their classroom voices, the term we use to describe a volume level that is significantly lower than the high pitched shrieks that they use to communicate with their peers.

As the school year comes to a close, my students have lost interest in the darkroom, preferring to take advantage of my second semester privilege to shoot their assignments with a digital camera. Because the darkroom has been so empty, I invited another class on campus up to my classroom to learn the process of making a photogram. Basically, a photogram is an image made in the darkroom without a camera. You set objects on a piece of photo paper, expose the paper to light, and develop. Presto! A photogram is produced, which might look something like this one by Man Ray:

You can make a Fauxtogram here to get the idea.

Anyway, I have a whole drawer full of photogram supplies including little plastic cowboys, hearts, buttons, ribbons, alphabet magnets, and beads, but it is also popular among the kids to make peace signs with their hands or place their whole head on the easel to create a photogram of their profile.

Today, one of the visiting students got in big trouble. His teacher was referring him to the principal because his photogram consisted only of his hand, or more specifically, only of his middle finger. He made an 8X10 image of his hand giving the world the bird. Perfect for framing.

Not 10 minutes later, after telling me how disappointed she was about the boy's work, she was admiring the photograms of some of her other students. She especially liked a particular photogram, one that made use of my drawer of plastic fruit. I could hear snickering from the back of the darkroom and came over to take a closer look. The student had made creative use of two plastic apples on either side of a big, plastic banana. If you can imagine what I mean.

If you can't imagine what I mean, you would be much like the teacher who could very well have a photogram depicting male genitalia perfectly framed on her classroom wall.

Comments

[benji]

that doesn't sound like typical high school students at all.
So far I have realized we do the same stuff here too, except the professors will often laugh about it with us.

[Jennifer]

I remember making photgrams in high school. Then we'd use photography paints to color areas of our photogram. The pinhole camera was also another fun project.

[Laura]

That is so funny. Poor, poor unsuspecting teacher :)

[Jennifer Berthiaume]

Aww. I still have the photogram that we made of my and Benji's face. It's a little keepsake of our good times together. I love that thing!

[Steven]

niiiiiiiice! ;)

[Katrina]

Okay, now that's just hilarious.
And I'm guessing that teacher is staying to continue to *teach* while you move on...
:::sigh:::