Major
Biological Sciences
Minor(s)
General Business
Advisor
Stites, Zoey
Advisor Department
Art & Art History
Date
4-2021
Keywords
Photography; COVID-19; New Normal
Abstract
Generations to come will hear a lot about the year 2020 and the major impacts it had on the world. 2020 affected thousands of people in many ways, including not only the loss of jobs but the loss of loved ones as well. People worked to adapt to remote workplaces and schools. Even a year later things are far from being ‘normal’. Some of us cannot even remember what normal is anymore. The mindset has always been “I’ll just do it tomorrow” but what if tomorrow never comes? One impact of the pandemic that affected many students around the country was the loss of graduation ceremonies or time of recognition. Graduating seniors had a rapid transition to online learning that tore them away from the friends, classmates, and planned senior activities.
This project is a series of photographic images that show how different that experience was from what it might have been, from what seniors might have expected, from what I expected. Each image is a photo within a photo. Over the past three months I brought printed images that were taken during ‘normal’ times to many locations on campus and recreated the images in those spaces, spaces that are now very different. All of the original photos are from pre-COVID years and all of the new images were taken during COVID times. These photographs show the difference between what we used to call normal and what is our now “new normal”. I have selected 20 of these images that I feel most effectively show how the academic experience has changed for us during COVID. They provide a visual reminder of how much and how quickly expectations can change. We have seen that this past year, even until today. Photos speak a thousand words, so remember tomorrow is not promised.