Hard Times, Oklahoma, 1939–40
The Documentary Photography of Russell Lee
Spotlight Gallery
To date, this was our program's smallest number of participation. Sometimes we'll have around 40 people attend and the next month we'll only have ten. After talking with care partners about this, the most common reply was that attendance depends on the state of the participant the morning of the program. If the weather is cold or rainy the participant may feel more comfortable staying inside. Or, if the participant has a difficult morning it may be best for everyone if their familiar routine be not disturbed and that he or she stay home. Only two participants with their care partners came, separately (without a resident facility) along with LaShondia from the Alzheimer’s Association: Oklahoma Chapter and Gail, a wonderful volunteer who volunteers her time and assistance monthly. Originally I had planned for a large number of participants because the previous month we had close to 40 people attend. In my mind, I had depended on that large number to facilitate what I thought would | be a successful discussion. However, working in education and also in museums, you quickly learn the importance of flexibility and having the ability to quickly and creatively solve problems so that the education experience is still valuable to whoever is participating in the program. With this in mind, I decided to not see low participation numbers as an issue but rather as an opportunity to create a relational and personal one on one environment. Instead of standing in front of the group and presenting a lecture I decided to sit down with the participants and create an atmosphere of open discussion. First, I gave a quick background story about the photographer Russell Lee and then invited everyone to stand up and move through the gallery. Everyone was invited to describe what they saw in each photograph and answer what they think the people in the photographs were thinking, or how they felt, what they were doing, and where they are in the picture. |
Ice Cold Pop - 1c"Emilia, did you ever have a lemonade stand when you were a little girl?" I asked Emilia who was standing right next to me. Emilia sharply replied, “I don’t remember! I don’t remember anything anymore!” This response is common from people with Alzheimer's. When presented with a question that requires |
them to use a part of their memory that they can no longer attain anymore they usually become frustrated or even embarrassed. With this in mind, I did not want to push Emilia into an even more uncomfortable state, however I also didn't want to give up the chance of talking about the photograph. So quickly collecting my thoughts I came up with a different approach that required me to first meet her where she was -
the emotion she was feeling in that moment.
I answered, "It's okay if you can't remember your childhood. I also have a hard time remembering things I did when I was a kid." After telling her this I reworded my question with the hope of tapping into her imagination. I asked if she could describe to me what a lemonade stand is. Emilia began her answer by describing what she saw in the picture in front of her. Then something really neat happened, Emilia was able to (through describing a lemonade stand) touch the surface of her memories and tell everyone in the group about her lemonade stand. When I asked how much she sold her lemonade for (pointing out that the child in the picture was only selling cold pop for one cent) Emilia replied, “Money was never the point. We did it for…. Money did not matter.”
the emotion she was feeling in that moment.
I answered, "It's okay if you can't remember your childhood. I also have a hard time remembering things I did when I was a kid." After telling her this I reworded my question with the hope of tapping into her imagination. I asked if she could describe to me what a lemonade stand is. Emilia began her answer by describing what she saw in the picture in front of her. Then something really neat happened, Emilia was able to (through describing a lemonade stand) touch the surface of her memories and tell everyone in the group about her lemonade stand. When I asked how much she sold her lemonade for (pointing out that the child in the picture was only selling cold pop for one cent) Emilia replied, “Money was never the point. We did it for…. Money did not matter.”
Continuing to look at the photographs of Migrant Travelers, stories were shared between care partners about the possessions they owned as a child. One lady mentioned that she grew up after the depression in Pennsylvania and talked about her experienced differences and similarities living in both South and North regions of the US.
One lady with Alzheimer’s mentioned that she remembers the first time she found a hole in her socks big toe. This experience must have been common because after it was told everyone shared their first broken sock memory.
One lady with Alzheimer’s mentioned that she remembers the first time she found a hole in her socks big toe. This experience must have been common because after it was told everyone shared their first broken sock memory.
In the end the participants ended up sharing their memories of film cameras and ended up laughing and correcting me about film development and processing black and white photos. I had planned on teaching the group how to use a film camera and in result they ended up teaching me.
Realizing that since the camera is something everyone was familiar with I turned it into as a tool for discussion and began asking questions starting on with the imagination. "If you had a camera, what would you take picture of?", "Would you take a picture of a person or place?", "Who would you take a picture of? Where would you take the picture?" Through sharing their answers each participant shared stories of when they took photographs of their family and where they kept the photos.
Realizing that since the camera is something everyone was familiar with I turned it into as a tool for discussion and began asking questions starting on with the imagination. "If you had a camera, what would you take picture of?", "Would you take a picture of a person or place?", "Who would you take a picture of? Where would you take the picture?" Through sharing their answers each participant shared stories of when they took photographs of their family and where they kept the photos.
In the studio...
In studio everyone created a newspaper background and painted a home (or memory) in the foreground with black paint. Addressing the class I laid down the basic shapes with black paint on the newspaper background that create a house and then encouraged everyone to paint a house on their own – adding trees, gardens, walkways, people, weather… that reminds them of their childhood home or the home the currently live in. In result everyone’s picture was different yet the same. Since the group was a small number each person received individual attention. In the end everyone had conversations about their homes, music they love, and laughter was ever present. Another added benefit to having a small number of participants is that LaShondia and Gail were able to sit down, relax, and also participate in the art project.
A woman from Philbrook's Education Committee decided to observe our studio time. She shared with us that one of her friends was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and admitted that she knows very little about it. I encouraged her to interact with the participants and not be afraid to ask questions. She was at first a little shy however once she entered the conversation everyone made her feel welcome and appreciated for being there. Overall this session was a very special, relaxing, joyful, and time of learning for everyone.
A woman from Philbrook's Education Committee decided to observe our studio time. She shared with us that one of her friends was just diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and admitted that she knows very little about it. I encouraged her to interact with the participants and not be afraid to ask questions. She was at first a little shy however once she entered the conversation everyone made her feel welcome and appreciated for being there. Overall this session was a very special, relaxing, joyful, and time of learning for everyone.
(Pictures of Artwork were taken from Philbrook website)