Vanishing Point: Connecting Students across North Carolina through photography and poetry

Click on Photos for Slide Show

January 17 – April 18, 2010 Middleton McMillan Gallery Free and open to the public

What is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing?
-it's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye.
But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.” – Jack Kerouac, from On the Road

 

In the fall of 2009, The Light Factory boarded students from Olympic and Vance High Schools (Charlotte) on a bus for an unforgettable journey across the state of North Carolina to meet new friends in Currituck and Columbus Counties. Along the road, students created interpretive photographs as they learned first-hand about the Eastern region of their state and the people who live there.

Throughout the fall, students at each school were challenged to create photographs and poems that represent self, their daily environment, and travel.  As you will see, the work they created is deeply personal, ranging from the literal to the very conceptual.

Project creator and teaching artist-photographer Jen Crickenberger guided students through three themed assignments: Environmental Self Portraiture, The Road as an Issue and a Metaphor, and Documenting Personal Journey.  The work the students created surpasses the documentary style extending to more contemporary trends that beg the viewer to connect and interpret.

Students explored the art of creative writing including haikus, narrative poems, and group poems with Terry Creech from Charlotte Slam Poets. Their group poems were performed live at the opening reception of this exhibition.

Inspired by the concepts raised The Romance of the Road, Vanishing Point is the artistic expression of students on a journey.

Enjoy photography and personal stories written by the students while on the road in our blog: www.vanishingpointproject.blogspot.com.

Special Thanks to: Dr. Shep McKinley (Visiting History Professor, UNC Charlotte), Larry Hewitt (Art Teacher, West Columbus High School), Anita Rubino (Photography Teacher, Currituck County High School), and Kelly Jones (West Columbus High School).