‘Fearless Perspective’
Union Elementary students share their photographic insights at RAC
Everyone has a unique perspective on life, including a crew of young photographers at Union Elementary whose talents are now displayed at Texarkana’s Regional Arts Center.
Under the guidance of teachers Katie Lasagna and Kaley Padgett, more than two dozen second-through fourth-grade students participate in the Union Elementary Photography Club, sharing their unique points of view through the snapshots they take.
The basement gallery space at the RAC is now filled with their photographs, each photographer sharing three photos, a self-portrait and a brief biography, just as any artist would for an exhibit. In their bios, students dedicated their art to someone special in their lives.
“Fearless Perspective” is the exhibit name, indicating how these students approach overcoming the daily challenges in their lives. For these at-risk students, the photography club is a positive, affirming experience at a school with an 89 percent poverty level in Texarkana, Ark. A total of 26 students participate.
Armed with digital cameras, young shutterbugs could be found this past week searching for the best vantage point to capture everything from a microphone to piano keys to a dictionary. It was a focus assignment, explained Lasagna.
“It’s just to get them to look at things from a different angle, to try to fill the frame. That’s the other objective of it. They’re going to use things like repeating patterns and leading lines. Those are all lessons that we’ve done in the past,” Lasagna said.
The idea is to incorporate these practical photography lessons into the photos they take, gaining comfort with the medium and skills to take better and better photographs. They’re unafraid in their pursuit of a good photo, says their teacher.
“They’re fearless. They take a bad picture, (and) they’re like, ‘It’s not the end of the world. It’s not going to cost me anything. It’s digital,’” Lasagna said. They move on and try again.
On this day, students were situated at various stations, rotating from one object to the next after working a couple minutes. They would move and manipulate and shift viewpoints with each specific object, such as a rose, a computer motherboard, a violin and an old telephone.
“Sometimes they’ll look at it from a really interesting point of view,” Lasagna said.
The club has been operating for three years. This particular group began meeting near the start of this school year. The school has several different clubs, and the photography club is one of the most popular.
Why is it so popular? The students get something tangible out of it, for one thing.
“That when they’re done they can take something home. At the end of the year, we print off a large canvas, and then they get to take that canvas home and display it at their house,” Lasagna said. For some parents, she says, their child’s artistic talents comes as a surprise.
During the year, students are sent out to explore the world with their photography: the playground, nature, places like the Perot Theatre. They discover sticks, twigs, trees and other everyday items we may pass by. They like taking pictures of old things that are falling apart. Or bugs.
“When they catch a photo of a bug, oh my gosh … they get really excited about that,” Lasagna said. They took a downtown field trip, but there’s not a lot of money for that. “We have to raise funds to go places,” the teacher said.
But there’s a sense of satisfaction at printing their photographs and displaying them in an exhibit for all to see. “I think it’s just something about them being able to hold it in their hands and look at it and know that they’re the ones that made this,” Lasagna said.
It was their idea, their vision, that made each photograph a reality, she says, and they capture things we adults may walk over and fail to see.
“Some of the best pictures are sticks on the ground or acorns,” Lasagna said.
They find beauty in these small things. She hopes her students gain a lifelong hobby or a future career. The lessons also apply to other areas of their life, particularly the value of persistence.
“Especially the persistence to keep trying, trying something new. If you fail, just keep going, don’t take it so personally,” Lasagna said.
The program was the brainchild of the Union principal, Thelma Forte. They decided to offer electives to the students, giving them a choice from a broad spectrum of possibilities, she explained. From an elective guide, students and their parents selected from the 17 possible choices.
“It’s student selected, parent approved. It’s something they want to do,” Forte said, noting they’ve even discussed the possible economic benefit of becoming a good photographer. She showed her sister’s wedding photos to the students to indicate what photographers can make money doing.
“They’re like, ‘So my hobby can become a way of life,’” Forte said about the realization students have. And for some, their personalities come through in the artwork, which leads to self-realization on the part of these students. They can realize that they see things no one else sees.
“So for a lot of our kids, it’s teaching the viewpoint, the perspective, just to be able to appreciate art and
“I like taking pictures of old things. Because there’s more you can take pictures of and more you can learn about.”
—Demarion Gaines
different forms of art,” Forte said. The club is also totally hands-on, another appealing thing for students. And it’s experiential learning.
“They love this class. There are no wrong answers here,” Forte said. With art, it’s the way you see things that matters.
They’ve borrowed some aspects of the art curriculum at Arkansas High School,
Forte said, and Lasagna said she’s incorporated lessons she learned in college. The cameras came from a magnet school grant. Union is called a Da Vinci school.
“Part of our magnet theme is allowing children to have a constructive approach,” Forte said. “And what that means is, they look at something but they construct the meaning for what it is and the importance of it.”
To Forte’s mind, it’s one of the best programs Union has for students. “You cannot get away from technology. Everything we do in this day and time, you have to be able to manage your technology,” she said. And through clubs, kids are motivated and show enthusiasm.
One of those students showing enthusiasm is Demarion Gaines. On this day, he enjoyed photographing the flower the most. During a trip to Dallas, bricks and leaves became his subjects.
“I like taking pictures of old things. Because there’s more you can take pictures of and more you can learn about,” Demarion said. He was excited to see his photography at the RAC. His family got to see, too. For young photographers, seeing their work in a gallery provides a sweet sense of accomplishment.
The RAC exhibit is housed in an area that regularly features student art. Amy Donohoe, director of visual arts and community programs at the Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, is impressed with the Union students’ work.
“People should come see this exhibit because it really does demonstrate the power of the arts and the ability to change people’s behavior and increase their quality of life. I think it’s amazing that these second-, third- and fourth-graders were able to take photos that if I hadn’t known, I would have thought an adult had taken. I think that’s amazing,” Donohoe said, “and I really do embrace the idea that every child can be an artist and everyone is capable of creativity.”
TRAHC has been fundraising to help the club by selling prints of these photos. They’re available for $10 apiece, and buying one is a good way to help these Union students learn more. Funds raised can be used for field trips, supplies or printing costs, Donohoe said.
“I just really want this program to be even more successful than it is and make sure it has the funds to keep going,” she said.
Lasagna had her shutterbugs taking extra photos this past week for an Arkansas High School art show.
“We like to show off their work everywhere,” she said. They’ll be doing another TRAHC art contest and entering the Four States Fair show. So, you may be seeing more of these young shutterbugs.
“I really want them to show off their work so they can get all that praise and that confidence,” Lasagna said. “A lot of them, they’re not real sure about themselves. Some of them, they’re a little shy or they lash out. That’s kind of the two extremes.”
But with photography, they can gain self-assurance, a creative outlet and practical skills.
“Fearless Perspective” runs through Saturday, April 29. Admission is free at the RAC, which is located at 321 W. 4th
St. in downtown Texarkana. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
(On the Net: TRAHC.org and un.tasd7.net.)