Capturing Memories

Park High School’s photography classes are getting a unique opportunity with the Danforth Museum of Art. Art teacher Sarah Mussetter’s photo two and three classes will get to choose four of their photos to be on display in the Danforth Museum in downtown Livingston between April 12 -22 with the opening reception being held April 12. The project is in collaboration with former Livingston resident Lizzie Salacinski who wanted to help high school students display their perception of Livingston, Montana.
Students were asked to take 12 meaningful photographs of important places in their town of Livingston. These photos aim to tell your story of growing up and living in Livingston year-round, not just during the tourist season. Eventually, the students will be asked to select their four favorite photos that fit together artistically.
“I’m impressed by the range and difference of photos taken despite everyone growing up and living in the same town,” Mussetter said. There will be 13 students participating in the upcoming exhibit.
One of these students is senior Ryan Bauer. Bauer believes “The project is cool, and I am happy people get to see our work. It gives us a chance to connect with the community.” During Bauer’s project, “I just started driving around looking for old memories and waited until something caught my eye.” Bauer’s goal in the project was to “Capture old memories in Livingston, especially ones from the past summers.” This project will not only help the community see the memories of high school students but also allow the photographers to relive their past in Livingston.
Another one of the participating students is sophomore Noah Craig who took a unique approach to the assignment using black and white photos. “I looked for outdoor infrastructure including bridges and buildings,” said Craig. The four photos Craig chose to be presented include photos of 9th street bridge, Carter’s bridge, the water treatment hill and Saint Mary’s. “The bridges represent where I spent time by the river, including time where I would often walk my dog, Saint Mary’s is where I went to school and I would often sled at the water treatment hill,” explained Craig.
The photos will be presented on 8×10 prints in groups of four. Next to the students’ photos there will be a paragraph describing their photos and why they chose them. The paragraph and photos will give insight into the students’ lives and experience growing up in Livingston, Montana.