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43 - Presentation

Presentation is important.

The sculptor Brancusi understood.

He designed the pedestals for his work.

His work was not just the bronze, it was the column of the pedestal and the bronze.

My class critiqued an exhibit of student work that was in the process of being hung in the education gallery at the International Center of Photography.

The exhibit was the culmination of their first year at the school.

I cautioned my students that we were not seeing the final presentation of each photographer's work.

My class was impressed with only a few of the photographs.

The following week the class saw the exhibit as intended.

The prints were perfect, and were displayed as per the wishes of each photographer.

I asked my students if their opinions had changed.

They were now impressed by many more of the photographs.

So, start thinking about how you'll present a project, even before the project gets underway.

Why?

How the project will be presented can influence the course of the project.

For example, let's say a photographer wants to photograph her hometown, a small town in Virginia.

How might she present the photographs?

She could decide to display her photographs in an album, in keeping with a return to childhood theme that she may pursue, inspired by the thought of using an album format.

The album, begat a theme, and the theme, could in turn, beget the idea of using a camera, just like the camera she used as a kid.

Presentation, the ending, can influence the project at its beginnings.