This idea/exercise was given to us by a fellow CCH participant while they were vising their partner organization in Oregon! Instructors and educators from Musrara – The Naggar School of Art and Society in Jerusalem visited the UO cohort on campus and held a meaningful and fulfilling class involving imagery and visual representation. One of the key activities was a photography workshop where we were asked to capture a portrait of ourselves. But, instead of taking a straight photo of our face or profile, we were instructed to capture or construct an image that represented us or a part of our self. Many of us ran outside to greet an uncommon flooding of sun to take our photo. Through our own creativity and quick thinking, trying to find a meaningful image that would be a self-portrait we came up with very beautiful images. This exercise also helped us conceptualize ourselves in a deeper way, relating to the outside world. Below we offer a short description of the image we each individually came up with and some words explaining meaning and interpretation. We invite you to do the same! See what you can come up with, connect to your self, and see what comes up. Do it yourself! Add it to the comments below!
What are Your Alternative Self-Portraits?
Rose, University of Oregon, Nonprofit Management Graduate Student with a Certificate of Museum Studies:
My Alternative Self Portrait was a picture of the dress that I was knitting for my niece which was a duplicate of the dress I had just made for my daughter a week or two earlier. The dress is lying on the grass in a field of daffodils outside of the building where our class was the last term. I love daffodils and they represent my relationship with my husband. The knitting is something that I have done since I was a kid to calm my nerves and help myself focus. Knitting is also something I do for people that I love. I usually make knitted items for people as gifts so the dress represents some of the tangible ways that I show my love for people. I also like that the dress was unfinished since I am currently in a state of “unfinishedness” as I am in the middle of my master’s program and have not yet gotten my career underway.
Iris, University of Oregon, Folklore and Public Culture Graduate Student:
I am a Dutch citizen who has lived in the United States for a long time. I always try to state connected to my original culture. I took a photo of my necklace (that I wear every day) which represents who I am and where I am from. It’s hanging on a tree that symbolizes where I am now, getting a master’s degree at UO.
Jeremya, University of Oregon, Folklore and Public Culture Undergraduate Student:
My alternative self-portrait is a 30x90cm photograph of my grandmother and grandfather that my grandfather gave to me in 2019. The photo was taken in Israel, after their liberation from the
concentration camps and the end of WWII. Approximate age: 20 yrs old. The photograph represents hope, resilience, and the value of family. It also reminds me of my Hungarian and Czeckoslovakian heritage, where they were born and raised.
Anna, University of Oregon, Nursing Major (transfer), Undergraduate Student:
I had a hard time deciding what to include to represent for my alternative self portrait. Something that will always have a special place in my heart is the time I studied abroad in Malaga, Spain. This past fall (2019), I had the opportunity of studying abroad to better my Spanish. ?Elefante de la Suerte? translates to ?Lucky Elephant.? In my eyes, it represents how lucky I was to live with a wonderful host mother, my caring teachers and now lifelong friends. Hope, resilience and adventure are things that I carry on through my life back here in the United States that I acquired during my time in Malaga.
Alia, University of Oregon, Folklore and Public Culture Graduate Student:
I love this photo. And, I love me! This was such a fun activity and I enjoyed having the task of being creative to find a representation of myself that I felt connected to and that was true to me in that moment. Flowers are one of my favorite things in nature and one of my many joys to experience and appreciate. Their beauty transcends the physical plane of existence in an ethereal and angelic grace that is simply magical. The sweet and soft flower has much to teach. About ourselves. About others. About life.
When I saw this Cherry Blossom tree I recognized that beauty in all things and ultimately that beauty in me. Flowers are these fleeting and impermanent gifts of the natural world. They are planted; then they grow, blossom and ultimately wither and die. Very similar to human life and human processes. Seasons. Come and go. The dreaming color of pink against the blue sky and leafless trees serve as a reminder of the dichotomies of life. Light | dark, birth | death, movement | stillness, quite | noise, joy | pain, soft | hard. Opposite values. This is truly reflective of my humanity and life experience. I very much see myself as a flower. Planted. Growing. Blossoming. Impermanent. In my own time.
EmaVio Tulpan, Educator:
What describes part of me is my passion for sun. I love my hot cup of tea, with a book in a hammock.
