凯特T. 帕克的“强壮是新的美丽”让人着迷和鼓舞

摄影师兼作家凯特T. Parker came to Foxcroft this week for a whirlwind visit that included a presentation to the entire Foxcroft community, 签售会, a master class for all the photography students from level I through Advanced, 和年鉴的工作人员和其他人共进午餐. 她的畅销书， 强壮是新的美, features girls and young women ranging in age from 5 to 18 who are fierce, 勇敢的, 喜欢冒险的, 大声, 运动, 有创意的, 和艺术. She captures them laughing, screaming, studying, deep in 虽然t, working hard, and having fun. The subtitle really says it all, “A Celebration of Girls Being Themselves.” Her message fits well with this year’s theme of “Inside Out,” which has invited students to examine their inner landscapes and become more knowledgeable about themselves — their emotions, 恐惧, 的优势, 能力, and challenges — so that they can be comfortable in their own skin and present their authentic selves to the world with courage and confidence.

凯特分享了她的照片和故事, it became clear that the simple and powerful images align perfectly with the simple and powerful message that real beauty shines through when you are being true to yourself. She implored her audience to embrace those things about themselves that are “too much, 或者很尴尬. 这些都是你身上最强大、最美妙的东西. 那是你的超能力. 请不要弄丢了. 请不要软化它们. 不要为了让别人开心而改变他们. 你有什么超能力? 是什么让你伟大?? 因为这些都是礼物. And too often, especially as girls and women, we lose those gifts.”

这些图像 强壮是新的美 were Kate’s way of taking on the subtle and not-so-subtle messages that girls — particularly her girls — were getting from print, 广播, 在社交媒体上做不真实的自己. As a mom, she says, “I didn't want them to change their clothes. I didn't want them to smile for me, or brush their hair or clean up. I wanted to show that strength and power of these girls that I saw every day. Because when my girls and I would watch TV or read magazines or go on the internet, 我们没有看到. We didn't see this kind of representation of girls and 我们没有看到 proud confidence that comes with an undefeated soccer season. My girls and I did not see a lot of ourselves in the women and girls that were reflected back to us in the media.”

在它成为畅销书和现象之前, 虽然, it was just the germ of an idea and an invitation to be part of a gallery show. Kate invested in this great opportunity for her fledgling photography career. She prepared her images, printed, framed, and hung the photos for the show. 而且，她承认，“我在展会上没有卖出任何照片. It was a total and complete bust … and I felt like a failure.”

Completely defeated, at least temporarily, Kate returned home prepared to just give up. 但几天后，她说:“我很生气. 这里有更多的东西. There's something more interesting than trying to sell something at a gallery. 这里有个信息我想和大家分享. So I sent these images and a couple words on what the project was about — girls being strong and being confident — to three or four blogs that I follow, 这些图片和信息迅速传播开来. 这些照片在CNN上被观看和分享了数百万次， 《太阳城电子app》 还有很多其他地方.”

在那一点上，感觉 强壮是新的美 接管:面试, 社交媒体, 这本书, 与迪士尼、阿特莱塔、家乐氏和Oxygen合作的项目, 引导日志, 一本关于男孩的书, 男孩的心， 还有一部电视剧正在制作中. 这是压倒性的和可怕的, 尤其是在开始的时候, 正如凯特所说, “because it was mostly my kids and anything that goes on the internet gets skewed in a really negative way all the time, 但核心信息是积极的. And I'm so glad that I wasn't the only one who 虽然t girls needed to hear it.”

凯特鼓励学生们追随自己的激情. “这对我们来说是一个非常重要的信息, 尤其是女性, 如果你的直觉告诉你什么, 听一听. 你可以忽略噪音. Keep pushing for the things that you believe in and keep pushing for the things you're passionate about because if you are passionate about it, 我向你保证其他人也一样!”

在她的演讲之后, 凯特为摄影I举办了一个大师班, 摄影二世, and Advanced Photography students who are all working on an “Inside Out” themed photography project. Kate provided feedback on each of their individual ideas and answered questions ranging from technical to philosophical to career advice. During lunch with yearbook staff and others who couldn’t attend the master class, the questions and discussion continued until Kate had to leave for the airport and head back to Atlanta and get her next book, 像女孩一样玩耍， 将于5月出版.

The Helen Cudahy Niblack ’42 艺术 Lecture Series was established by Austi Brown ’73 in memory of her mother. 从2007年开始, 系列带来了多种文学, 执行, 和优秀的艺术家来福克斯克罗夫特分享他们的作品, 故事, and perspective on the nature of the 有创意的 process with both students and the larger community. One of the goals of the Niblack series is to provide an artist with the opportunity to share his artistic journey in a comfortable and familiar setting, creating space for an exchange of ideas that just might inspire a Foxcroft girl or two to chase her own artistic dreams.