ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Art 101 Fall 2006

Instructor: Elaine O’Brien Room: Mariposa 1000 Meeting time: Thursdays, 6 – 8:50 pm Office hours: Tuesday, 4:30 – 7:30 pm Office: Kadema 190 E-mail: [email protected] Course website: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/o/obriene/

Teaching Assistant: Rebecca Crowther E-mail: [email protected]

Catalogue description: A survey of the uses of photography in art, aesthetic and technical developments within the history of Western art, and the merging of photography and traditional art media. Fulfills upper division art history requirement for art majors.

Although the border between “art” and “visual culture” (advertising, commercial photography, documents, journalism, family pictures, and such) is ever shifting and creatively breached, we will consider photography and “fine” art, that is, work associated with high intellectual, aesthetic, and/or spiritual aims and achievement. The course begins with the pre-history of photography in optical devises for European mimetic painting, but the focus is modern production – mid-19th to mid-20th century – ending with considerations of postmodern photographic art of the 1960s and ‘70s. Emphasis is on canonical photography in Europe and the United States, predominantly by men. Happily, because photography is the most democratic of art media, many women as well as non-white, non-Western modern artists, such as Seydou Keita, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, and Shomei Tomatsu, have made brilliant contributions. The modern era of photography’s invention and rise to cultural dominance is a period of aggressive modernization, unprecedented transformation: a global tsunami that has yet to subside. Thus photographic history is inextricably tied to radical modern histories of science and technology, urbanization, industrialization, capitalism, class struggle, revolution, war, and colonialism.

Course objectives: I am proposing six course objectives, but I urge you to formulate your own objectives as well. 1. acquire a broad knowledge of the history of photography through readings, lectures, discussions and other active-learning experiences; 2. acquire a deep knowledge of a specific photographer, movement, critical issue or other aspect of photography through your research project; 3. develop the interest and the methodological skills to continue studying the history of photography after this course ends; 4. develop the ability to articulate, in oral speech and writing, your intellectual, aesthetic and emotional responses to photographs; 5. develop your critical thinking, the ability to question what you see. 6. develop an historical imagination so that you automatically situate all art and visual culture – contemporary (including your own) as well as historical; local as well as global – in relevant situational contexts.

Texts: Required: o Robert Hirsch, Seizing the Light: A History of Photography o Alan Trachtenberg, ed., Classic Essays on Photography (CEP) o Vicki Goldberg, ed., Photography in Print (PIP) Recommended: o Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art, 2006

Assignments and Grade Basis:

15% Participation: based on attitude, contribution to discussion, and attendance. The course is predicated on active-learning experiences many of which will occur in class. I expect you to contribute to your classmates’ learning, and you cannot do this without being present. Art 101 meets only once a week, therefore two absences = minus one letter grade, three absences = minus two letter grades, four absences = minus three letter grades. More than four absences will result in failure. More than one late arrival or early departure will be treated as a partial absence.

40% Weekly quizzes on lectures and readings: Most classes begin with a (timed) 15-minute slide identification and essay quiz based on the previous week’s lecture and the readings listed on the calendar below as “Reading for quiz & class discussion.”

Quiz format: 15 minutes – use notebook paper and write your name on top  Identify a photograph from the previous lecture: 1) full name and nationality of photographer, 2) title of photograph, 3) date, 4) medium, and 5) photographic movement if relevant.  Discuss the photograph in terms of the assigned reading, videos, and/or previous class lecture. Some questions will be comparisons.

2 Preparation for the quizzes will prepare you for the discussion that follows the quiz.

Scoring is on a scale from 1-10 points based on how much mastery of the material is demonstrated.  No makeup quizzes will be given, but one “free” quiz (missed or low score) will be subtracted from your average. This will help with illness and other legitimate reasons for missing class.  Points will be totaled and averaged at the end of the semester.  Keep your quizzes for possible discrepancies.

Students with an overall average of 9 or 10 are excused from the final exam. You still have to write the final exam proposal. For those excused from the exam, your final exam proposal will be graded as a quiz and averaged into the final quiz score.

