ART 398.01: Special Topics in Photography: Imagining Los Angeles
Fall 2006
Burns 152
Diane Meyer
Course website: www.dianemeyer.net/398
MW 11-1:50
Office Hours: M 10-11, T+R 4:30-5:30 or by appointment
Course Description
This course will look at various ways in which Los Angeles has been explored in the visual arts, film, literature and new media. Part seminar and part studio course, this class will look at cultural, social, historical and physical dynamics of the city. In addition to several photography based assignments, students will be responsible for a portfolio of images related to a topic in the course. Students will learn or review advanced photography techniques including medium and large format photography, strobe lighting, and color printing. Students will also be introduced to digital techniques including negative scanning, digital negatives, and digital C Prints.
Goals and Objectives
Course Objectives and Student Outcomes
• Through weekly lectures and demonstrations, students will be able to consistently achieve successful results in all technical aspects of advanced black and white and color photography.
• Reinforcement and Review basic technical concepts
• Determine more accurate exposures through advanced metering techniques
• Use large and medium format cameras successfully
• Further emphasis on lighting and introduction of advanced lighting techniques
2. Students will become more familiar with the city that they live in and
Los Angeles' place in the cultural continuum of visual culture.
a. Students will explore the city through photography assignments
and class field trips.
b. Students will discuss and consider literary and cinematic
depictions of the city in addition to representations of
the city in the visual arts.
3. Students will begin to incorporate new digital technologies into
photographic practices.
a. Students will demonstrate proficiency with negative scanning
b. Students will display ability with digital cameras that will
4. Given new technical abilities, and the increased exposure to and
awareness of conceptual and critical approaches to photography,
students will create a comprehensive and cohesive body of work on a
subject of their choosing in the second half of the term.
a. students will further develop a personal point of view
b. students will use photography as a means of communicating
ideas
5. Given the collaborative nature of group critiques and working in a
shared space, students will demonstrate professional and considerate
behavior at all times.
a. attendance, promptness, and preparedness
b. thoughtful contribution to class discussions
c. importance of cleaning up after oneself and treating all
equipment respectfully and carefully
6. Students will be able to articulate their ideas verbally and visually, and
will create effective artists statements in conjunction with their final
projects.
Text
The primary textbook that will be used for the course is Writing Los Angeles ed. by David Ulin (ISBN: 1931082278). This book is available in the school bookstore as well as through online retailers like amazon.com or half.com.
Course Format and Methods of Evaluation
This 15 week course will consist of lectures, slide presentations, technical demonstrations, group critiques, in-class lab time, and field trips to various site throughout Los Angeles. Through the semester, students will be responsible for 4 photographic assignments and a final, cohesive project. In addition to the photographic assignments, students will be required to participate in a benefit photo shoot to raise money for a LA based charity (exact charity to be voted on in class), and will need to hand in a journal based on films, short stories, work seen in class, gallery and museum exhibitions, and other musings. There are no formal quizzes or exams. Students are welcome to work in color or black and white. Students who have not formally taken color photography wishing to print in color should plan to see me during my office hours at least twice to go over the process.
Attendance, effort and thoughtful participation are critical for successful completion of the course. More than three unexcused absences will result in the lowering of the final grade by one full letter grade. Three late arrivals to class equals one absence. Late assignments will be lowered by one letter grade, and will not be accepted at all after one week past the due date.
Excused absences include documented serious medical illness, documented family emergencies, or religious holidays.
Class Critiques are an extremely important aspect of the course, and all students are expected to contribute their thoughts and ideas. Feedback from one's peers is invaluable in the creation of work, and not having this important input, puts one at a marked disadvantage. Given this, students who do not have work for critique, or who are absent on a critique day, will have their participation grade lowered.
This is a 3 credit course meeting approximately 5 hours per week. While there will be some time during scheduled class time to work on assignments, students should plan on spending at least 3-6 hours per week outside of class time working on their projects- either shooting, processing film, or printing. It is important that students are prepared for in-class lab time with a project to work on, and necessary supplies. Being unprepared to work on an open lab day will count as an absence.
