Week 5 prompts: more poetry!

Option 1: Self-representation in Photography

Portraits of Native subjects by non-Native artists have often been posed to confirm or enact stereotypes. Take a moment to look at some of the images in RedWorks’ Studio’s series “Concrete Indians” by Anishinaabe photographer Nadya Kwandibens.

Red Works Studio: Concrete Indians 

The artist explains that the portraits are “an exploration of Indigenous collective identity.” As a result of the series, she writes, “Native people from across Turtle Island have been submitting their ideas regarding what it means to be urbanized and how living in urban centers strengthens or weakens or (or both) one’s own cultural identity.” With the photographer, the subjects chose how they wanted to be dressed and where they wanted to be photographed. Browse these photos. Find one that you think is particularly striking or interesting. How does the image strike you? What questions does it raise? What does the image express about the subject? How does the portrait confront or defy stereotypes?

Option 2: Reflecting on Images in Writing and Beyond

When has an image—a work of art, a photo, a scene in a film, or an image that you saw in real life–made you stop what you were doing or taken you to another place? In a paragraph or two, describe your experience of viewing that image as clearly as possible, paying careful attention to the words you use and the images you create. Try to carry your readers along with you; try to make readers see what you saw. Then, reflect on whether you found it difficult to capture experience in words. Links to images are useful, but not necessary.

OR

Post or link to an image that you think tells a story or evokes an emotion. Write a paragraph or two explaining what that image says to you. Is it possible to represent abstract concepts visually? When do images communicate more effectively than words?

OR

Post an image or link to an image that you think represents or complements one of the poems that we have read as a class. Explain why you chose that image and how you think it relates to the poem. 

Option 3: As always, feel free to write your own response.