30% Research Paper: A ten page (2800 word, 12 font, double spaced) research paper that establishes a thesis. For explanation of a thesis and thesis statement, see http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml :

Derive your thesis from a question inspired by looking at a photographic work in one of the following photography exhibitions:

 Carrie Mae Weems: The Louisiana Project : July 27, 2006 – October 9, 2006 Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco http://www.moadsf.org/index.html

 African by Legacy, Mexican by Birth, August 12 – October 14, Galeria de la Raza, 2857 24th Street, San Francisco www.mexicanmuseum.org

 Mexico as Muse: Tina Modotti and Edward Weston, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: September 2 - January 2, 2007 http://www.sfmoma.org/

 Imposing Order: Contemporary Photography and the Archive San Francisco Museum of Modern Art: September 2 - January 2, 2007 http://www.sfmoma.org/

Since your research paper proposal is due October 19 (see below), this means you will need to make a trip into the city as soon as possible. It would be a good idea to organize carpools. Please feel free to initiate this by raising your hand and circulating a sign up sheet in class. The train is also a good way to get there: http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/rail/amcalroutes/rtes.htm

Requirements for the research paper:

3  Attend one of the following library research workshops (required without exception because of the constant updating of search engines and other online resources) with Arts librarian, Alicia Patrice. All classes will meet in room 2023 in the library. Attendance will be taken.  Wednesday, Sept 13, 3:30-4:45 pm  Tuesday, Sept 19, 9:30-10:45 am  Friday, Sept 22, 12-1:15 pm  Tuesday, Sept 26, 6-7:15 pm  Saturday, Sept 30, 10:30-11:45 am

 Paper proposal and research bibliography: Due October 19  A 100-word research question and working thesis statement. (On how to write a thesis question and statement, see Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide p. 20, and http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/thesis_statement.shtml )  Research bibliography – This is a complete “survey of the literature” on your topic and the foundation of your research. It should be at least 3 pages long. Spend a few hours at the library and list everything available on your subject: books, articles, videos, and web. Copy citations from bibliographies of books, catalogues, art encyclopedias, and articles on your topic. Use online art indexes for magazine articles. Alicia Patrice will show you important electronic and print references. Consult with me, Ms. Patrice, or any librarian at the 2nd floor reference desk. You are encouraged to see me during my office hour about your thesis and research bibliography before October 19.

 Final draft: Due November 30 Follow the directions for research papers in Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art A ten page (2800 word, 12 font, double spaced) research paper including reproductions of all artworks referred to in your paper, footnotes, a cover page with your name, title of paper, course, and date submitted on it. Attach a “Works Cited” bibliography of articles, books and web sites actually referenced in the paper. Web sources must have full bibliographical information or they cannot be used. Examples of footnote and bibliography format are in Sylvan Barnet, on the websites below and you can ask Alicia Patrice to explain citation format at the library workshop. She can also give you library handouts. MLA, Turabian, and Chicago style are all acceptable. . Useful research websites:  CSUS online Style Guide: http://library.csus.edu/guides/rogenmoserd/general/style.ht ml  Duke University citation guide: http://library.duke.edu/research/guides/citing/

4 NOTE: Give yourself twice as much time as you think you need for research and writing. Use quotation marks and footnotes for all information that is not general knowledge, including information that you paraphrase. This class adheres to CSUS policy on plagiarism. See http://library.csus.edu/content2.asp?pageID=353

Evaluation criteria for research paper: Unacceptable performance (D or F level work) is full of mechanical mistakes in structure, grammar, spelling and format. It might not respond to the assignment or show no sign that enough time was spent thinking about the subject. It might merely parrot clichés, be repetitive, vague, tangential, uninteresting, or much too broad in scope. It might not be on time or accompanied by required materials. D or F work fails to demonstrate knowledge, comprehension, analysis, or evaluation. Competent Performance: (C level work) often has flaws in grammar, spelling, and structure. It might not quite follow the assignment. It has an organizing idea but it might be vague, broad or uninteresting, obvious, cliched. It might be excessively subjective, mostly opinion, and not have enough supporting evidence. It might demonstrate knowledge but doesn’t question, analyze, synthesize, evaluate. Above Competent Performance: (B level work) No writing mistakes. Presentation is neat and orderly with good structure and argument. The thesis is proportioned to the assignment, worthwhile, and well composed with no digressions. Outstanding Performance: (A level work) has all the good qualities of B level work, but is also unique, lively, and interesting. The writing has style and all elements in the piece are necessary for the thesis development. There is a feeling that the writer is engaged with the ideas and is attentive to effective use of language.

