EARLY CHILDHOOD

London and Skylar Lowery, Gridded Photomontage, pre-k.

Sue Liedke

Students had to use their decision-making skills to decide which pieces should overlap, which didn’t make the cut, and where each photo should go.

Hockney’s iconic paintings can be found in museums around the world, but slightly lesser known are his photographic “joiners.” These are photomontages, made with Polaroid or 35mm prints, of the same subject shot from multiple perspectives. The resulting portraits and landscapes tell complex stories and offer a multitude of details.

I introduced my classes to some of Hockney’s portraits with open-ended questions such as, “Whom do you think this might be a picture of?” and “How do you think the artist made this picture?” We discussed the methods Hockney employed and refreshed our vocabulary. (Lens, frame, shutter, etc.) We also got to see some of his landscape “joiners,” which are sprawling and impressive glimpses into parts of America many of my students haven’t seen.

Group two: pre-k classwide photo puzzle (scroll to view the full image).

Next came the fun part. For an entire period, my first class practiced with point-and-shoot cameras, aiming at each other and snapping away. They tried out costumes and backdrops, and took turns posing and directing the photo shoots.

After our practice day, students spent two subsequent art classes using my Fujifilm Instax® camera to take photos of each other. Everyone got a turn in front of and behind the camera.

On the last day of the project, students collected the photos of themselves taken by their classmates. They arranged the instant prints into their final compositions, creating gridded photomontages.

For another pre-k class, we again started with a day of practice, and then I photographed the whole class using a digital camera. Students helped me sort out which pictures were “keepers,” and those were printed and assembled into a large class puzzle. It was great to watch them identify parts of each other’s bodies and piece them together. Students had to use their decision-making skills to decide which pieces should overlap, which didn’t make the cut, and where each photo should go.

Ultimately, students completed finished “joiners” using two methods. The first group made gridded instant photomontages, while the second group assembled a successful class-wide puzzle. The finished pieces are charming and authentic. They express the personalities of the pre-kindergartners and exhibit multiple perspectives. And most of all, students loved making them.

Susan Liedke is an art teacher at Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Article originally appeared in the May 2017 Issue.
Pre-K Photo Joiners