Katie Lingan: Senior Project

Raising awareness for concussions and traumatic brain injuries.

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So crazy that the show was this past Friday. I had such an amazing experience creating this work and look forward to continuing this project in the future!

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Electronically working through the order in which I hang my photos, and how they compliment one another!

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Artist Statement-- DRAFT

This still needs a ton of work. Oh geez. I didn’t think this would be so difficult...

As a survivor of three severe concussions and long periods of post-concussion-syndrome, it has come to my attention that most people do not fully understand the severity that a brain injury can cause. People with brain injuries often cannot effectively express how they feel, because an injury as such affects the way one’s brain works. Over the course of a human life, individuals get accustomed to the way they think, and their method of doing things. However, individuals who sustain brain injuries are suddenly forced to re-learn how their brain works because of the quick alterations that may occur during a blow to the head. Because of my own experiences with symptoms that the common public cannot relate to, I wanted to offer myself as a tool for other people with similar circumstances to open up to. By re-visiting the location of their traumatic brain injury, each of my project participants were able to face the reality of how their accident has affected their life, and in many cases, were able to aid to their process of closure.

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Update: 3 weeks til installation

The thought of this is only slightly terrifying now that I have all photoshoots complete and edited, and 2/5 photographs printed. Now it just comes down to proofing the last 3 photos and printing those so I can hurry up and get them framed. An awesome professor of mine (shoutout to Peggy) MIGHT have frames that would fit my photos....now wouldn't that be perfect. I'll find out next week if she is able to donate them to me, but if not, I'll proceed to getting them mounted on foam core, most likely.

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Today is the 2 year anniversary of my third concussion, where the inspiration of this project stemmed from.

I am so happy to be taking initiative in promoting awareness for brain injuries, after all that has happened. I may be weaker in some areas, but I am proud to say I am so much stronger in other ways!

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The gentleman that I really wanted to photograph for my project finally agreed to let me take his photo! Thanks to his daughter for convincing him! Can't wait!

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Today's meeting

Had a meeting today with another concussion survivor today... Who agreed to participate in my project! I wanted 3-5 volunteers total, and Collin makes 5! Can't believe I achieved the higher end of my goal. That's a wrap!!! No more stressing out about trying to find volunteers. Now it's just time to photograph.

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Editing day!!!

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Updates

The shoot I was supposed to have with my first volunteer yesterday got postponed because of the snow...

LUCKILY, he is free tomorrow, so I'm off to Towson, MD in the morning! ---

As far as other shoots go, I just scheduled a coffee date with another volunteer for this week, and made a plan to travel to Richmond with her to return to the site of her injury! 

3 CHEERS FOR WORKING DURING SPRING BREAK! 

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It's been super hard finding people to take photos of for my project, but I finally have my first shooting date with my first volunteer set in stone. I'll have so many more updates for you guys after my shoot with my volunteer, Patrick on Friday!

One big thumbs up for that!

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Progress, and good news!

This week, we are supposed to have made substantial progress on our senior project. Although I have no physical documentation of progress in terms of photographs, I have had SO many fantastic conversations with people who are interested in what I'm doing and want to help. To me, this is huge progress.

The hardest thing for my project is going to be finding the people to photograph. Because I am searching for such a specific type of person to photograph (one who has had a serious brain injury and is willing to talk about it), it has been extremely hard to find models/people to work with.

HOWEVER, the good news is, I have two people who I've been talking to who I think are totally in, and excited to get the ball rolling. Now I just have to find time to schedule coffee dates with them or something so I can spend real time with these people to understand their story, and from there, schedule time to photograph them (hopefully going back to the site of their trauma).

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The biggest obstacle I'm going to face with this project is finding people to photograph. I've been sending messages to lots of people who I think can help me out with this project.

I have already had one person who seemed really interested and was writing me back and forth, completely delete her Facebook without any telling me. So, no more contact info for her...

Luckily, I've gotten a couple positive responses. Not necessarily from people who qualify for my project, but people who may be able to lead me in the direction of those people. The one message I sent to my friend last week led to a great conversation with some contact information for the Brain Injury Association of VA. Time to e-mail the lady in charge. Wish me luck!

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Welcome!

Hi there. My name is Katie Lingan. I am a photography student at George Mason University, and through this blog, I will be posting my progress on my senior project. I am still in the beginning/planning stages, but here are my ideas so far:

Concept: I will be meeting with individuals who have sustained serious concussions or other forms of traumatic brain injuries so I can get to know them and exchange stories. I will (hopefully) take these people back to the places they were injured, and photograph them there. I will interview each person, and choose a certain quote to hang with each photograph. There is a possibility that I will include the full interview somehow, maybe saving it as a book or something that people can read if they’re interested. The main points, however, will be hung.

Why: By the time I was 19 years old, I had sustained 3 serious concussions, and throughout my years of an artist, I have been trying to find a way to explain the feeling of post-concussion-syndrome to the common person, through my art. I think this project will help create awareness and bring light to a subject that is not talked about nearly enough.

Media: Digital photographs (pretty large scale). A brief quote or story blurb will accompany each photograph.