Photography Collection

After publishing her book High School, which was portraits of students from all over the country made at their schools, Jona Frank turned her attention to Patrick Henry College, an evangelical Christian institution near Washington, D.C. founded in 2000. Taking two years to do the work, 2005 – 2007, so that she could gain the confidence and cooperation of the her subjects, Frank has done an in-depth study of the students there and, in some cases, the home-schooling environment from which they came. The results are a sympathetic but intense and objective study of an increasingly important part of American culture and published as a photobook: Right. Portraits from the Evangelical Ivy League (Chronicle Books).

Excerpt from Jona Franks afterword in the book:
Lately, it seems like everyday I find myself explaining to someone why I did this project. It was not assigned to me. It was a choice. I am not an evangelical Christian, nor am I a Republican. I am, however, captivated with states of becoming, and I am driven to make portraits of people as they try on new roles, come of age, and struggle with the pivotal moment between exploration and discovery. I first read about Patrick Henry College in the New Yorker magazine. A majority of my work in the last ten years has revolved around adolescents. Ideas of how children learn to be social and gravitate toward certain groups fuel my interests. There were two specific lines in the article that made me want to go to the school. The first discussed how the students were guided on “glorifying God with their appearance.” The second described a woman’s attire at a debate tournament as that of a “Washington wife in waiting.” How our appearance becomes a language in which we communicate fascinates me. We make assumptions about people based on how they choose to ornament their bodies. With the slightest gesture or simplest pose, a purpose is suggested, a choice is made, a conclusion reached. In a split second, we presume a truth and create a story.
The following spring, I made my first visit to PHC. I photographed boys in pressed shirts and patriotic ties, and girls with long hair in homemade dresses. I felt like I had walked into a strange time warp. The first generation of homeschoolers was coming-of-age, and I was awash with curiosity. I think it is easier, in some ways, to photograph a punk kid or a skateboarded. Their style is colorful, enchanting. But a young man in a suit or a female in business attire—you have seen it. It’s conventional. It’s a societal uniform. That’s the thing about the Patrick Henry student. On the outside they may evoke the ordinary, but look closer, because there is more there, and this is where they surprise you.