T. FOLEY 

My introductory visual literacy presentations and workshops help students and educators become more empowered as viewers, makers, and respondents to various forms of media. I accomplish this work by leading participants through a series of viewer-centered questions, prompts and activities which I devised to help students and teachers better read (analyze) and write (make) digital media (video and animation production). My pedagogical goal is to provide a constructive group-based conversational model for facilitators who want to generate more detailed and nuanced conversational responses to mass media, works of art or popular culture artifacts.

 

Discussion-based Visual Literacy workshops and presentations include:

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the screening and re-watching of multimedia clips;

careful looking, describing and listening activities;

time for individual and group reflection;

an introduction to basic modes of critical response (intuitive, formal and contextual);

comparison and contrast activities; and

the consideration of ‘maker’s intent’ as a response to elements within a work that viewers/participants may find confusing, surprising or upsetting.

 

I have shared this methodology as part of artist-led workshops within video, animation production, media-analysis and language arts courses; as part of talks on the representation of women or ethnicity in animated media; as professional development workshops for K-12 and museum educators; with members and patrons of a contemporary art center who wished to become more engaged self-respondents to works of art; and with artists, as professional development, within a workshop entitled, “Developing Language around Your Artistic Practice.” Contact me to discuss scheduling a presentation for your group.