Context. Archive for the Course Lectures Category. Contemporary Photography/ 1990!s-Present

Transcription

1 Context Notes on Photography, Visual Culture, and Contemporary Art Theory Archive for the Course Lectures Category Contemporary Photography/ 1990!s-Present Monday, April 25th, 2011 Twenty years of photographic history is far too much to cover in a single lecture. The images included in the slideshow and the artists featured in the following Art 21 videos are intended as a general survey of this period it is by no means comprehensive. What distinguishes photographic practice of the last two decades is the great variety of formal, aesthetic, and critical methods employed. For this lecture I have attempted to identify three of the primary themes of the period. They are as follows: The Influence of The Dusseldorf School of Photography 1/36

2 Performance, Fabrication, and Fictional Narrative in Photography The Emergence of New Media and Digital Imaging Technologies Martin Lister s essay, Photography in the Age of Electronic Imaging, addresses critical discourse centered on the emergence of digital photography. Audio for this Lecture/ Contemporary Photo 1/ Contemporary Photo 2/ Contemporary Photo 3/ Contemporary Photo 4/ Contemporary Photo 5/ Hiroshi Sugimoto on Art 21 Carrie Mae Weems on Art 21 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Sally Mann on Art 21 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. 2/36

3 Florian Maier-Aichen on Art 21 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. An-My Le on Art 21 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. 3/36

4 Collier Schorr on Art 21 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Yinka Shonibare on Art 21 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. 4/36

5 Roni Horn on Art 21 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures Comments Off Photography and Postmodernism Monday, April 18th, /36

6 The following essays outline many of the primary tenets of postmodern thought: Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Arthur Danto, Modern, Postmodern, and Contemporary Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulations Roland Barthes, The Death of the Author Audio for this Lecture/ Postmodernism 1/ Postmodernism 2/ Postmodernism 3 AfterWalkerEvans.com 6/36

7 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. 7/36

8 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures Comments Off Artists and Photography Monday, April 11th, /36

9 Andy Grundberg s essay, The Crisis of the Real Audio for this Lecture/ Artist and Photo 1/ Artist and Photo 2/ Artist and Photo 3/ Artist and Photo 4 9/36

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14 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. 14/36

15 Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures Comments Off William Eggleston Monday, March 28th, /36

16 It is not easy for the photographer to compete with the clever originality of mindless, mechanized cameras, but the photographer can add intelligence. By means of photography one can in a minute reject as unsatisfactory ninety-nine configurations of facts and elect as right the hundredth. The choice is based on tradition and intuition knowledge and ego as it is in any art, but the ease of execution and the richness of the possibilities in photography both serve to put a premium on good intuition. The photographer s problem is perhaps too complex to be dealt with rationally. This is why photographers prowl with such restless uncertainty about their motif, ignoring many potentially interesting records while they look for something else. -John Szarkowski Audio for this Lecture/ Eggleston 1/ Eggleston 2/ Eggleston 3 John Szarkowski s Introduction to the book William Eggleston s Guide Eudora Welty s Introduction to the book The Democratic Forest William Eggleston s Afterword in The Democratic Forest 16/36

17 Watch more free documentaries 17/36

18 Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures Comments Off New Topographics Wednesday, March 2nd, /36

19 New Topographics refers to a 1975 exhibition at the George Eastman house curated by William Jenkins. The eleven photographers included in the show were each concerned with the complex relationship between nature and culture. The believed as the cultural geographer J.B. Jackson stated, Whether we like it or not, we cannot really see our country as a succession of views to be judged in aesthetic terms. We have to see it in terms of social and human processes, an unending creation in which all of us are taking part. The American landscape becomes the composite image of millions of individual destinies, all interlocked not only with their neighbors but with us all. In his book, What Can We Believe Where? Robert Adams writes: I began making pictures because I wanted to record what supports hope: the untranslatable mystery and beauty of the world. Along the way, however, the camera also caught evidence against hope, and I eventually concluded that this too belonged in pictures if they were to be truthful and thus useful. Audio for this lecture/ New Topographics 1/ New Topographics 2/ New Topographics 3/ New Topographics 4 Leo Rubinfien discusses Robert Adams photographs of the American West Lewis Baltz s Notes on Recent Industrial Developments in Southern California An Interview with Stephen Shore Robert Adams from ART 21 19/36

20 Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. 20/36

21 Stephen Shore: American Beauty Watch the full episode. See more ART:21. 21/36

22 Bernd and Hilla Becher from Contacts: Volume 3 22/36

23 Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures No Comments» New Documents Monday, February 21st, /36

