Pause Photo Prose
AN INTRODUCTORY TOOL FOR INTERPRETING IMAGES !

Pause Photo Prose is a group game that asks questions about the origins of photographs, their multiple meanings and how they are used.
Putting words to pictures in this way allows participants to break from a simple "I like / I don’t like" response and to move away from sheer image consumption towards a more autonomous vision; in the process they learn to form a personal perspective and share it with others.
Designed by Les Rencontres d'Arles as a kind of experiment, in conjunction with professional photographers, trainers and activity organizers Pause Photo Prose is a game that has been tested by hundreds of groups and monitored by an independent evaluator throughout its development.

Why a game?
The game sparks reactions, excites curiosity and stimulates both concentration and collective intelligence. It calls upon a wide variety of skills: speed, observation, complicity, logic, knowledge, imagination, concentration, listening and teamwork

Who is the audience?
Led by one or more hosts, a game can have as many as 36 players. It is a game for people of all ages, beginner or expert, and requires no knowledge of photography.
In schools, Pause Photo Prose can be used for many subjects as the game calls for skills that are pertinent to general, technical, and professional education: not only visual arts but French, history, geography, civics, philosophy and foreign languages.
For interdisciplinary projects in art history Pause Photo Prose can serve as an invaluable visual aid.
This game is equally well adapted to extracurricular activities, especially in libraries, museums, community centers, training centers, photography workshops, hospitals and prisons

Game material: a field of visual exploration
The game is comprised of 32 photographs that are as varied as the hundreds of images that we encounter daily. Each of these photographs has an author who talks about their artistic commitment, aesthetic process, techniques or shooting conditions.
Each of these photographs was then chosen to fit into very different distribution contexts: advertisements, CD covers and magazines. In three progressive sets, players discover and become familiar with ways of interpreting images in today’s world.

And after a game of Break Photo Prose?
Play time functions both as a self-contained event and a new starting point.
The accompanying teacher’s guide allows the game organizer to respond to new questions, providing details about technical and historical information, photographer portraits and biographies as well as website address where players can discover more of their work.