Photography Courses
PHOTO 5230-01
CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY & RESEARCH
SECTION DESCRIPTION
What does 'research' mean for contemporary photographers? For artists using photography within their practice? This hands-on studio course investigates and critiques the nature and scope of research and its practical application to current practice, and how research provides a critical context to help develop awareness, extend subject knowledge, and inform the creation of new artistic work. We will learn through current case studies, unpicking what kinds of processes photographers use when making work. We will investigate to what extent individual practices differ and what analogies can be drawn across those practices. We will look at the roles of instinct and serendipity in allowing for other ideas to emerge. You will develop and hone your own research methods through a wide variety of experimental making and writing assignments, and through critique. This course is also a research project in itself, bringing together examples of photographic practice for you to ponder and engage into our own ideas, processes, and projects.
Estimated Materials Cost: $50.00
Elective
PHOTO 5300-01
INTRODUCTION TO DARKROOM PHOTOGRAPHY
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This is a basic course in the techniques of photographic seeing. Students will be given exercises to develop their ideas concerning the fundamental visual problems of photography. Students will also learn technical aspects of exposure, developing and printing in the darkroom as they explore and respond to the visual qualities of the medium. Students must provide their own 35mm camera with manual controls.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00 - $200.00
Elective
PHOTO 5302-01
SOPHOMORE LAB
SECTION DESCRIPTION
The Sophomore Studio is focused on the of each student's expressive vision so that she/he can create photographs with compelling content. Through group critiques and individual meetings with the instructor, students will refine their skills as photographers and learn how to verbally articulate issues in their own work as well as the work of others. The greater part of the class will geared towards creating an open an dynamic environment where students engage in the give and take of constructive feedback on their progress. The critique schedule will be enriched by readings, multimedia lectures and class field trips throughout the semester. Attendance at all department visiting artist lectures is required.
Major Requirement | BFA Photography
PHOTO 5305-01
JUNIOR STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
The Junior Studio continues the process begun in the Sophomore Studio but moves it to a more ambitious and sustained level of production and critical feedback. Students will be expected to work more autonomously and will explore their ideas with more focus and depth, with the goal of working toward the successful production of several bodies of work over the course of the year. Group and individual critiques will continue to form the basis of the course curriculum, supplemented by visiting critics, field trips and class exercises. Attendance at all departmental visiting artist lectures is required.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00 - $200.00
Enrollment is limited to Junior Photography Students.
Major Requirement | BFA Photography
PHOTO 5307-01
SENIOR STUDIO
SECTION DESCRIPTION
The Senior Studio brings together the advanced skills and ideas about image-making that each student in the major has developed over the previous two years. Students are expected to work independently on their individual projects with the expectation of a culminating body of work to be presented in a public exhibition during the spring semester (Degree Project). As in Junior Studio, group and individual critiques with faculty and visiting artists will continue to form the basis of the course curriculum. Attendance at all departmental visiting artist lectures is required.
Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00 - $250.00
Enrollment is limited to Senior Photography Students.
Major Requirement | BFA Photography
PHOTO 5311-01
ADVANCED DIGITAL IMAGING
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course is designed to give junior majors a thorough and deep understanding of the intermediate-level workflow for film capture and scanning and digital camera RAW file capture. Both workflows allow students to produce the highest quality inkjet prints on large-format printers. This course will touch on many topics, including advanced tonal and color correction techniques, image sharpening, digital camera exposure and Raw file processing, inkjet and Lightjet printing and automated batch file processing. While this course is primarily technical, students are expected to pursue their ongoing personal work to fulfill assignments, culminating in a final portfolio of 10 finished digital prints that demonstrate mastery of the techniques learned in the course. Students entering the course should be proficient in the use of the Macintosh platform and basic Photoshop operations and have a good understanding of processing and printing in black and white photography. Transfer majors must demonstrate these proficiencies to the satisfaction of the department before being permitted to enroll in this course.
Prerequisite: PHOTO-5308 for undergraduates.
