Teaching Interests and Philosophy

My teaching practice began with an analog photography workshop––an approach eventually endorsed by Henri Cartier-Bresson––in a prison. This opportunity allowed me to discover my ability as a mentor and revealed my taste for teaching over a period of seven years: it was a foundational experience, which bifurcated and deepened a career until then centrally focused in individual practice. These workshops took place at the prison of Fleury-Mérogis, just outside Paris, France.

Young students arrived with a diversity of experiences from a variety of countries; and thanks to the global traveling I had done, I was able to allow their respective backgrounds sculpt my approaches to that work. My objective was to teach these young people the techniques of photography in accordance with a ludic pedagogy, centralizing play while providing them with the knowledge and ability to produce work worthy of the press. (Indeed, one of my students ultimately managed to publish work with Libération.) I was compelled to be indefatigable, a quick thinker always coming up with small and fun exercises. Adapting myself to each situation very quickly gave me an edge by which to guidance my students so to avoid any boredom, compel focus on the task at hand, and begin to help deepen their practices as artists. The objective was that each student gained basic technical skills in photographing and printmaking in order to create and express themselves.

My first goal as a teacher or assistant was for the students to enjoy and have fun with their camera, in the darkroom, or behind a screen. Fun helps demystify the technological encumbrance of cameras and lens. What I wanted them to realize was that photography is magical––actually, the French anagram for the word “image” is “magie,” magic––and this approach compelled by the magical remains central to my pedagogy. Image-making is magical.

Teachers for me are mentors who inspire, stimulate, motivate, stir, and incite their students to do their best, while also providing access to a professional artist on whom they might model their early identities as artists. In my approach, I use mixed-media reinforced with demonstrations not only to communicate the technical aspects of photography, but also the conceptual, historical, and theoretical concepts involved in its development as an artform. By fostering confidence in learning, I believe I can best serve my students by providing them with effective tools that will help them continue the discovery process of learning after class.

Guided by fidelity to simplicity, courses I have taught in the past carry forth one objective announced at the beginning through to a recapitulative conclusion. My motto is “Shoot; shoot; and shoot again.” While flexible in my approach in concert with educational aims and practices of the institution within which I work as I teaching, I like to offer fun and engaging projects to small groups of students to facilitate collaboration, increasing the speed at which the lessons are taken up into practice. I also encourage students to solicit constructive criticism from teachers as well as peers. This discussion is essential to correct any technical, compositional, or narrative issues.

In summary, I am committed to providing an engaged, enthusiastic, and empowering learning environment, balancing technical thoroughness with confidence and independence.