Celebrating 20 years at Western, Garth Amundson teaches all levels of photography in the Department of Art and Art History. His research is based on investigations of low-tech, high-tech, and the use of vernacular photography. Working primarily as part of a collaborative team with his partner Pierre Gour, they consistently explore themes and topics related to gender identity, domesticity, migration, and other LGBTQ+ issues. Both together and independently, their photographic projects combine vernacular imagery with mined, personal, and found historic materials. Embracing cross-disciplinary studio practice, their work ranges from physical collage, digital manipulation, to site-specific installation.
Amundson holds an MFA from Syracuse University. Amundson has exhibited nationally and internationally, and received awards independently and collaboratively, including noteworthy residency programs: The Banff Center (Alberta, Canada), Santa Fe Art Institute Residency (Santa Fe, NM), Rockefeller Foundation Residency Award (Bellagio, Italy), Fundación Valparaíso Residency Award (Mojácar, Spain), Cimelice Castle, (near Prague, CZ), J.W. Fulbright Scholarship (Mexico), and the Artist Trust GAP Award (WA).
The sudden shift to remote teaching has forced departments to restructure how they approach engaging with students. Discovering analogs for traditional methods has proven to be difficult, or in some cases impossible. You may be feeling this struggle with transitioning in some of your classes, but we wanted to hear from the Professor’s perspective how this has changed how they approach teaching, and how it has affected their personal work as well. Garth Amundson lends some insight on what this experience has been like for him.
What are some of the unique challenges of remote-teaching the fine arts?
Obviously, working in the lab is preferable, as we can approach projects in a hands-on fashion with all the advantages of working in a physical space together. Of course, I look forward to being back on campus and working face-to-face. However, we are so lucky that we’re able to adapt and adjust to a virtual, online platform. Not perfect, but so lucky to be able to move forward and continue exploring photography both in theory and practice.
Which solutions do you find the most interesting or effective?
I had been drafting and talking about teaching an online photography course for years. So, one of the silver linings of the pandemic is that in winter 2020 I was forced to move everything online. Having conceptualized a plan for virtual classes, and with the help of our brilliant instructional technician Nathan Cranston, we were able to move online relatively easily. Being part of a larger community of photographers, utilizing the spring break by participating in FotoFika symposiums and other Society for Photographic Education forums, I was able to scramble and adapt course content to the new platform. Using the text, Reframing Photography by Rebekah Modrak, and embracing a more experimental and conceptual methodology concerning definitions of photography helped open up my coursework to expand on defining traditional techniques & practice.
Would you incorporate any of these into in-person classes in the future?
Definitely! I will continue to include Canvas and the online component in all of my classes. My courses went paperless years ago, but I am now utilizing Canvas in a much more interactive way. Building discussion boards, written critiques, and other collaborative online projects. For example, I have been collaborating with the dance department by using Zoom and breakout rooms. This is a project that would be more difficult to do in a physical space.
Without the option to travel, has this time given you any new ideas for the next summer’s study abroad?
If anything, this pandemic has definitely highlighted my love of travel. A lot of my personal collaborative studio research with my partner is conducted and inspired by travel. The Metro Art Access New York class was designed by us in response to a field trip where we chaperoned 12 Western students to Baltimore and New York. We were going to a national SPE conference in Baltimore and I suggested that we go by way of New York. The students fell in love with the city and the rest is history. We’ve gone every summer until the 2020 pandemic hit. Sadly, I don’t see an alternative for travel in the immediate future, but once it’s safe to go back to NYC, we will be the first to reboot the Metro Art Access course.
Do you find that students in intermediate classes, especially those used to working in groups, have a harder time adapting to this change?
Truly, this is a difficult time for everyone, but I think we have to keep it in context. We are so lucky to be able to continue teaching, studying, and researching. As I mentioned before, working online is not ideal, but we’re able to do it. My heart goes out to all of the essential workers, medical professionals, and the thousands of truly vulnerable people. It’s unfortunate that poor leadership has impacted this country and the entire world so severely. I empathize with students, but having a broader worldview is so important during times of crisis.
Have you noticed a change in the content or style in students’ photographs in the absence of access to facilities they would normally use?
As noted before, there are real challenges surrounding teaching conventional photography without cameras, a lighting studio, and a lab. However, this is a great time for students to focus on more theoretical concerns about image-making. Having time to read and research without the distraction of lab production is truly “the gift of time.” I’ve always taught photography from a very inclusive point of view, and often say that you can make a fantastic image with a $10,000 camera or an oatmeal container. Equipment does not necessarily make good photographers, especially in an era of incredible access to quality, inexpensive cameras. Having the flexibility and portability of small personal phone cameras eliminates the challenge of access. Making images without restrictions is the ultimate goal.
How would you say your own art has changed during this time?
Unlike most professionals, artists tend to be self-amusing. Studio time is a luxury during the academic year, and not having to trek to class, committees, and faculty meetings, has proven to be another pandemic silver lining. Obviously, I miss the interaction with students and colleagues, but working in the studio is an extension of my teaching and being in my studio makes me a better teacher. That is why most major universities provide studio space for their faculty—so they can literally practice what they teach.
Are you working on any personal art right now?
We are on the books for an exhibition in the fall and it’s already been postponed once, so we’ll see what happens. Collaborating with my partner, we’ve been working on a project with a working title of: “Not the Whole Picture.” In both my independent and collaborative work, I have incorporated existing family snapshot photography. In this instance, we are sewing 4 x 6 images together to make large, concentric rings. I’ve also been working with Polaroid film again. Not exactly certain where they’re going, but it’s a daily practice that keeps my mind engaged in image production.
