Author Archives: Sandra Cheng
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
Announcement: Midterm on Thurs March 14 at 10 AM
This post is to remind you that our midterm is on Thursday, March 14th at 10 AM SHARP. Please ARRIVE ON TIME (come early!) because we will begin with the slide identification section and if you miss it, there will … Continue reading
Announcement: Please watch deadlines for Discussion Topic Posts
As you know, all the Discussion Topics are timed. I post a topic for commentary and you have two weeks to respond. Please take a look at the deadlines at the bottom of each Discussion Topic. Although you can always … Continue reading
Announcement: How to Submit Writing Assignment #1 on Blackboard
Writing Assignment #1 is DUE next week, Thursday, March 7th. Please access the class site on Blackboard to submit your writing assignment. To get onto Blackboard use the quicklinks from CityTech’s website https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/, or go to http://portal.cuny.edu. After you log onto … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Connecting to Spirits via Photography
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 often focus on alternative types of religious experience. Taggart’s recent … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Subways Portraits by Walker Evans
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
Discussion Topic: Lynsey Addario, A Woman Photographer on the Front Lines
A few weeks ago, the Pentagon officially lifted the ban on women soldiers to engage in combat. Over the course of her career, the woman photojournalist Lynsey Addario has covered numerous conflicts, frequently photographing women in the military. Last spring, … Continue reading
Discussion Topic: Old Processes, 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 and Tragedy—When Should You Put Down the Camera?
A recent NPR segment covered the dynamic between photographer and photographed subject in relation to tragedy. Read the following article on photojournalist Emmanuel Dunand’s photograph of Aline Marie shown in prayer the evening of the deadly shootings at Sandy Hook … Continue reading
Welcome!
Hello ARTH 1100 students! Welcome to the class website for Professor Sandra Cheng’s course on the History of Photography. Our section meets Tues/Thurs mornings at 10 AM. The OpenLab is an integral component to our class. I look forward to … Continue reading
