The camera’s role in education is examined in a new CD-Rom. Martin Child peers through the viewfinder to check over its contents and assess its relevance
When Ebor Gardens primary school in Leeds invited in an artist-in-residence, it changed the look of the entire school. The man in question, Alun Dunn, involved every pupil in a multi-media project, from design to manufacture, which resulted in a wall of bright, vibrant ceramic tiles. This project is just one of many to feature in an excellent new CD-Rom called PhotoArts - Education for the Future.
There are also issue-based projects including Black to Nature, exploring the way people react to race “out of context”. It’s centred around a black family group who go walking through the Yorkshire countryside. Monochrome photographs are used to tell the story of the journey and the people the family meet up with along the way. “We came across a party of walkers,” explains Marcia Hutchinsonin the documentary. “They all stared at us as if they had just come across a moose or something.”
The CD-Rom also contains an image bank featuring 27 photographers from Frank Meadows Sutcliffe and Sir Benjamine Stone to the quirky images of European stereotypes by Martin Parr (see right). The Critical Studies section has essays on photography and education, as well as information on some of the projects and artists featured. A useful list of contacts completes the disc.
Most pages have a print option, allowing text to be printed along with relevant thumbnail-sized images. Well designed and inspiring, this CD-Rom is a useful resource for people engaged in teaching art, photography, or media studies.
PhotoArts - Education for the Future from PhotoArts 2000 on CD-Rom for PC and MacPrice: pound;12 plus postage and packing available from Kirklees School Effectiveness Service Tel: 01484 225793
www.school-effectiveness.co.uk
