Abstract
The research described in this paper focused on the role of image media in art education for high school and higher education students, as it relates to the dual public and personal aspects of photographs. Students engaged with mid-twentieth century black and white snapshots provided by a local photo studio to try to decode the public contexts of the images. Students interviewed local people who could remember the time period during which the photographs were taken, and following these interviews, the photographs were colorized by students. This experience helped students to interact more deeply with the context of the photographs. The photo colorizing process helped to give students a stronger sense of not only the reality of the photographs themselves, but also the historical context in which the photo was taken.
