Humans of Samohi: Instagram to gallery walls

Samo student photographers Sadie Saltzman (’15) and Holly Erickson (’15) displayed their “Humans of Samohi” photo exhibit in the Roberts Art Gallery on Friday Dec. 5.The exhibit, based on the New York photo blog “Humans of New York,” showcased the stories of students and faculty at Samo. Pictures of various subjects were hung on the gallery walls, and each photo was accompanied by an original quote said by the subject. Often, the person in the photo expressed something important to them. Other times, the subject would recount a fun or interesting story.Sadie Saltzman (’15) and Holly Erickson (’15) began the project as a semester-long assignment for Photo 2.“Last year, Holly and I had Photo 1 together, and we both would talk about ‘Humans of New York’ all the time,” Saltzman said. “We both really love that blog. We both knew we were going to take Photo 2 senior year, and that includes a semester long project. Somehow we came up with the idea to do Humans of Samohi and that’s how it all began.”While most student projects are displayed in large groups or in the hallway, the Humans of Samohi exhibit has offered something new. Erickson and Saltzman are the first students to display a duo show.The two have posted their photos onto an Instagram page, which has garnered over 200 followers. And even though the exhibit consisted of pictures that have already been posted and viewed on Instagram, the exhibit brought a new dimension to the photos.“Seeing the photos in a gallery printed on nice paper and matted on foam board is just a nicer way to look at a picture,” Saltzman said. “Also, the show had multiple pictures of one person which our Instagram doesn’t have. Instagram crops the picture into a square which sometimes cuts a picture weirdly.”Exhibit visitors including Phoebe Abramowitz (‘15) and Megan Caruana (‘15) also thought that the  way the photos presented in the gallery offered a new experience compared to viewing them on a phone screen. While Abramowitz doesn’t have an Instagram account and was viewing the pictures for the first time, Caruana got to view the photos through two mediums.“I follow [Humans of Samohi] on Instagram,” Caruana said. “It’s normal to see friends in pictures posted online, but seeing them on display as artwork was really cool. I think the show was chosen to be displayed] because they took an idea they liked and made it their own.”