Major Requirement | BFA Photography
PHOTO 5312-01
THE IMAGE AND SPACE AND TIME
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will wrestle with the mercurial and ever-evolving subject of Time-Based art. What is Time-Based art? Is it simply art with durational elements that unfold over the course of the work? Is it art that depends on time to define itself? Is it art that can only exist within the confines of regulated space? Is it art that stands firmly in the aftermath of what preceded it? Is it art that keeps time, wastes time, witnesses time, changes time, rearranges time, or records time? In this course, we will explore and welcome work being made under the broad umbrella of Time-Based work, such as: documentary photography, video art, experimental film, performance art, recorded happenings, social practice, and sculpture made with temporal dimensions. The course will operate as a studio course, with students being asked to present work for critique regularly, as well as weekly discussions of historical and contemporary investigations and demonstrations of Time-Based art.
Elective
PHOTO 5314-01
LIGHTING: CONSTRUCTED REALITIES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will focus on basic lighting techniques and principles that will provide students with the skills necessary to feel comfortable in a variety of lighting situations. Students will not only gain an understanding of how light can be manipulated and controlled but also how it can be used to communicate information. The course will serve as an introduction to the studio and to various kinds of tungsten and strobe equipment.
Estimated Materials Cost: $150.00 - $200.00
Elective
PHOTO 5318-01
ANTIQUE & ALTERNATE PROCESSES
SECTION DESCRIPTION
In the photographic art world today, exciting new forms of print production have expanded expressive choices for artists, often combining processes from the earliest days of photography with the latest advances in digital media. In this course, students will explore a number of vintage and experimental photographic processes, including cyanotype, wet collodion, platinum/paladium printing, albumen, gum bichromate and liquid light. The goal of the course is to broaden the student's repertoire of photographic printmaking techniques and allow for experimentation with hybrid forms that combine old and new methods in innovative ways.
Estimated Materials Cost: $150.00 - $200.00
Elective
PHOTO 532G-01
GRADUATE CRITIQUE I
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course is an ongoing discussion of individual work with special reference to current issues and concerns in contemporary art. Each student will be required to show and discuss work. Grades by participation.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate Photography Students.
Major Requirement | MFA Photography
PHOTO 5350-01
INTRO TO DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY
SECTION DESCRIPTION
In this course, students will be introduced to the basic principles of digitally capturing, processing, and printing photographs that are really worth making. We'll cover all the important functions that most digital cameras have in common and we'll go through the fundamentals of using Photoshop to refine and manipulate images. Students will learn their cameras' controls well enough to use the manual settings with confidence, and how to make the automatic features work for them instead of against them. We'll consider what makes a good photograph both technically and creatively, and we'll critique prints made on the Photo department's high-quality Epson printers. Students will need to provide their own digital camera with raw capture capability (DSLR or equivalent), and a portable hard drive (formatted for Mac), both of which they should bring to the first class. (Hard drives will be needed before week 2). Students registered for the course who are in the market for a new camera are welcome to contact the professor for camera purchasing advice.
Elective
PHOTO 536G-01
GRADUATE CRITIQUE III THESIS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course is an ongoing discussion of individual work with special reference to current issues and concerns in contemporary art. Each student will be required to show and discuss work. Grades by participation.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate Photography Students.
Major Requirement | MFA Photography
PHOTO 541G-01
GRADUATE SEMINAR
SECTION DESCRIPTION
The Graduate Seminar works in complement with Graduate Critique to provide a forum in which students assemble in discussion, analysis and reflection around a set of ideas, practices and histories that are of substantial relevance to photography, its history and its contemporary forms. The content of the seminar will vary from year to year, but students will be expected to read, research, discuss, write about and/or present on the material addressed in class. The seminar will interact with the department's Visiting Artist lecture series, with the SEI Lecture Series, and with MCM events at Brown. Attendance at those lectures is highly recommended.
Enrollment is limited to Graduate Photography Students.
Major Requirement | MFA Photography