Presentation
To Think Outloud: The Collection of Visual Poems for Visual Literacy
Don Werthmann describes how teaching portfolio development courses informed and inspired the production of thousands of photographs, that eventually became a book of visual poetry.
To Think Outloud is a book of original photography created especially for those seeking ways to make sense of visual art, and to support those teaching visual literacy. The book’s potential resides in the idea of it being used as an instructional aid for teachers to discuss image editing, sequencing, syncopation, phantom properties, and other visual flow strategies to organize large bodies of work. For creative writing teachers, the single image or sets of images can function as triggers for writing Ekphrastic Poetry or Ars Poetica.
The book is not intended to be a wagging finger that teaches specific lessons or stand on higher moral ground. It exists to make students stop, look, and listen to themself think.
This book’s Unbox & Reveal [00:03:18] https://youtu.be/P1hRcrJ57uI
Don Werthmann
Don Werthmann is a Professional Photography Faculty member in the Digital Media Arts Department at Washtenaw Community College, in Ann Arbor. While teaching a wide range of courses for over two decades, among his favorites are the project and portfolio development classes, because it’s when students organize large collections of work for the first time and realize that their images are not just objects; they are ideas.
His passion and appreciation for various forms of visual art and art history emerged when he was a teenager, that eventually led him to earning BFA and MA degrees in Photography from Wayne State University, in Detroit. His forty-year career spans across commercial, editorial, photo education, film & digital eras, web design, studio and location lighting, and most recently handbound bookmaking.
Don is the recipient of the 2024 TRENDS in Occupational Education, Outstanding Faculty Award.
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