College students often see things differently. A group of 10 photography students at Grand Valley State University is casting an especially critical gaze on the farmland of west Michigan. Their semester long photography project--to capture images of the rural areas of west Michigan--will be on display at the Gerald R. Ford Museum beginning Mondy, April 17.
The exhibit is titled Transitions: Interpretations of the Changing Land.
The idea is to document the change occurring in rural farmland, explains nationally recognized photographer David Plowden, who is teaching the course. West Michigan is a microcosm of the development that's happening across the country.
The nationally renowned Plowden, who has published numerous books of his own photography and was the subject of a WGVU documentary last fall, lives in Winnetka, Illinois. He visits Grand Valley's campus several times per semester to meet with the students and venture into the fields in search of photographic subjects. Much of the time the students work independently.
It's actually a two-part class, Plowden says. Last semester we went out twice a week to photograph. This semester we're putting it all together in a show.
The group of photographers has captured images from Rockford to Muskegon, Zeeland to Caledonia. The photos range from black and white to color, from abstract to literal.
Geography and political lines didn't affect where we went as much as how much gas we had,' jokes Ted Burmeister, a student from Livonia. Burmeister's photos comprise a collage of rocks, moss, and other close-up images. It's what you would see if you stopped along the way.
Beth Ann Hopfinger, of Wyoming, has a photo of a rusty truck partially hidden by weeds. I see the truck as something that took care of the land and now the land is taking care of it, nature is taking over, she explains.
Ryan McClymont, of Shelby Township, focused on the contrast and conflict between urban and rural. Part of his effort includes photos of old silos as seen between two contemporary houses in a new development, or an old barn behind a newly constructed apartment building. It creates the effect that the farmer is growing a development, McClymont says of his work.
All of the students took seriously both the photography and philosophy of the project. They learned about aspects of creativity and artfully composing a photograph. But they also were forced to think in new ways about the environment.
I grew up here and I come from a family of farmers, but I see farming as already an aspect of the changing landscape, says George DeWild, of Zeeland. There is an equal sign between farming and development; they have both changed the natural landscape.
The photography exhibit will be on display at the Ford Museum from April 17 through GVSU's commencement on April 29. The exhibit will then travel to the GVSU Art Gallery on GVSU's Allendale campus May 8-19
