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“Great photography is always on the edge of failure.” — Garry Winogrand An introduction to photography as a fine art and communications medium, from the publication of its invention in 1839 to the present, among Western practitioners. Illustrated lectures and discussions appraise diverse overlapping functions of photographs and view camera work within the history of art and culture. Changing styles, purposes and techniques are outlined chronologically. Additional Description for this section: We will examine the use of photography for aesthetic, documentary, and “scientific” purposes, stylistic shifts in photography related to aesthetic concerns, and varying interpretations of subject matter based on social and cultural concerns at specific moments in history. We will also consider the relationship between photography and the visual arts in general, which culminates with the primacy of photography as a medium by the late twentieth century.

“Great photography is always on the edge of failure.” — Garry Winogrand An introduction to photography as a fine art and communications medium, from the publication of its invention in 1839 to the present, among Western practitioners. Illustrated lectures and discussions appraise diverse overlapping functions of photographs and view camera work within the history of art and culture. Changing styles, purposes and techniques are outlined chronologically. Additional Description for this section: We will examine the use of photography for aesthetic, documentary, and “scientific” purposes, stylistic shifts in photography related to aesthetic concerns, and varying interpretations of subject matter based on social and cultural concerns at specific moments in history. We will also consider the relationship between photography and the visual arts in general, which culminates with the primacy of photography as a medium by the late twentieth century.