Course Description
Introduction to the basic concepts of photographic production and representation through theory and practice. The basic elements of photography, digital workflow, darkroom, the history of representation, and issues of contemporary art and popular imagery.
Athena Title
Intro Photo and Image Culture
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in ARST 2210
Corequisite
ARST 2205L
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course is designed to introduce students to the art and techniques of digital photography and video, emphasizing their relationship to art and contemporary image culture. Techniques introduced in this course are put into practice through technical exercises that revolve around image capture devices, computer manipulation, and image interpretation. Classroom discussions will engage students in the historical, technical, and contemporary aspects of the art of photography and video. Students will be required to engage assignment topics and present their work in the context of historical and contemporary practices within the medium. In presenting his/her work, each student will be expected to assimilate and analyze the topic of the assignment and present the work orally as well as through various modes and media, including photographic prints and digital projections. Students will be expected to engage other students' work with dialogue that is stylistically appropriate and mature. During critiques, students will learn to communicate for academic and professional contexts supporting a consistent purpose and point of view while considering and engaging opposing points of view. Students will be required to interpret inferences within each work being discussed, developing subtleties of symbolic and indirect discourse.
Topical Outline
This course will address contemporary image culture, emphasizing concepts and ideas within photographic imagery and their relationship to art and society. Techniques introduced will include an introduction to the camera, its controls, vision and tools for image capture, manipulation, and output. Lectures and discussions will engage the contemporary cultural impact of images, introducing a wide range of practitioners, and modes of dialogue from the print to the Internet. Major concepts and practice will be engaged through corequisite enrollment in a laboratory course engaging discussion, practice, and critiques.
General Education Core
CORE IV: Humanities and the Arts