Visual Notes

 

I developed the concept and practice of "visual notes" when I was a mentor at the Summer School of the Visual in Nova Gorica, Slovenia from 1998 - 2004.  The school's director, Nasko Kriznar, together with visiting professors, gave classes in ethnographic film -- history, theory, and camera technique. It was my privilege to lead a workshop in the use of the video camera as a basic "note-taking device."  

 

My aim was to untether students from the necessity of thinking about the complex details of making a film. I wanted to free them up to explore and dig into questions that occurred to them as they looked around at their immediate social environment - the school which hosted the summer school, the market gardens at the edge of the town, and the town itself.  

 

Over the years, students' attention was caught by a variety of interactions and locations. One chose to follow the setting up and the interactions between customers and local farmers at the weekly market. Another spent time watching toddlers and care-givers in a public square. The work patterns of the kitchen crew in the student center was another focus, as was bungee jumping into the Soča River on the north side of town.  A team of two learned about the history of the railway station as they chatted with the ticket seller.  Local teens perfecting their skateboarding skill on the steps of  City Hall caught the eye of yet another student. 

 

Their "visual notes" allowed them to "look again," to unpack details, to let the images pry new questions from their minds, to share their thoughts with their classmates and professors, and expand their anthropological thinking.

 

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