15% Take-home Final Exam: Deadline: before 8 pm December 21  Final exam proposal. December 14. Throughout the semester, take notes for your final exam proposal. Compose three essay questions that cover the course material from beginning to end. For each of the three questions make a list of 10 photographs from the entire period, 1839- present, that could be discussed in the essay. Write questions only, as if you were the professor giving this test to the class. The best questions will be chosen by consensus in class review for the take-home final. Unless you are excused from the exam, the proposal is part of your final exam grade. For those excused from the exam, the proposal will be graded as a quiz and averaged into the overall quiz score.  The final exam is one question, 5 pages, 12 font, double space.

Calendar (subject to changes announced in class):  NOTE: Readings are listed under the day they are assigned. They are due the next class.

September 7: Introduction to the course / The pre-history of photography

5  Background reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapters one and two / Read through Robert Leggat’s “The History of Photography” website, http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/index.html - a useful reference throughout the course.  Reading for quiz & class discussion:  Peter Galassi, excerpt from “Before Photography” (website)  Walter Benjamin, excerpt from “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” (website)

Assignment: Photographic self portrait. Email to [email protected] I will make a PowerPoint presentation from the self portraits you email me by deadline September 24

NOTE: Please size your digital image to 72 DPI and 8” maximum vertical or horizontal

This is the only photograph I will ask you to do for this course. I have three main reasons for starting off the course with it. One is for you to meet each other. A second is to help me know who I’m teaching by learning your name and something about you as soon as possible. Finally, this is a way to begin the conversation about what makes a photograph a work of art.

There is no right or wrong way to create a self portrait. Be as imaginative or as literal as you like. You might make it an exercise in self awareness, showing some important facet of your essential self. At the other extreme, you might make it an exercise in imagination, creating a persona you would like to try on. You might position yourself in front of a mirror or piece of glass. You might construct an elaborate studio setting. You might assemble a montage—actual or digital—that portrays your self conception. The important things are to learn and have fun.

For inspiration, see:  Randy Kennedy, “Lesson in New Ways to See” (website)  The Camera I: Photographic Self-Portraits. Robert Sobieszek, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1994 (Course Reserves, CSUS Library)  “Edward Steichen’s Self-Portraits,” History of Photography, (Vol 22, No 1) Spring 1998 (Periodicals, CSUS Library, 3 South)

On September 14 in class, you will interview the student sitting next to you for a “bio” of 200 words (typed, 12 font, double-spaced) due on September 28. When their self-portrait comes up on the screen you will read your introduction to the class. Because of time limits, the introduction you read to the class cannot be more than a two sentences. Write those two sentences separately at the top of the page with the more complete bio below.

September 14: Interviews for photographic self-portrait presentations/ The invention of photographic technology Background reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapters three and four

6 Reading for quiz & class discussion:  Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, “Memoir on the Heliograph,” CEP, pp. 5- 10  Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, “Daguerreotype,” CEP, pp.11-14  François Arago, “Report,” CEP, pp. 15-26  William Henry Fox Talbot, “A Brief Historical Sketch of the Invention of an Art” (1839), CEP, pp. 27-36  Beaumont Newhall, “Eighteen Thirty-Nine: The Birth of Photography” (website)

NOTE: These readings will help to prepare you for the field trip to the California State Library, so they are due September 21 (see field trip, below). For a 15-minute quiz on September 28th, I will ask you to compare the processes of Niépce, Daguerre, and Talbot as presented by these readings and what we learned from Gary Kurutz of the California State Library. Know the nationality of each photographer and dates of inventions.

