Category Archives: Discussion Topics
Discussion Topic: The Greatest War Photograph and Capa
At the age of 23, Robert Capa took a photograph that many have labeled the greatest war photograph of all time. Taken during the Spanish Civil War, the renown of Capa’s photograph, Falling Soldier or Death of a Loyalist Soldier, … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Photographing the Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement
This week, I would like you to consider two photographic works taken at the very beginning of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s. In 1955, Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank traveled across the country taking photographs of people. Unbeknownst to … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Walker Evans’ Subway Portraits
Nov 3 is Walker Evans’ birthday (he would be 108!) Evans’ photographed people on the New York City subways between 1938-1941. He only published these photographs 25 years later in his book, Many Are Called, which was re-issued in 2004. … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Photography and Early Film
In 1902, Georges Méliès released the first science fiction film, A Trip to the Moon (Le voyage dans la lune). The filmmaker spared no expense for special effects. Review the approximately 11-minute long film and consider the following questions. Do … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Rooms from Versailles to post-Katrina New Orleans
Explore the works of Robert Polidori, who uses a large-format camera to capture environments that range from the French palace of Versailles to the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina or the nuclear accident at Chernobyl. Polidori has been criticized for … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Old Processes, New Photos, New Advertising
Many photographers today are reviving the photographic processes of the Civil War era. A California news article reports on several photographers in San Francisco who are producing photographs with the wet-plate process. Even Louis Vuitton highlights wet-plate photography in his … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Photography, Tumblr, and Copyright
Photo District News recently published an article “Why Photographers Love Tumblr.” What do you think of the open access to photographers’ images? Do you find the issue of copyright troubling? The photographer Brantley Gutierrez’s success with Tumblr is discussed in … Continue reading
“When Camera Takes Over for the Eye” by Roberta Smith, just few thoughts of my own.
Today, the cameras are present everywhere, subway, bus, school, parks, events, EVERYWHERE. It is super easy do snap a picture of something and come back to it whenever needed. The question that bothers me after reading Smith’s article is whether … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Pictures of Pictures
In a recent New York Times article, Roberta Smith notes the increasingly common use of cameras, especially cellphones by viewers when interacting with art. In particular, she discusses the behavior of visitors to the Venice Biennale, an exhibition of contemporary … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Fashion + Photography = Art?
The New York Times interview with photographer David Armstrong raises interesting questions about the intersections of art, fashion, and documentary. These realms occasionally collide in Armstrong’s work. What questions does the interview raise? What does Armstrong think of the history … Continue reading
