Visual Language and Culture: Class Blog on Chapter 5: "Examining Difference" through the Photographs of Nikki Lee

Students were broken into groups of 4 for this activity. First, they were asked to summarize the main idea of the introduction to chapter 5 from Seeing and Writing, our class textbook. The introduction includes a series of pictures by and artist named Nikki Lee. Her photographs show her in different settings, portraying people of different races and backgrounds. Her Korean background makes her work provocative, as she quite obviously doesn't "fit" in some of the pictures.

See http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/seeingandwriting3/exercises/frameset5.html

Here's what the students wrote to summarize Lee's point:
Group 1 (Carissa, Silvia, Ashley and Steve)

The point is to show that you are who you are no matter how you dress. The pictures are stereotypical, showing punk kids as depressed, yuppies like work, Hispanics have fun at the beach.

Group 2: (Sade, Mark, Sheena and Alex)

Chapter 5's intro examines racial stereotypes as Lee portrays herself as many different people of different ages, races and styles. Though people may say they aren't racist, stereotypes still confront us.

Group 3: (Ana and ???)

Lee is trying to be ridiculously stereotypical to prove that even though she is trying to fit in, the group image will always stick out. Portraying a culture doesn't mean you are part of it; it also doesn't define who someone is.

Group 4: (Jorry, George, Veronica and Sam)

Lee tries to capture the authentic lifestyle of those she studied, though she does so with stereotypical images.

This series of pictures showcases student opinions on "Examining Difference."

The idea for this photo series came from Jorry's socer shirt. They are portraying soccer fans making fun of a Mexican guy who doesn't know anything about soccer. The idea is that it is wrong to make assumptions based on appearances.

(photo taken by Veronica Gonzalez)

(photo taken by Veronica Gonzalez)

The idea for this group's pictures was to show that people look the same from the back. But when turned around, differences show. You can't tell a person's color until they turn around.

(photo taken by Sheena Romero)

(photo taken by Sheena Romero)

This groups idea was to show that you can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. It shows asense of style and a person's habits. If a shoe is well worn, if it is in perfect condition, it communicates information about what that person is like.

(photo taken by Danna Whittman)

This group's picture shows a comparison of hands. The different hands show the skin colors, the habits, and the gender of the group's members.