The work by students from Central, Commerce and Renaissance schools will be on display at Tower Square at the end of May.
Jasmine Earl, a senior at High School of Commerce in Springfield, stands near her photograph called "Captured" now on display at the University of Massachusetts University Gallery of Contemporary Art. She was one of 26 students participating in the collaboration with UMass and other area groups. AMHERST – Richard Tramble is wearing a dressy black shirt and white tie as if dressed for a prom or wedding and is beaming as he points out his photograph hanging in a gallery in the University of Massachusetts' University Museum of Contemporary Art to friends and family.
The black and white photograph taken by the High School of Commerce sophomore depicts a young girl peering from behind a door looking frightened. Tramble’s photo was one of 38 hanging taken by Springfield students in a collaboration involving many around the Pioneer Valley.
The idea for the project came from museum education curator Eva Fierst, who was inspired by David Goldblatt’s documentation of South Africa from apartheid to post-apartheid. That exhibit, which opened at the museum in February, is on display at the gallery along with the student work until Sunday.
While there is no legally sanctioned system of segregation in this country, “the issues are relevant in our country as well,” she said.
She looked for communities that “would have some sensitivity to the subject.”
She thought of Springfield. According to the most recent census, 22 percent of the city’s population is black and 39 percent Hispanic. Then enter Northampton resident Elaine Ulman, who was credited for making the project happen “by creating countless intersections.” Goldblatt’s exhibition is called Intersections Intersected.
Ulman was called because she had worked with the U.S. State Department on an artist exchange between South Africa, Springfield, Hartford and Holyoke. She also knew Goldblatt’s work. When she learned that Goldblatt wanted to work with the students, she said she knew she needed to “find a way to do this.”
Twenty-six students from Central, Commerce and the Springfield Renaissance School participated. Goldblatt visited the students when he was in America for the opening.
“He was delighted to work with the students,” Fierst said.
Molly Burke, a junior at the Springfield Renaissance School, stands near her work called "Peace" and "Destruction." They are two shots of the same house – the first during a winter storm and the second of a fire. The work is now on display at the University of Massachusetts University Gallery of Contemporary Art. She was one of 26 students participating in the collaboration with UMass and other area groups.The students then traveled to the museum here and studied Goldblatt’s work.
Students met with other photographers including retired UMass professor Julius Lester, a writer and photographer. The Pioneer Valley Photographic Artists collected cameras for the students to use and found equipment to set up a dark room.
The idea, Fierst said, was “not to go out and find a car accident” but to document the “quietness of their own lives and thoughts” in emulation of Goldblatt, she said. We just were blown away with the work and the thoughtfulness. They learned Goldblatt’s lessons.”
Jasmine Earl, a senior at the High School of Commerce, captured a fence topped with barbed wire set against a roiling sky.
She said some think that people are stuck in Springfield. She left and came back.
“I don’t’ want to leave.” The photo, she said, “captures the idea of being rooted.” But at the same time “it’s also a beautiful picture.” She was inspired by Goldblatt and his work. “He captured something exactly how it is.”
Springfield Renaissance School teacher Michael Gillane said it was a great opportunity for his school because it just started a photography program. And he said, students “wanted to make a positive statement about Springfield. They felt a responsibility to put that out there.”
Alexandra Fox, a junior at that school, said she had started taking pictures but had limited resources. She was in awe of being able to talk to someone of Goldblatt’s stature. “I got to talk to him about his pictures.”
She’s always liked art, she said, but with photography, “I can do so much more.” She’s hoping there’s a camera in her future for an upcoming birthday.
“It was amazing,” Tramble said of the experience. “I feel like this is a passion of mine.” And he is delighted the work is on display. “I’m so proud of myself.”
The student work will also be displayed Tower Square in Springfield at the end of May, Ulman said. The work will hang for three weeks.