Eye On Third Ward

The annual Eye on Third Ward exhibition, opening February 10, 2007 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, is complemented by a sampling of photographs taken by Polish students in a program inspired by the Yates example. The result, Eye on Third Ward - Eye on Krakow, demonstrates the skill and sensitivity of teenagers charged with documenting life in their communities. The exhibition will be on view in the museum´s Caroline Wiess Law Building, 1001 Bissonnet Street, through June 24, 2007.

"This exhibition gets stronger each year, in both the works created and in its impact on those who see it," said George Ramirez, MFAH manager of student and family programs, who organized the exhibition for the museum. "It is especially gratifying to know that it has touched lives in other countries. Eye on Third Ward photographs were shown with the first Polish show and the museum is pleased to bring works by Polish students to Houston. Museum visitors will find the two components intriguing."

The Eye on Third Ward exhibition program was founded in 1995 by the MFAH education department and the Magnet School of Communications at HISD´s Jack Yates High School. Approximately 60 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors, ages 15-17, participate in the project each year under the guidance of photography teacher Ray Carrington III. Carrington encourages students to see the historic Third Ward neighborhood in a fresh way and to capture unique images in black-and-white and, more recently, digital formats. A select number of the works created during the year-long class are chosen for the exhibition. This year, Stephan Hillerbrand, assistant professor of photography at the University of Houston, selected 33 photographs by 19 students for the 12th Eye on Third Ward show at the MFAH.

Students whose works are in the exhibition are: Asia Beck, Crystal Bobb, Erica Boswell, Kiara Davis, Oyuki E. Flores, Lloyd C. Ford, Cloydia Garrette, Morgan Harris, Riesha Harris, Chestlee Hunt, Lauren D. Jackson, Mellonee Jarmon, Brandon D. Kelley, Bianca Paul, Lauren Scimmons, Kandace Simmons, TreNae Smith, Crashon Taylor, and Andres Williams.

The photographs include people and pets in action and in portraits, abandoned buildings and structures still in use, playgrounds and work in progress. Brief, descriptive paragraphs written by the students accompany the photographs, explaining their inspiration, their thoughts about what their subjects might be thinking, or their observations about the process. Some excerpts:

"¢ "It was almost like a gateway or portal to another dimension waiting for someone to enter. It just seemed funny to see the stairs without a building or a house. "¦. So I took a picture to make it last forever with one snap and flash." -Lloyd C. Ford, Stairway 2 Heaven.

"¢ "Love parts my lips as I say the word ´Nanny´ because it´s the name I call my grandmother." -Chestlee Hunt, My First Digi.

"¢ ""¦I decided to take this picture, because I thought about what Mr. Carrington said, ´If you see something in a straight line and you take the picture and it´s blurry at the end, that´s called depth of field.´ " -Andres Williams, Depth of Field.

Shown with the Houston students´ photographs are 12 images from Eye on Krakow, which was presented in spring 2006 at the Museum of History of Photography in Krakow. The 12 photographs are a small portion of the work done by 20 students who participated in classes conducted by photographer Chris Schwarz. News of Eye on Third Ward´s success reached Poland through the U.S. Consulate General in Krakow, where a photography course modeled after the Yates program was started in fall 2005. The U.S. Consulate General in Krakow and the U Siemachy Association, a support center for children and youth in Krakow, consulted with Carrington to develop the classes and plan the exhibition.

Yates School of Communications
Jack Yates High School opened in 1926 as the second African-American high school in the city of Houston. Named in honor of the Reverend Jack Yates, a highly respected minister and pastor, the school started with 17 teachers and 600 students. This landmark educational institute experienced rapid growth; in 1958, the school moved to 3703 Sampson to accommodate a larger student body. Today, approximately 1,550 students are enrolled.

The Jack Yates High School - Magnet School of Communications officially opened at the beginning of the 1978-79 school year. The School of Communications has concentrations in media technology and journalism, and has implemented a series of educational reforms to enhance the magnet specialty curriculum, better serving the needs of its students. -- www.mfah.org