ARTH 48.08 The Photographic Medium
The invention of the photograph radically changed the way we experience the world. The selfie and Instagram are but two of the most recent ways in which photographic technology has become ubiquitous in our everyday lives. This course traces the evolution of the photograph from pre-photographic forms, such as the diorama to its current digital apotheosis. We will focus on how the medium evolved in concert with changing social conditions that shaped, and were shaped in turn, by its evolution. A wide range of practices will be considered, from documentary photographs to fine art. Major figures in photo history will be discussed alongside developments in photographic technology and their impact on photographic imagery in both fine art and visual culture more broadly (advertising, science, journalism). Throughout we will explore photography as a ‘thick’ medium, one inextricably bound up with social and theoretical concerns. Students will exit having a broad knowledge of the historical benchmarks and aesthetic theories of photography, as well as the ability to describe and analyze images in light of photographic technique.