Jewish Lens Mini Course - Optional Photo Activities
The following activities can be added to any of the Jewish Lens lessons if time allows, or if the educator wants to provide students with an additional take-home project.
Framing the Story
Ask students to find a family photograph (of their parents, grandparents, etc.) and bring it into class. In groups, have the students look at the photographs and describe what they see or tell the story. Encourage them to look closely, examining the setting, clothing, facial expressions, and so on. The students then re-enact the photographs together, capturing the re-enactment as a photograph.
Review the two images side by side as a class. These photographs connect the past with the present, an old and ongoing story. Ask the groups:
- What are the differences between the two images?
- What are the similarities?
- What was captured well in the re-enactment photo?
- What was missing?
- What has changed over the years?
- How does the past shed light on the current reality?
- What do we take with us as we move forward?
Alternatively, you can assign this task as a homework activity and the students can re-enact the scenes with their families.
Behind the Scenes
Ask each student to bring in a photograph from home (this can be a family photograph or one that they have taken themselves). Spread the images out on a table in class and ask the students to take a few minutes looking at the different photographs, choosing one that they like or identify with in some way (not their own). Once they have all chosen images, ask each student to look closely at the photograph and think about what the story behind the scene might be.
Ask a few of the students to tell the class the story that they imagined to be behind the photo. Afterwards, ask the student who brought in the photograph to tell the real story. You can then compare the differences as well as the connections between the two stories.
This is an interesting way to raise the issue of interpretation with the students and show how each person brings a unique subjective viewpoint, context, and knowledge to the interpretation of an image.
Questions for Discussion
- What drew you to this photo?
- What biases might you have, based on your background or where you were raised?
- How does the truth behind the photo differ from what you expected?
- Why do you think you expected the story behind the photo to be what you did?
- Are there any commonalities between this photo and photos you have of your family?
Inspiring Jewish Photographers
David Seymour (Chim)
Co-founder of Magnum Photos, and a pioneer of the golden age of political photojournalism, Chim is also known for his iconic photographs of Israel. Chim made repeat visits to Israel, capturing the experiences of Jews from around the world making Aliyah (immigrating to Israel): from the joyous arrival of new immigrants at Haifa Port to a group of women reciting the tashlich prayer on the beach in Tel Aviv. Through these and other portraits and landscapes, we can see some of the challenges faced by the pioneers during the first few years of the State of Israel, as well as the connection both Chim and his subjects felt to the young country.
Frederic Brenner
“In 1981, Brenner undertook a chronicle of Jewish communities around the world, exploring what it means to live and survive with a portable identity: how Jews adopted the traditions and manners of their home countries and yet remained part of the Jewish people. From Rome to New York, India to Yemen, Morocco to Ethiopia, Sarajevo to Samarkand, he spent 25 years in over 40 countries recording the diaspora of the Jews and creating a probing pursuit of the multiplicity of dissonant identities.”
Robert Capa’s photographs of Israel
In 1948, war photographer Robert Capa journeyed to Israel where he captured the lives of the people in their newly established homeland.
An Israeli hailing from Kiryat Gat, Adi Nes shows the Israeli Defense Force, and Israeli men in general, in an unusual light. Through his work, he emulates biblical scenes, explores social disparities, and examines core aspects of Israeli life and the human experience.
The photographs of Leni Sonnenfeld are pictorial treasures of 20th century Jewish history. Leni and her husband Herbert created a legacy of photography that lives on today through their archives in the ANU – Museum of the Jewish People database and elsewhere. After fleeing Germany prior to the Second World War, they continued their work in New York. Leni traveled with her camera to Morocco, Spain, Yemen, Iran, Ireland, and Israel, where she documented Jewish life. Leni and Herbert Sonnenfeld’s photographs are a living memorial to major events in the history of the Jewish people from the 1930s through the end of the 20th century, both tragic and happy. Leni Sonnenfeld continued to take photographs right up to her death at the age of 96.
Eve Arnold
Raised in an Orthodox Jewish household, Arnold fell upon photography by chance. She later became the first American woman to be accepted into Magnum Photos. Eve was best known for her work capturing celebrities and politicians like Marilyn Monroe and Malcolm X. Those photos were a major source of income, which she used to fund more socially active ventures such as capturing civil wars and social movements in places like Soviet Russia and China.
Questions for discussion:
- What differences do you see in the subjects of their photos? Do you notice any repeating themes or motifs?
- In your eyes, do the photos highlight Jewish themes?
- Would you describe the work of all these photographers as Jewish? Is their work Jewish just because they are?
- What was Chim trying to convey that can also be seen in the work of Arnold, Ozeri, or any of the other Jewish photographers?
Creative Response to Photography
Have students respond creatively to the work of the photographers above or any Jewish photographer of their choosing.
Options/Ideas for creative response:
- Video project
- Painting/drawing inspired by or emulating one or several photos
- Comic strip based on the photos
- Collage of several photos emphasizing a message or theme that relates to the student’s personal Jewish story
