‘Bringing a Photo to Life’
Sharmini Pereira, Curator of the exhibition ‘one hundred thousand small tales’, sets a fun activity using this photograph.
The title of this artwork is ‘St. Peter’s Old Boys’ Reunion’.
It was made in 1991 by the artist Stephen Champion (b. 1959).
This work is a high quality reproduction photograph made from the original taken by the artist. See the full caption
(1) “Look at the photograph ‘St Peter’s Old Boys Reunion’ by Stephen Champion.”
(2) “These men are dancing, but what are they dancing to?”
(3) “I would choose a track by the late Manu Dibango, called ‘Soul Makossa’ to which we will dance.”
(4) “Search for ‘Soul Makossa – Manu Dibango (Original)’ on YouTube, and spend some time listening to it
(5) “Spend 1-minute dancing to ‘Soul Makossa’.”
From this worksheet I will find out:
–I can look at a photograph, and ask questions about it
–I can make up my own actions using an artwork as my inspiration
Step 1
Look closely at the photograph. Pay attention to all the details. Make a list of the details. Are they big details? Or are they small ones? Can small details still be important? What do you think?
Step 2
Ask questions. What is happening? What are the people in the photograph doing? Be inquisitive and ask all the questions you can think of.
Step 3
Answer these questions. Use your imagination. What do you think is happening in this photograph? There are no wrong answers.
Step 4
Use your answers to bring the photograph to life with your friends. You can tell them the story about the photograph, come up with a game, dance, and act out what you think they are doing. This might help you feel what it was like to be a part of that photograph. And, you might figure out why the artist took it.
