Helping children get the picture

AT first, 12-year-old Tomas Medina dreaded the assignment that introduced him to the world of photography.

“I thought it would be boring. I thought it was going to be more work,” says Medina, a seventh-grader at Mark Twain Middle School in Venice. “I thought the pictures weren’t that interesting until I did the project. I learned that it’s hard to get a good picture, and it changed the way I looked at the world.”

The project, jointly conceived by the Getty Museum and the writing center 826LA, has yielded “Community Photoworks” -- an exhibition of photographs by 34 middle-schoolers that runs through Saturday at the SPARC Gallery in Venice.

“Community Photoworks” project was intended to expose children to photography. “It incorporated both the historical aspect of photography and the studio aspect where students could learn about photo-taking,” says Getty gallery teacher and 826LA volunteer Jeremy Glatstein.

The collaboration began in December when 826LA volunteers gave in-class workshops before the students took a trip to the Getty. Students visited the museum to see black-and-white photographs from “Pictures for the Press” and “Scene of the Crime: Photo by Weegee.” Under the guidance of the instructors, students participated in writing and drawing activities that aided in thinking about an image’s intent and articulating their own reactions to the work.

Then each was given a disposable black-and-white camera to use over the winter break. It wasn’t until they began snapping photos that the children began to appreciate the photographic process.

“It was hard looking for the photos. If I found a good photo, I forgot the camera at home,” says Saemin Baik, 13. For her photograph “Alone,” she scattered leaves to create a starker atmosphere. But in her artist’s statement she acknowledged some regrets because “decorations, like setting up the scene, sometimes mess up what you’re really trying to say.”

Besides the editorial decisions, the students encountered problems commonly found in photography. “The pictures didn’t come out the way I wanted. It was either too light or too dark,” says Monica Antuna, 12.

There are photographs of pets, friends and landscapes presented throughout the exhibition. There’s an unexpected level of maturity in each image, whether it conveys a mood, a particular moment in time or a compositional scene.

Glatstein was impressed with the finished product.

“They did a wonderful job representing themselves,” he says. “Clearly, a lot of the kids are talented.”

For the writing component of the project, students reflected on the work in an artist’s statement. In one photograph, a gardener is seen pushing a lawn mower across the front yard of a grand house. Christian Sanders, a 13-year-old photographer, writes, “The picture shows unfairness and kind of humiliation because of how the man cutting the grass has to work for rich people even though he is poor and probably uneducated.” However, Sanders says he didn’t consider the person in the photograph when he took it -- he was provoked by his familiarity with the house that he often passed.

With their project coming to an end with the exhibition at SPARC, the children want to continue taking photos and are appreciative of the newfound skills given to them by the staff at 826LA and the Getty. “It was really nice of them to take their time to help us. I wish other people would have the chance to do it too,” Antuna says.

Medina says of the instructors, “They were very nice, very professional.”

Those who view the exhibition might say the same about the photographs.

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‘Community Photoworks’

What: Exhibition of photographs by 34 students at Mark Twain Middle School

Where: SPARC Gallery, 685 Venice Blvd., Venice

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Saturday

Info: (310) 440-7144