This seminar will explore some of the inherent violence(s) of differing forms of representation, as well as an array of images that contend with the representation of violence, in order to better grasp some of the powerful interacting phenomena at work in our contemporary experience of social, political, sexual, racial and economic difference. This will be our task: to develop means of better grasping how both images and ideas act on us in the perpetuation and the normalization of forms of violent differentiation, and to reckon with how those self-same images and ideas might simultaneously offer means of resistance. Students will read, respond verbally in open discussion, write an essay, prepare slide presentations to deliver to class, produce an annotated bibliography and generate visual work in response to assignments in class.

We will attend to the tacit and yet essential violences that operate at the level of our conceptualization of the photographic image, as well as of the human body, in terms of its gendered expression, its sexual identity, its race, its alterity and its abjection. This work will be informed by a combination of close readings of photographic theory, but equally by trenchant political critiques of culture, and new strains of film criticism. Working outward from readings of Roland Barthes and Tina Campt, we will explore the photographic archive, and the question of whether we can bring new modes of attention to our encounters with photographic images—modes of attention that are attuned to our embodied experience of seeing and listening, and that draw on an interdisciplinary understanding of the various forces with which the photographic image is charged. We will assess the various ways in which representations of the black body—and new conceptualizations of blackness itself—free us up to perceive unstated but ongoing forms of violence and of resistance, both in representation and in the history on which images of blackness depend.

Through a reading of Afropessimist critiques of recent cinema, we will examine profoundly powerful forms of symbolic violence, opening on to a process of questioning the structural position of the black female figure, both in film and in our cultural imaginary. Working through iconic images of torture and of death, we will examine the fragile and mutable symbol of the American national body, exploring its adaptability to a process of queering, and its ongoing resistance to transformation by race. We will also examine the ways in which the refusal to represent might act as a means to embody and approximate the depth of trauma at work in genocide, debating the relative merits of withholding images as against displaying them. This will lead us back to Barthes and Campt at the semester’s end. This seminar depends upon a willingness to regularly view controversial and emotive imagery, and an equal commitment to free, responsive and principled debate. It is my hope that we will fail together often and unselfconsciously, and that we will grapple frankly with the complex relays of power that divide us, while they are held up for us to see within and beyond the reproducible image.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $25.00

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. This course is a requirement for Sophomore Photography students.

Major Requirement | BFA Photography

In the traditional copper plate photogravure process a photograph is etched into a copper plate and printed with ink on paper using an Intaglio press. The gravure process has long been viewed as one of the most beautiful of all  print processes. The traditional gravure process is one of the most technical and difficult, requiring years of experience. The modern Photopolymer gravure process provides the same incredible detail and tonality as the traditional process but with much less effort. Students can etch any type of digital image on a polymer plate and create prints that match and even exceed the traditional process. For the first 3 weeks of class the class students will learn an advanced Black and White digital workflow and master the profiling software required to make profiles for printing direct to plate. Students will learn the required print making skills and will experiment with various ink choices and paper types, including the Chine Colle (the printing with fine thin paper) to provide subtle color changes and increased detail. Students will complete a portfolio of their choice for the final project.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Students must have advanced level BW film and digital photography skills. Please contact the instructor for permission to register.

Elective

Over the past decade, photography books have seen a resurgence within the art world, this time transcending their original use as survey or catalog to become ideal spaces and platforms to experience and disseminate work. Today image-based printed matter functions in a multitude of ways, all of which at their core are driven by the mechanics of sequence and editing. Through class discussions, using RISD's Fleet Library and Special Collections, and individual research - students will form a personal vision of what images mean in the book form. Our focus will be equally on content, concept, production & technique. The semester will culminate in each student having devised, sequenced, edited and produced a fully resolved and realized photography book.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $125.00

Elective

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.

Elective

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

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

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

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

A continuation of PHOTO-5302, providing an open and dynamic environment where sophomore can create photographs and engage in constructive feedback on their progress.

Enrollment is limited to Sophomore Photography Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Photography

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

A continuation of Photo 5305 allowing junior level majors to investigate their image making concerns in depth. Class time will be used to critique work in progress.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $150.00 - $200.00

Enrollment is limited to Junior Photography Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Photography

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

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.

Major Requirement | BFA Photography

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

This studio course is designed to help students slow down and become more contemplative with their photographic practice. This darkroom based course will give students ultimate compositional control as they learn to use the large format camera. Topics covered will include using the view camera's tilt, swing, shift and rise movements to control focus, perspective and image shape. Student will also learn film exposure techniques and advanced black and white printing controls. Later in the course students will be introduced to large format digital scanning and printing workflows.

Estimated Materials Cost: $150.00 - $500.00

Elective

This class explores form and space through the addition of dynamic light, with particular emphasis on the importance and weight that it holds within a photographic image. Students will investigate and answer the essential question: how does light serve an image? The course encourages critical examination of how artificial light is employed in fine art, documentary, commercial, and advertising photography to emphasize concepts, emotions or illustrate objects and space, placing a strong focus on contemporary works. Throughout the semester, students will gain the necessary skills to work in a professional photography studio, helping them build a strong foundation for greater control of their own projects. Additionally, the class covers the practical skills required for professional roles related to commercial photography, such as lighting technician, digital technician, art director, creative director, and studio management.

Active participation in live demonstrations, both in studio and on location will give students crucial hands-on experience. Starting with the basics, students will learn fundamental principles of light and grow confident in handling all types. Whether hard, soft, painterly, illustrative, high-key, low-key, gelled, natural, flash, and continuous, eliminate any fear of working with light when photographing people places or objects. By the end of the class, students will feel empowered and ready to keep learning about light, gaining a new confidence in approaching lighting challenges throughout their creative journey. 

Elective

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

This class introduces both traditional and digital technologies for producing photographic

images. Approaching the medium in its current complex and pluralistic state, students will gain

experience utilizing traditional photographic tools together with current imaging technologies,

as well as developing a deeper photographic literacy. Course assignments introduce

techniques such as digital capture, editing workflows, post-production, and inkjet printing.

Concurrently, students are introduced to conceptual and experimental uses of the camera in

conjunction with considering the photograph’s role in shaping and influencing cultural

discourse and meaning.

Major Requirement | BFA Photography

This is a course all photo majors should take to help launch their careers, whatever the specialty-fine art, fashion, commercial, editorial. Classes will include lectures and instruction by the professor and outside experts, covering the breadth of issues professional photographers face, such as building their portfolio, promoting their work, finding jobs, keeping financial records, and legal issues, such as copyright, and model releases. The core of the class involves field trips to visit artists and other photography professionals in Boston and New York. Those visited include many RISD photo graduates who have gone on to make careers in photography, and others who have something to teach about the many issues facing contemporary photographers.

Elective

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