Photographer leads College Success event

For Minneapolis-based photographer Wing Young Huie, his work is all about storytelling.

Huie visited CSB/SJU on Sept. 21 and 22, delivering a presentation on perspective to all first-years as part of their College Success course. His exhibit titled “What Do You See?” is on display in Alcuin Library until late October.

“I’ve done all different kinds of things in my career as a photographer, and I think it’s all part of the same thing—interacting with people and collaborating with them, telling their story or they tell their story,” Huie said.

The presentation included pictures of Huie’s own life and people that shaped who he is today. He also discussed pictures of people taken during their daily life, asking students what they saw in the images.

Then, students dispersed to work on an exercise or a “chalk talk.” They each used a piece of chalk and construction paper to write or draw a phrase or image that inspired them.

“As a journalist, often I would interview people and include their stories or direct quotes with the photographs,” Huie said. “With the chalk talk I was thinking, ‘How can I incorporate people’s words directly into the photograph?’, so I thought a simple idea [would be] I’ll give people a chalkboard and ask them open-ended questions.”

Six to eight chalk talks from each College Success class are displayed on the wall in Gorecki Fireside. The goal of this presentation and activity was for students to see a different perspective from their own.

“Oftentimes you would think to your own self about your own problems, but there’s more people out there that have their own problems,” CSB first-year Arlette Lazaro said. “It kind of makes you think like you’re not the only one suffering.”

This year is the second time Huie has presented to CSB/SJU first-years, the first time being a virtual event last year due to COVID-19.

“I was first introduced to Wing Young Huie by my former colleague and FYX co-director Lacey Solheid,” said Kari-Shane Davis Zimmerman, First-Year Experience program director, via email.

“Wing had presented his “What Do You See?” project at a conference she attended, and we knew his question fit well with our learning goal to explore questions of belonging and community and inclusion during the College Sucess course.”

The presentation comes during a week the College Success courses focus on perspective.

“It made me think,” Lazaro said. “Because the way he kind of explained how he grew up, what he majored in and then how he turned and wanted to be a photographer and how he naturally sees the world in his perspective alongside other people’s perspectives where we wouldn’t see it.”

Huie’s photography centers around photos from everyday life.

When he goes to take pictures, he typically approaches people and asks if he can take their picture.

Many of these types of images are displayed in his exhibit in Alcuin.

One of his most recognized works was his Lake Street USA project, where he took pictures of people living along Lake St. in Minneapolis and then displayed the photographs in storefronts along that same street.

“My public art projects were getting a lot of attention from the media,” Huie said. “I did a six-mile public exhibition along Lake Street and photographed for four years. I started getting calls from colleges and their photography departments [saying] ‘Could you come in and tell our students how you did Lake Street?’”

This exposure enabled Huie to begin working with students, which led him to events similar to the presentation at CSB/SJU.

“I feel the most impact I have is in classrooms, and I’ve worked with students from kindergarten to college, basically showing them what I do, how to interact with strangers and have them interact with their fellow students,” Huie said. “I think over the years as I’ve done it more and more, I feel like it’s more of my focus now, to pass on.”