SARAH GOBELL

Childhood Artist Statement

 

    For this photo I was inspired by the word “childhood”. Childhood relates to the state of being a child and the period of youth. The idea of childhood has changed so much over the years because of technology. I was inspired by this change of the idea of childhood for my photograph, that kids are more interested in technology rather than the toys we grew up with. My photo shows the story of a kid pushing a phone on a swing, and in the background there is a teddy bear laying on the ground that she is uninterested in. The idea is that kids these days would rather play with their phones rather than a stuffed animals, that kids used to love.

   

This is a real-life situation because I have watched kids over the years receiving phones or technology earlier and earlier, and growing a disinterest for the childhood toys or activities that most people grew up with. In order for this photo I needed a cell-phone, a child, and a toy for a prop in the background. I used a child’s hands to push the swing and placed an iPhone on the swing that appears to be the child’s that she is playing with. I also included a teddy bear in the background lying on the ground, to show as if the child put aside the conventional toy to play with the technology. The setting is a backyard playground to set the story of a child playing outside but not in the traditional way.

 

This photo can relate to the incoming generations of children, they are becoming more attached to their phones at a younger age. I learned a few things while shooting this photo. I realized I can relate to this photo in the sense that I am way too attached to my phone and would much rather sit inside on social media rather than playing outside. Shooting for this photo I had to take many different angle to make sure I could incorporate the teddy bear and the phone with clarity. The goal of my photo was to create a story that represents how childhood has changed over the years and children now depend on technology.