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TEACHING
ma t t e rs
LEFT: Sandy Haiko, in the backyard of the Haikos' campus home; a photo taken by Bob Haiko
at New Paltz and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a major in photography.
COMING ON BOARD Then she found work nearby at the Lakeville Journal. “For three years, Sandy was the darkroom lab technician,” Bob explains. “Typically each week in a two-day period Sandy would develop about 50 rolls of film, make contact sheets, and then print 30 or more photographs. It was grueling work. I don’t know how she did it.”
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She then worked as an assistant in the Hotchkiss library. In 1985 the photography department underwent a dramatic renovation and Bob needed help, so Sandy came on board. “I started teaching black-and-white basic photography, and some of the old processes,” she says, “and I continued ’till today. In addition, both Bob and I taught color photography and until, at last, when the quality of digital was good enough and archival inks and papers were readily available, we
stopped working with color chemistry. However, digital photography has been part of the program since 1991.” And while she has taught “straight” photography – many of the Haikos’ students went on to photograph for the Misch or the Record and for the Alumni Office – Sandy never neglected her more artistic leanings. “The kids also do mixed media,” she says, “photocopying, coloring, collages. Of course, you can do similar work digitally, but there is something about the hands-on approach that, to me, is more immediate. Another aspect of photography that I enjoyed was teaching students how to extend the meaning of an idea by bringing two or more photographs together to make a statement. This led to teaching sequences and narratives including handmade books.” In some classes Sandy allowed students to try unconventional laboratory techniques, such as developing film using instant coffee and washing soda – yes, it can be done, with interesting results – or giving prints an antique look by staining them with tea. “Mrs. Haiko had a profound effect on me during the four short years that I was a student here,” says Annika Lescott ’06, who graduated this spring from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and who spoke at Sandy’s retirement dinner in May. “When I enrolled in basic photography with Mrs. Haiko at the start of my lower mid year, I knew nothing about photography as an art form,” she says. “I had never been in a darkroom, much less developed a photo. Shutter speeds and f-stops were completely foreign concepts. I was prepared to take photography for one year to fulfill the mandatory art requirement; one year evolved into two, two became three. And by my senior