Individual Study
By E. Mendelsohn
 Nine Chapin seniors presented their individual studies on Tuesday, March 7. This year’s projects used either the written word or the captured image as a window to the world. Class 12 students who completed an individual study with the help of their faculty mentors gained new insights into their art and life through rigorous, self-motivated projects.
Almost half the students wrote something for their individual study. One student wrote two one-act plays, using her emotional experiences as a starting point for fictional drama. Another student wrote a one-act play and several short stories about fashion, which she assembled in a booklet with photographs she took on St. Marks place in downtown Manhattan. A student interested in dance wrote an essay comparing modern and postmodern dance through the choreography of Martha Graham and Twyla Tharp. She spoke excitedly of her research in the New York Performing Arts Library, where she was able to view restricted footage of Tharp’s early dances. Finally, one student created slam poetry for her individual study and performed one of her pieces. A CD of her performed poetry, which deals with issues of gender, race and class in an urban and global context, is available at the Chapin library.
Some students used photographic images to express their interests. While the media were similar, the messages and pieces conveyed a wide range of interests. Two students photographed foreign cultures. One focused on the relationship of people to the urban and rural landscapes of Kenya, while another created mood pieces of architecture in Italy. The third photography project, instead of concentrating on distant lands, examined and expressively portrayed the inner landscape of identity and self.
Two students, combining word and image, created documentaries on current issues affecting young women in American culture. One documentary centered on the portrayal of women in mass media and the other on the gap between the stereotype and the experience of the echo boomer generation. This generation includes people born in the late 1970s to those born in the early 1990s (Chapin’s current senior class). Both documentaries included images, interviews and found footage to explore their subjects.
The nine students who completed an individual study agreed that this experience proved rewarding and educational. They learned both about their interests and what it takes to pursue them. As one student said at the end of her presentation, “I would do it again in a heartbeat.” |
