Author: Sara Louie

I'm a Sustainable Development and Digital Media double major through the CUNY Baccalaureate School for Unique and Interdisciplanary Studies. I have a passion for engaging youth in social action, the meaning of service, and marketing. In three words: photo, sustainability, adventures.

Two Houses, Two Homes: A visual exploration of the stories of children of separated parents

A house or a home? Often these words are used interchangeably as synonyms in daily conversations. Yet, for many people the two words have strikingly different definitions, especially for those who are obligated to have two houses: children of separated families.

Increasingly, separation schedules are created that involve children spending equal time with both parents by commuting back and forth between houses on a daily to weekly basis. New York City poses interesting opportunities for children to live close to both parents (i.e.: same neighborhood, same apartment building), yet still separated (i.e.: different streets, different floors). For children living in two houses, they have to deal with two sets of possessions, dual cultures & religion, and considerations as to which bed they will sleep in at night and what items they will need to travel with them.

For most, the consistency of coming “home” to a physical “house” that is filled with personal belongings is taken for granted. Much of the literature and resources for separation focus on assisting parents. Not enough explores the nuances of what children go through and how they are able to cope and understand their dichotomous life situations. I argue that the concepts of home, identity, and belonging become increasingly apparent, especially as children reach their late teenage years.

My project will be a photographic, multimedia exploration of the unique situations of children of separation in New York City. Each photographic set will explore a different aspect of being a child living between two houses. I will interview the subjects, with parental permission, about their concepts of house and home and photograph the ways they create home within two houses. The final work is intended to visually shed light on these distinct living situations and the ways in which these children inhabit and define space.

Two Houses, Two Homes: A visual exploration of the stories of children of separated parents and their abilities to make “home” within two “houses”

A house or a home? Often these words are used interchangeably as synonyms in daily conversations. Yet, for many people the two words have strikingly different definitions, especially for those who are obligated to have two houses: children of separated families.

New York City poses interesting opportunities for kids to live close to both parents (i.e.: in the same neighborhood, within the same apartment building), yet still separated. Increasingly, arrangements are made to have children to spend equal time with parents by going back and forth between homes.  Much of the literature and resources of separation are focused on assisting parents. Very little explores the nuisances of what the children go through and how they are able to cope and understand their dichotomous life situations. Especially as a child reaches their late teenage years, the concepts of home, identity, and belonging become increasingly apparent greatly manifesting itself materialistically.

For most, the consistency of coming “home” to a physical structured “house” that is filled with personal belongings is taken for granted. For children living in two houses, they have to deal with two sets of possessions, dual cultures & religion, and considerations to what bed they will be sleeping in.

My project will be a photographic, multimedia exploration of the unique situations of children of separation in New York City. Each photographic set will explore a different aspect of being a child living between two houses. I will interview and photograph the subjects, with parent permission, about their concepts of house and home and photograph the ways they create home within two houses.

The final work is intended to visually shed light on the unique situations and ways of defining space that children of separated families utilize in correlation with their definitions of home.

Two Houses, Two Homes: A visual exploration of the stories of children of separated parents and their abilities to make “home” within “two houses”

Course Description: A house or a home? Often used as synonyms in daily conversations, the concept of house and home can mean very distinct things for different people. In this course, we will define “house” to be a physical structure and “home” to represent the abstract ideas contributed to the place that one sleeps at night — if that is their definition. We will explore the concepts of space, identity, materialism, belonging, and separation through the ‘house’ versus ‘home’ dichotomy. To further deepen the understanding of house vs. home, we will look at it through the eyes of people that have two houses: children of separated parents. It will have a commentary about how children react and are able to function in their homes. It’s their stories, not their parents.

The final project will be an exhibition of photographs and supporting multimedia pieces.

Continue reading Two Houses, Two Homes: A visual exploration of the stories of children of separated parents and their abilities to make “home” within “two houses”

Two Houses, Two Homes: A visual exploration of the children of divorced parents and their ability to make “home” within “two houses”

Course Description: A house or a home? Often used as synonyms in daily conversations, the concept of house and home can mean very distinct things for different people. In this course, we will define “house” to be a physical structure and “home” to represent the abstract ideas contributed to the place that one sleeps at night — if that is their definition. We will explore the concepts of space, identity, materialism, belonging, and separation through the ‘house’ versus ‘home’ dichotomy. To further deepen the understanding of house vs. home, we will look at it through the eyes of people that have two houses: children of separated parents. 

The final project will be an exhibition of photographs and supporting multimedia pieces. Continue reading Two Houses, Two Homes: A visual exploration of the children of divorced parents and their ability to make “home” within “two houses”

Setting a Schedule: Passion Planner

The Passion Planner is a really great organizer that has each day broken down by half-hour intervals, as well as monthly calendars. It encourages users to take 30 minutes every week to plan out the following 7 days and has spaces to set “focus” areas by month, week, and day. Again, it’s a bit intense but super useful!

There are free different printable versions (i.e.: different page sizes, personalization options, academic vs. year start dates, etc.) available here on their website: http://www.passionplanner.com/downloads/

If you like it, I highly suggest getting a physical version! There’s also a Habit Tracker insert that’s good for making sure you write every day in your journal. The Instagram has fun examples of how to organize your weekly calendars as well.

Hope this helps!
Sara

 

The distinction between the vernacular “home” vs. “house for children of separated families.

In Spring 2015, I created a photo project that explored the distinction between ‘house’ and ‘home’ by documenting the ways people filled and used their spaces. For my springboard project, I’d like to continue with a focus on people that have two homes or houses, however they might define the places where they sleep at night. I’m very interested in the way space is used to create the feeling of home and what “home” means to different people. Specifically, the way children of separated or divorced families define their spaces and create belonging within inconsistency. Personally, I have always struggled with the concepts of ‘house’ and ‘home’ and utilized my first project to visualize and explore the concepts further. Being a child myself that traveled back and forth between houses on a near daily basis, it often meant having duplicates of belongings, or half remnants of slightly different version of myself at each house. I want to explore the concepts of space, identity, materialism, belonging, and separation through the ‘house’ versus ‘home’ dichotomy.

The method I’d like to utilize would include conversations, writing, photography, and possibly video. The culmination of the work will be in an exhibition of photos, writings, and video. I want to select a core group of people with diverse situations to focus on in interviews and photography. I plan on first conducting interviews with the subjects to obtain a background about who they are and their unique situation/perspective. Then, I want to visually document them in their home spaces and houses. It would be interesting to recognize the dichotomy of the two houses. I would seek my subjects through friends and friends of friends and incorporate a self-portrait portion.

Research Help: I am really interested in finding literature on divorce/separation affects on the children, home vs. house theory, and examples of photojournalistic work that could help inspire/show me how to conduct the interviews and photographs.