Joel Sternfeld

Some 60 or 70 years ago, the idea of art as a comfort to middle- and upper-class tastes and values—more or less a visual soporific to be occasionally consumed, as needed—began to come under assault. The methodologies of the Fluxus Movement, the happenings of the ’60s, and various conceptual practices of the ’70s provided a ground from which artists such as Hans Haacke or Neo Rauch could make work that was critical of prevailing economic or political realities. In 1971, when a pointed artwork by Haacke caused the Guggenheim Museum to cancel his retrospective, the then-director of the museum wrote to Haacke to say that the institution’s policies “exclude active engagement toward social or political ends.” Unfortunately for the museum, a constantly expanding and ever-more vital ocean of such work has ensued. Using Nato Thompson’s Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21st Century as our text, we will examine the work of artists whose work has intentionally called for a different social or political order. Exemplars to be studied will include Francis Alys, David Hammons, Alfredo Jaar, Barbara Kruger, Suzanne Lacy, Ana Mendieta, Adrian Piper, Pussy Riot, Martha Rosler, Doris Salcedo, Carolee Schneemann, Felix Gonzalez Torres, Kara Walker, Carrie Mae Weems, Ai Weiwei, and Fred Wilson, to name but a very few. In the beginning of the semester, students will respond to readings, class discussions, and prompts with artworks that relate to the issues at hand. As the semester progresses, students will also work on a conference project that is borne of their own independent concerns.

In the past 75 years, our understandings of the photographic image have changed utterly: A simplistic belief in the image as a truth-conveying artifact of a real moment or object is deeply suspect and perhaps archaic. With these changes in understanding have come different usages of the lens-based image or light-based image (that might not even involve a lens) in art intended to function within the gallery or museum or book or digital space. The plurality of approaches and results is overwhelming and does not lend itself to simple categorization for study. And so, this is a course designed to provide a survey introduction to the would-be practitioner through a deeper study of exemplars: noted figures whose work has stood out…so far. Of course, the designation of someone as an exemplar runs the risk of new canonization; so, the exemplars to be studied each semester in this two-semester course will be democratically determined. Approximately three weeks will be spent on slideshows, presentations by faculty and students, and review of student work in class criticism—all inspired by the exemplar culled from a list that will include (in no particular order): La Toya Ruby Frazier, Alfredo Jaar, Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, David Wojnarowicz, Carrie Mae Weems, William Eggelston, Robert Adams, Justine Kurland, Lucas Blalock, and others.

A photograph presented alone and without a description in words is a simple utterance. “Ooh,” “Aah,” and “Huh?” are its proper responses. When pictures are presented in groups with accompanying text (of any length) and perhaps in conjunction with political or poetic conceptual strategies, any statement becomes possible. The photographs can begin to function as a sentence, a paragraph, or an entire treatise. Whether working in fiction, nonfiction, or in a fictive space, artists such as Robert Frank, Jim Goldberg, Roni Horn, Dorothea Lange, Susan Meiselas, Alan Sekula, Taryn Simon, Larry Sultan, and numerous others have been in the process of transforming photography with their work. Or perhaps they have created a medium: the new narrative photography. In this course, students will initially study the work of these “narrative” photographers and either write about their work or make pictures in response to it. The culmination of this experience will be students’ creation of their own bodies of work. If you have a story to tell, a statement to make, or a phenomenon that you wish to study and describe, this course is open to you. No previous photographic experience or special equipment is necessary. The opportunity to forge a new medium is rare. This course aims to create the forum and the conditions necessary for all to do so in a critical and supportive workshop environment.

Some 60 or 70 years ago, the idea of art as a comfort to middle- and upper-class tastes and values, a kind of visual soporific to be occasionally consumed as needed, began to come under assault. The methodologies of the Fluxus Movement, the happenings of the 60s, and various conceptual practices of the 70s provided a ground from which artists such as Hans Haacke or Neo Rausch could make work that was critical of prevailing economic or political realities. In 1971, when a pointed artwork by Hans Haacke caused the Guggenheim Museum to cancel his retrospective, the then director of the museum wrote to Haacke to say that the institution’s policies “exclude active engagement toward social or political ends.” Unfortunately for the museum, a constantly expanding and ever-more vital ocean of such work has ensued. Using curator Nato Thompson’s Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the 21st Century as our text, we will examine the work of artists whose work has intentionally called for a different social or political order. Exemplars to be studied may include (in no particular order) David Hammons, Ana Mendietta, Carolee Schneeman. Felix Gonzalez Torres, Marthe Rosler Alfredo Jaar, Pussy Riot, Barbara Kruger, Francis Alys, Suzanne Lacy, Fred Wilson and Ai Weiwei, and Doris Salcedo, to name but a very few. In addition to readings, each student will write a short-to-medium length paper and also make an artwork.

