George Philip L
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at Stanford University
Expertise
History, Art history, Architecture, Photography, Environmental Studies, Critical Studies in Race and Ethnicity
Bio
Hello! I’m GP, short for George Philip (one name from each grandfather). I'm a writer, curator and researcher. I craft unusual stories about art, technology and the human experience that envision a more sustainable, more equitable world. My work explores how we represent experiences that defy normal description, like intense emotions, extreme environments and new technologies. For instance, my dissertation explored the first photographic survey of the Arctic from 1869 and landed me on a tall ship doing research in the Arctic Circle. And my Fulbright Project in Switzerland explored alpine experience, from homesickness to altitude sickness. A native Mainer, I now live in San Francisco with my wife and two little girls.Project ideas
Photography and the Sites of Civil Rights
Recording history is a complex process, but sometimes a single image captures the mood of an entire era. In this project, you'll explore flashpoints in Civil Rights photography, ranging from 1960s era images by James Karales and Gordon Parks to contemporary photographs of Black Lives Matter protests by Philip Montgomery and Alexis Hunley. Reading newspapers, literature, and laws from these periods will contextualize specific events and the shockwaves they sent through American society. Your capstone for this project would be an online exhibition built on an open source platform like ArcGIS Storymaps. You'll compose short historical and interpretive essays on significant photographs and how they help to change opinions about race in America.
Curating an Exhibition in VR
Curating an art exhibition requires a unique mixture of skills: research, writing, design, storytelling, and strong aesthetic sensibilities. It's essentially making an argument about politics and culture through images. In this project, students design an art exhibition from scratch using a virtual gallery space like artsteps. I'll work with you to define a research question, learn the principles behind curating, write a compelling catalogue essay about the show, and design a virtual space that you can explore in VR. You'll bring an issue that matters deeply to you and we'll work to assemble artworks, from Instagram to museum collections, that help to tell your story.
How to Make Good Pictures
What makes a "good" photograph? In this project, we'll learn about the history of photographic style and explore how new technologies and platforms from the 35mm camera to TikTok have changed how people make and share content. The final product could be an extended instagram story, a photo/fashion blog, or a portfolio for college apps or AP exams.