Category Archives: Discussion Topics

Discussion Topic: A Glimpse Inside Gaza-War Photography Today

We have discussed the documentation of war through out the semester. War photography is a special genre that is still practiced today by some photojournalists. The New York Times Tyler Hicks is a veteran war photographer who has covered numerous … Continue reading

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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. … Continue reading

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Discussion Topic: The Art of Food Photography

Happy Thanksgiving! It seems appropriate that we think about food this week, and the idea that photographing food is an art form.  There is a long history of photographing food for commercial purposes.  The following NPR article outlines a current … Continue reading

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Discussion Topic: The Greatest War Photograph and Robert 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

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Discussion Topic: Documenting Hurricane Sandy

Before I introduce our next Discussion Topic I want to say that I hope you and your families are safe and recovering from the storm. As we work to return to ‘normal’ and classes resume at CityTech, please take extra time … Continue reading

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Discussion Topic: Photography and Early Film

In 1902, Georges MĂ©liès 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

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Discussion Topic: Documenting Brooklyn Vodou

In class, we briefly touched on the beginnings of spiritualist photography.  The contemporary photographer Shannon Taggart has photographed the world’s largest Spiritualist community in western New York.  Her photographic projects seem to focus on alternative types of religious experience.  Taggart’s … Continue reading

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Discussion Topic: Walker Evans’ Subway Portraits

Walker 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.  Read a review about the new edition in the New York Times or listen … Continue reading

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Why Not?

Can an app be an art? Maybe? Photography in the 1800’s wasn’t considered an art but just a tool for scientific experiment. Maybe if we give ourselves a couple hundred years we might consider the “app” as artistic. Personally, i … Continue reading

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Discussion Topic: Can an App be Art?

The photographer Edward Burtynsky is renowned for his photographs of “industrial ugliness.” Recently, he released a version of his artbook Oil as an app. The photographs highlight the production and the use of oil, from the its extraction to the … Continue reading

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