I do not have a picture of this assignment unfortunately, it is extremely frustrating…however, it was the paper camera and I made the switch at the top where if you press the “button” the LED flashes mimicking a camera flash. I added bottle caps that I painted black to twist as buttons would on a camera and I added a photo of my dog to the back side of the camera to act like the photo taken on the display screen.

 

Focus Question:  How can simple circuits add meaning to an image?

Simple circuits can enhance the meaning of images because they can add change the tone/mood of the image and make the viewer feel something that is intentional. For example, you can add clear lights in dramatic ways, lots of colorful lights to add fun and joyfulness, or you can pick a specific color pattern to convey different messages (ex: green and red for something christmas related, or something blue and orange to show New Paltz pride!)

What did you learn? Describe your learning process. What was most challenging?  What was most fun?

Through this lesson I became a lot more comfortable with circuitry, LEDs and soldering. It was a cool project to experiment on. I really enjoy working with lights and as mentioned in the first question I think they are amazing for enhancing meaning to typical art pieces. It was a lot of fun making this and I would honestly love to do more work like this in the future.

How did this activity connect (or not) to your prior knowledge of art and art education? How might you use and/or adapt this activity in an art classroom?

This activity was completely new and did not connect with any prior knowledge I can think of from my past. In an art classroom I would possibly have an assignment where the students will build replicas of objects that hold a lot of meaning to them and adding lights to them to convey different moods that relate to their emotions connected with said object.