September 21: Field Trip, California State Library, Sacramento: http://www.library.ca.gov/html/DirectionsIndex.cfm#Sac Class meets at the California State Library, 900 N Street entrance at 7:00 pm. Gary Kurutz, Director of Special Collections, will present and discuss vintage photographs from the collection in the California History Room, Room 200. Bring paper and pencil for notes. As you listen to Mr. Kurutz, take notes and write down at least one question. I will collect your notes at the end of visit. Background Reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapter five Reading for quiz & class discussion: o Alan Trachtenberg, “Albums of War” (website) o Valentine Blanchard, “Afield with the Wet Plate” (1891), PIP

September 28: Photographic self portrait presentations / Capturing Modern Times: War and Colonial Empire Background Reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapters six and seven Reading for quiz & class discussion: o Kirk Varnedoe, “The Artifice of Candor: Impressionism and Photography Reconsidered” (website) o Henry Peach Robinson, “Idealism, Realism, Expressionism,” CEP, pp. 91-97 o Peter Henry Emerson, “Hints on Art,” CEP, pp. 99-105 o Charles Baudelaire: “The Modern Public and Photography,” CEP pp. 83-90 o Oscar G. Rejlander, “An Apology for Art Photography” PIP, pp. 190- 198

October 5: Photography and Painting in the 19th Century Reading for quiz & class discussion:

7 o Barbara Novak, “Landscape Permuted: From Painting to Photography,” PIP o Nadar, “My Life as a Photographer,” an excerpt, PIP o Max Kozloff, “Nadar and the Republic of Mind,” PIP o Julia Margaret Cameron, “The Annals of My Glass House,” PIP

October 12: The New Portraits and Landscapes Background Reading: Hirsch, chapter eight Assignment: View videos (TBA) on early film in the library. Take notes and conclude with one good question for class discussion. I will collect your video notes.

October 19: (no quiz) Research paper proposal due / Motion Photography and the Beginnings of Cinema Background Reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapter nine Reading for quiz & class discussion: o Alfred Stieglitz, “Pictorial Photography,” CEP, pp, 115-123 o Alfred Stieglitz, “The Hand Camera – Its Present Importance,” PIP o Dorothy Norman, “Alfred Stieglitz: An American Seer,” PIP o George Bernard Shaw, “On the London Exhibitions,” PIP

October 26: Modernism in Art and American Photography I Background Reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapters 10, 11, and 12 Reading for quiz & class discussion: o Paul Strand, “Photography,” and “Photography and the New God,” CEP, pp. 141-151 o Marius De Zayas, “Photography and Photography and Artistic- Photography,” CEP pp.125-132 o Lewis Hine, “Social Photography,” CEP, pp. 109-113 o Alan Trachtenberg, “Lewis Hine: The World of His Art,” PIP o Paul Taylor, “Migrant Mother: 1936,” PIP o Edward Weston, “Seeing Photographically,” CEP, pp. 169-175

November 2: Modernism in Art and American Photography II Reading for quiz and discussion: o Abigail Solomon-Godeau, “The Armed Vision Disarmed: Radical Formalism from Weapon to Style” (website) o Lazlo Moholy-Nagy, “From Pigment to Light,” PIP

November 9: European Modernism between the Wars Background Reading: Hirsch, chapter 12 Reading for quiz and class discussion: o Rosalind Krauss, “The Photographic Conditions of Surrealism” (website)

November 16: Surrealism

8 Background Reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapters 13, 14, 15 Reading for quiz and class discussion: o Henri Cartier-Bresson, “The Decisive Moment,” PIP o Okwui Enwezor and Octavio Zaya, “Negritude, Pan-Africanism, and Postcolonial African Identity: African Portrait Photography (website) o Leo Rubinfien, “A-Bomb,” an excerpt from “Shomei Tomatsu: The Skin of a Nation” (website)

November 23: No Class: Thanksgiving break

November 30: Research paper due / The Snapshot and the Pose/ quiz and discussion of readings / Background Reading: Hirsch, Seizing the Light, chapters 13, 14, 15 Reading for discussion with Blake Stimson, “The Photographic Comportment of Bernd and Hilla Becher.” (website) Will be included in quiz on December 14

December 7: Blake Stimson, Guest Speaker, Background Reading: Hirsch, chapters 16, 17, 18 Reading for quiz and class discussion: o Douglas Crimp, “The Museum’s Old / The Library’s New Subject” (website) o Prepare final exam proposal

December 14: Postmodern Photography / Class review and writing of take- home final based on individual final exam proposals

December 21: Class does not meet. Take-home final exam due before 8 pm. You may turn in your final exam to the Art department secretary or put it in a box by my office door any time before the deadline.

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