Memory Play – Jennifer McClure – Online – March 3rd -31st , 2021

“The scene is memory and is therefore non-realistic. Memory takes a lot of poetic license. It omits some details; others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart.” 
-Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie”

Overview:

This March, join fine art photographer Jennifer McClure for an online course exploring the concept and use of memories in photography.

We each have memories that shape our lives, moments and scenes that weren’t photographed at the time. We have historical photographs that look different to us now, that we cannot remember being taken, or of loved ones taken before we were born. All of these together form a narrative of personal history, either individual or collective, that is layered and nuanced.

How can we make pictures about both the feelings and the facts of lives? How can we re-contextualize an archive and bring it into the present day? How can we express a moment that is no longer with us, or a memory that is slowly fading away? What is gained and what is lost in the retelling?

This class will explore several different types of photographs and projects that involve memory—those that are based on memory, those that re-frame memory using family/historical photos, those that preserve or memorialize, and those that document or interpret the loss of memory. We will look at historical and contemporary examples of each of these.

Topics covered:

• Generating ideas for projects
• Mining memory for concrete ideas
• Using archival photos in new ways
• Finding the composition and utilizing light to convey emotion
• Translating abstract concepts into physical photographs
• Finding a narrative thread through the editing process
• Learning how to manage long term projects

Combining lectures, weekly exercises and assignments with group reviews, students will create new photographs or replicate and rephotograph older ones. Fresh imagery will be created allowing each photographer to find an approach that interests them. Students can use the workshop to develop a singular project or explore a different approach to the theme, each week.

Schedule & Format:

Held in a live, online format using the Zoom platform, the class will meet from 6:00pm – 9:00pm EDT for five consecutive Wednesday evenings.

Wednesday – March 3rd —  6:00p.m.-9:00p.m.
Wednesday – March 10th — 6:00p.m.-9:00p.m.
Wednesday – March 17th — 6:00p.m.-9:00p.m.
Wednesday – March 24th — 6:00p.m.-9:00p.m.
Wednesday – March 31st — 6:00p.m.-9:00p.m.

Who should take this workshop?
This workshop is open to all levels of photographers who are keen to grow their skill set. Photographers with an idea for a personal projects or maybe imply looking for a new way to create images with a personal connection are encouraged to register.

Things you should know:

A Leica Camera is not required for this class.  Students must have a basic or intermediate operational knowledge of their camera. All participants will need to be comfortable editing and selecting images for weekly critiques.

Fee: $749.99
Class Size: 10 Max.

Scholarship
We are offering one person a scholarship for the workshop. Interested? Please write to us at Akademie@leicacamerausa.com and send a link with up to 20 images or your website along with a short bio about yourself. Include a short essay on why you think taking part in this program will help your creative vision. Deadline: February 19th, 2021.

Instructor:

Jennifer McClure is a fine art photographer based in New York City. She uses the camera to ask and answer questions. Her work is about solitude and a poignant, ambivalent yearning for connection. The Leica Gallery in Boston will present a solo show of her work in 2021. Her first book, You Who Never Arrived, was published as one of nine Peanut Press Portfolios in 2020. She was a 2019 and 2017 Critical Mass Top 50 finalist and twice received the Arthur Griffin Legacy Award from the Griffin Museum of Photography’s annual juried exhibitions.

Jennifer was awarded CENTER’s Editor’s Choice by Susan White of Vanity Fair in 2013 and has been exhibited in numerous shows across the country. She has taught workshops for Leica, International Center of Photography, Los Angeles Center of Photography, PDN’s PhotoPlus Expo, the Maine Media Workshops, The Griffin Museum, and Fotofusion. Her work has been featured in publications such as NatGeo Travel, Vogue, GUP, The New Republic, Lenscratch, Feature Shoot, L’Oeil de la Photographie, The Photo Review, Dwell, and PDN. She also founded the Women’s Photo Alliance in 2015.

All Images:  ©Jennifer McClure