24 In 1967 the Museum of Modern Art presented the exhibition New Documents. Organized by curator John Szarkowski, the show featured the work of Lee Friedlander, Garry Winogrand, and Diane Arbus. The work of these photographers although still centered on the real represented a major shift from traditional documentary practice. As Szarkowski stated, Their aim (was) not to reform life but to know it. Not to persuade but to understand. The following essays, lectures, and interviews present varied perspectives on the photographs of these three artists. Audio for this lecture/ New Documents 1/ New Documents 2 Carol Armstrong discusses Lee Friedlander s 2005 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art Carl Chiarenza on Garry Winogrand from IMAGE Magazine: Journal of Photography and Motion Pictures of the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House Judith Butler discusses the Diane Arbus exhibition, Revelations A Discussion of the work of Diane Arbus on NPR s All Things Considered 24/36

25 Garry Winogrand speaking at MIT in 1971 William Christenberry speaking on Lee Friedlander at the Hirshhorn Museum Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures No Comments» Henri Cartier Bresson, Walker Evans, and Robert Frank Friday, February 11th, /36

26 Audio for this lecture/ Evans 1/ Evans 2/ Evans 3/ Frank 1/ Frank 2 The following readings explore Evans and Frank s photography as well as the relationship between the two men. Melancholy Realism: Walker Evans Resistance to Meaning by John Tagg part 1, part 2 Disordering the Senses: Guggenheim Fellowship by Sarah Greenough part 1, part 2, part 3 Robert Frank and Walker Evans by Jeff L. Rosenheim part 1, part 2 Sarah Greenough and Robert Frank podcast from National Gallery of Art An Evening with Robert Frank podcast from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Henri Cartier Bresson The Modern Century podcast from the Museum of Modern Art Charlie Rose, A Conversation with Henri Cartier Bresson 26/36

27 Charlie Rose, A Conversation About Walker Evans with Jeff Rosenheim Charlie Rose, Henri Cartier Bresson, The Modern Century 27/36

28 Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures No Comments» The Authority of the Photograph Friday, January 28th, /36

29 In this lecture we will begin an examination of the Authority of the photograph the notion that the photographic image has a unique connection to the real and by extension truth. We will look at examples of documentary photography from the 1930!s, 40!s, and 50!s and will discuss the problematic nature of this practice as it relates to both truth and propaganda. The following readings should provide a good foundation for this discussion. Audio for this Lecture: Authority 1/ Authority 2/ Authority 3/ Authority 4 Mary Warner Marien on Documentary Photography from Photography: A Cultural History Mary Warner Marien on The Family of Man from Photography: A Cultural History Edward Steichen from the Introduction to The Family of Man Roland Barthes on the Family of Man A study prepared by the U.S. Embassy of visitors reactions to The Family of Man Exhibition in Germany Mary Warner Marien on Photography and the Atomic Bomb from Photography: A Cultural History Additional links for this lecture: Shomei Tomatsu from the exhibition Skin of the Nation at SFMOMA Eugene Smith Photography Made Difficult on class YouTube playlist 29/36

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32 Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures No Comments» The Ontology of Photography Friday, January 21st, /36

33 In our first lecture we are concerned with exploring the ontology of photography. By this I mean, what is it that makes photography unique? What is its essential nature? The readings by both Barthes and Szarkowski address this question. Audio for this lecture/ Ontology 1 / Ontology 2 / Ontology 3 / Ontology 4 / Ontology 5 / Ontology 6 Assignment Please select three images (not discussed in class) from the slide show above concerning the ontology of photography. For each image please describe and try to interpret the photograph using the reading assignments and the course lecture as a frame of reference. The assignment must be submitted to the Dropbox on D2L before the beginning of class on Tuesday. The Genius of Photography is a BBC produced series examining the history of photography. As a preface to our semester long post-war discussion of the medium these videos should provide a context for understanding contemporary photography and its foundations. 33/36

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35 To see the rest of the videos in this series please visit the Genius of Photography page on YouTube. Posted in AHI 4713, Course Lectures No Comments» Context Context is the blog/teaching website of photographer and educator Todd Stewart Information 35/36

36 Teaching Teaching Statement Curriculum Vitae Contact Works Courses History of Photography 1945-Present Course Lectures Course Readings Resources Writing Exercises Final Exam Notes Space, Place, and Environment Project Teams Course Readings Search for: Search 36/36