Jessica Helfand
with Adam Harrison Levy
Studies in Visual Biography
Tuesdays 1-4pm
The author sees with his mind's eye some image, an emotional embodiment of
his theme. His task is to reduce that image to two or three partial
representations whose combination or juxtaposition shall evoke in the
consciousness and feelings of the spectator the same generalized initial image
which haunted the author's imagination. — Sergei Eisenstein
Combining pictures, words, and a wealth of extraordinary
personal detail, archival materials offer stunningly
authoritative examples of visual biography. Working with
Special Collections at the Olin Library, students will examine
diaries, journals, scrapbooks and other forms of personal
documentation, and consider the social history and visual
methods implicit in the construction of material evidence.
The emphasis in this seminar is on visual strategies for
narrative storytelling, including, but not limited to writing
and photography, collage and montage, sequencing and
storyboarding, with assignments in both print media and
short-form digital film. Prior art making experience and/or
knowledge of film editing software helpful but not required.
(Enrollment limited to freshmen)
Part One : Language+Narrative
September 4
Introduction: Helfand on Scrapbooks, Levy on Hiroshima
Reading for September 11:
Sacks, Oliver. “Rose R”, p.74-87 in: Awakenings.
Rose, Phyllis. “Parallel Lives: The Carlyles and the Magnetized Body” in:
Phyllis Rose's Parallel Lives: p.145-147
Assignment for September 11:
What?
Compose two six-word biographies: one of a person and one of an object.
Text only/no images.
September 11
Class meets in Olin Library/Special Collections to look at the World War I
Collection.
Presentation of 6-word biographies and discussion.
Reading for September 18:
Ondaatje, Michael. The Collected Works of Billy the Kid.
Doty, Mark, Still Life with Oysters and Lemon, p.10-14
Assignment for September 18:
Who?
Choose one of the WWI questionnaires and write a 250 word biography using
primary archival sources (with secondary material as support material for social
history) with an emphasis on narrative storytelling.
September 18
Presentation of 250-word biographies and discussion.
Reading for September 25:
Steacy, Will. Photographs Not Taken.
Assignment for September 25:
Why?
Write an evocative treatment of BOTH OF last week’s biographies.
Text only/no images.
Part Two: Image+Portraiture
September 25
Class meets in Olin Library/Special Collections (which collections TK).
Reading for October 2:
TKTK.
Assignment for October 2: The Pictorial Archive
Collect 12 photos of a person and 12 photos of an object. You can photograph
them, download them, clip them from magazines, etc. Try to find the most
variations, and concentrate on how methods of depiction individually and
collectively provide key information for the viewer. No type.
October 2
Critique.
Reading for October 9:
TKTK
Assignment for October 9: The Visual Portrait
Produce—by way of photography—a visual portrait of a non-matriculated person.
Think about cropping, framing, scale and hierarchy. Consider sequence, points of
entry and perspective. Give it a title. Let the images tell the story. No type.
October 9
Critique of portrait projects.
Assignment for October 23: The Vernacular Image
From an assigned — found — image, invent what happened before —and after —
the photo was taken, and provide the missing frames from the narrative. No type.
Reading over Wesleyan Fall Break:
McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics
Murch, Walter, In The Blink of an Eye
Part Three: Collage+Montage
October 23
Class meets in Olin Library/Special Collections
Fred M Amherst scrapbook plus additional scrapbooks TBD
Reading for October 30:
Rose, Adam with Mandy Kahn. Collage Culture: Examining the 21st Century’s
Identity Crisis.
Assignment: What’s On The Page
How does a biographical collage express formal issues: hierarchy, time, space,
scale?
October 30
Discussion and Critique.
Viewing for November 6:
William S. Burroughs on UbuWeb : http://www.ubu.com/film/burroughs.html
Assignment for November 6: What’s In the Mind
How does a biographical collage express the emotional: state of mind, point of
view, personality, voice?
November 6
Viewing for November 13:
Frank Mouris, Frank Film, 1973 (9 minutes, color)
Bruce Conner, A Movie, 1958 (12 minutes, black and white)
Curtis, Adam, It Felt Like A Kiss, 2009, (54 minutes)
Assignment for November 13: What Comes Between
Given the contact sheet of twelve images complete a 24-frame visual storyboard
to tell a story. Resequence as needed to tell a new story.
Part Four: Film+Biography
November 13
Discussion and Critique.
Viewing for November 27:
Helfand, Jessica, Ezra Winter, 2012 (1 min, 29 seconds)
Levy, Adam Harris on, A Father’s Things, 2012 (1 min, 30sec)
Levy, Adam Harrison, Hiroshima, 2011 (1 min, 31 seconds)
Assignment for November 27: Reconsidering Context
Re-edit an existing piece of found footage so that the story it tells is shorter and
more concise. Pay attention to cuts and cutaways, cropping and rhythm.
(One to two minutes.)
November 27
Viewing for December 4:
Morrison, Bill. Decasia, 2002 (70 minutes, black and white)
Caouette, Jonathan. Tarnation, 2003 (88 minutes, color)
Assignment: Reconsidering Biography
Using one the evocative biographies from the September 18 assignment,
storyboard a 1 to 2 minute film paying attention to the use of montage,
sequencing and visual story-telling. consider also emotional triggers like voiceover, music and ambient sound.
December 4
Final Critique of film projects 1-4.