A photograph presented alone and without a descriptive caption is like a simple utterance: “ooh!” or “aah!” or “huh?” When pictures are presented in groups with accompanying text and perhaps in conjunction with political or poetic conceptual strategies, however, any statement becomes possible. Collectively, photographs can begin to function as a sentence, a paragraph, or a larger discourse. Whether working in fiction or nonfiction, artists such as Alan Sekula, Robert Frank, Susan Meiselas, Taryn Simon, Jim Goldberg, Roni Horn, and others have transformed the reach of the photograph. Collectively, they have created a medium: The New Narrative Photography. In this course, students will study the work of artists and others and will create their own bodies of work. If you have a story to tell or a statement to make, this course is open to you. No previous photographic experience is necessary nor is any special equipment. The opportunity to forge a new medium is rare. This course aims to create the forum and the conditions necessary for all to do so in a critical and supportive workshop environment.

This course is a hybrid. Each week of the first semester, a different photographic idea or genre will be traced from its earliest iterations to its present form through slide lectures and readings. And each week, students will respond with their own photographic work inspired by the visual presentations and readings. Topics include personal dress-up/narrative, composite photography/photographic collage, the directorial mode, fashion/art photography, new strategies in documentary practice, abstraction/“new photography,” the typology in photography, the photograph in color, and the use of words and images in combination. In the second semester, the emphasis will shift as students choose to work on a subject and in a form that coincides with the ideas that they most urgently wish to express. No previous experience in photography is necessary nor is any special equipment. A desire to explore, to experiment, and to create a personally meaningful body of work are the only prerequisites.

In the early 1980s, in response to a mounting critique of so-called “documentary photography,” a number of photographic artists turned to alternative methodologies to express their ideas and their concerns. Prominent among them was Martha Rosler, the artist whose writings were central to the critique of photographs as conveyors of truth. Using photographs in combination with text, video, installation, sculpture, and performance, her work has communicated feminist and antiwar messages in novel and powerful ways. The late Allan Sekula also coupled words with photographs. His most notable work, Fish Story, constitutes a political and philosophic examination of globalization in a manner that permits “the social referentiality of photographic work” while making important historic and theoretic points that are nowhere seen within the photographs themselves. Other exemplars of new documentary photography to be studied include Susan Meiselas, whose use of the personal photographs and writings of her subjects changes the very nature of the documentary process and gives a voice to those who have previously been spoken for. Her Kurdistan, In the Shadow of History will be studied as an exemplar of this form. The artist Jim Goldberg also employs his subject’s words, oftentimes painting them directly on the image and depicted in a highly expressionistic manner. His work is concerned with inequality and global displacement, among many other things. A number of “new documentarians” have turned to installation, using still photographs and video to create powerful, immersive experiences that forward their ideas and concerns. We will study the work of Alfredo Jaar in this regard. The  work of La Toya Ruby Fraser will also be studied, as it represents a model of how picture making may be combined with community activism, whether it be the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, or the health care system in Braddock, Pennsylvania. Weekly readings will be assigned, films will be screened, discussion will be held—but the primary work of a student in this course will be making artworks in response to prompts.

This is an untraditional course, as I will be offering it separately for both fall and spring; however, students are more than welcome to take both semesters in sequence for the year, as each semester will cover different material. Every week, a different photographic idea or genre will be traced from its earliest iterations to its present form through slide lectures and readings. And each week, students will respond with their own photographic work inspired by the visual presentations and readings. Topics include personal dress-up/narrative, composite photography/photographic collage, the directorial mode, fashion/art photography, new strategies in documentary practice, abstraction/“new photography,” the typology in photography, the photograph in color, and the use of words and images in combination. In the second semester, the emphasis will shift, as students choose to work on a subject and in a form that coincides with the ideas that they most urgently wish to express. No previous experience in photography is necessary nor is any special equipment. A desire to explore, to experiment, and to create a personally meaningful body of work are the only requirements.

What does contemporary America really look like? What does it mean? Perhaps no single photograph can describe the zeitgeist, particularly now; but, cumulatively, a grouping of photographs might. This is a picture-maker’s course—whether you would like to look at the social landscape, the political landscape, the built landscape, the psychological landscape, or the poetic landscape. This is a course that will welcome such efforts. No previous photographic experience is necessary, just a willingness to work at getting to the heart of the matter—which is essential. The teaching method will be weekly discussions and critiques of student work.

A photograph presented alone and without a fully descriptive caption is like a simple utterance. “Ooh,” “Aah,” and “Huh?” are its proper responses. When pictures are presented in groups with accompanying text (of any length) and perhaps in conjunction with political or poetic conceptual strategies, however, any statement becomes possible. The photographs can begin to function as a sentence, a paragraph, or an entire treatise. Whether working in fiction, in nonfiction, or in a fictive space, artists such as Alan Sekula, Robert Frank, Susan Meiselas, Taryn Simon, Jim Goldberg, Ronie Horn, and others have been in the process of transforming photography with their work for the past 30 years. Or perhaps they have created a medium: the new narrative photography. In this course, students will initially study the work of these narrative photographers and either write about their work or make pictures in response to it. The culmination of this experience will be the students’ creation of their own bodies of work. If you have a story to tell or a statement to make or a phenomenon that you wish to study and describe, this course is open to you. No previous photographic experience is necessary nor is any special equipment. The opportunity to forge a new medium is rare. This course aims to create the forum and the conditions necessary for all to do so in a critical and supportive workshop environment.