The grading breakdown is as follows:
Attendance/Participation: 10%
Photo Assignments: 40%
Final Project: 25%
Powerpoint Presentation: 15%
Journal: 10%
Required Materials
Week One
Monday, August 28
Course Introduction; Review of Technical Information, Screening: “Never Weaken” (Lloyd, USA, 1921)
Assignments for 8/30:
Read “Pursuit of Happiness: LA and the Televised Car Chase” by Tad Fiend
Read “Autopia” by Cees Nooteboom WLA page 570
Read “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury WLA page 370
Read “Beneath Mulholland” by David Thomson page 871
Wednesday, August 30
Los Angeles and Traffic: Freeways, Jams, Car Chases, and Public Transportation, Explanation of Assignment One, Review of basic technical information and medium format photography
Week Two
Monday, September 4
No Class: Labor Day
Wednesday, September 6
Digital Tools: Artists using powerpoint, Explanation of powerpoint assignment, Basic Photoshop and Color Management, Using the Negative Scanner, Introduction to the Digital Cameras
Week Three
Monday, September 11
Open Lab
Wednesday, September 13
Field Trip: Tour of CALTRANS freeway camera monitoring system
Assignments for 9/18:
Assignment One Due
Read “Los Angeles: The Architecture of the Four Ecologies” by Reyner Banham WLA page 535
Read “Beneath the Underdog” by Charles Mingus WLA page 558
Week Four
Monday, September 18
Critique of Assignment One, Los Angeles and Architecture, Description of Assignment Two
Wednesday, September 20
Field Trip: Tour of Downtown Los Angeles with Los Angeles Conservancy followed by lunch at Cliftons
Assignment for 9/25:
Read hand out on large format photography
Week Five
Monday, September 25
More Los Angeles and Architecture, 4x5 Photography
Wednesday, September 27
Open Lab
Assignment for 10/2:
read excerpts “The Literary Destruction of Los Angeles” by Mike Davis
read excerpts “Fire Season” by Joan Didion WLA page 503
read excerpts from “LA Noir and Forgetting” by Norman Klein
Prints for Assignment Two
Week Six
Monday, October 2
Critique of Assignment Two, Los Angeles and the Imagination of Disaster, Description of Assignment 3
Wednesday, October 4
more Los Angeles and Landscape, close-up photography and model making, Screening: Earthquake (Robson, USA, 1974)
Week Seven
Monday, October 9
Open Lab
Assignments for 10/11:
read “The Surgical Revolution” by Ralph Rugoff
read “Past/Perfect Disneyland Celebrates Home” by Mark Dery
read “The City of Robots” by Umberto Eco WLA page
Wednesday, October 11
more LA and Utopia, in Class Presentation by Visiting Artist Charles Phoenix (tentative)
Week Eight
Monday, October 16
Critique of Assignment Three, LA and Noir, Law and Order
Wednesday, October 18
more LA and Noir; Screening: Chinatown (Polanski, USA, 1974)
Week Nine
Monday, October 23
No Class: Fall Holiday
Assignments for 10/25:
read “Golden Land” by William Faulkner WLA page 131
read “Red Wind” by Raymond Chandler
Wednesday, October 25
Individual Meeting to Discuss Final Projects
Week Ten
Monday, October 30
Field Trip to LAPD Art Theft Detail
Assignments for 11/1:
read excerpt from “Ask the Dust” by John Fante WLA page 218
read excerpt from “Day of the Locust” by Nathaneal West WLA page 225
Wednesday, November 1
Los Angeles and Hollywood, Contemporary Art and the Set, Description of Head Shot Benefit Shoot, Review of studio lighting
Assignment for 11/6:
make sign or poster for Head Shot Shoot
Week Eleven
Monday, November 6
Open Lab
Wednesday, November 8
Work in Progress Critique Towards Final Project; work out details for Benefit Shoot
Week Twelve
Monday, November 13
Field Trip: SONY Studio Lots
Wednesday, November 15
Head Shot Benefit Shoot
Week Thirteen
Monday, November 20
Open Lab
Wednesday, November 22
more LA and Hollywood, Screening: Sunset Boulevard (Wilder, 1950, USA)
Week Fourteen
Monday, November 27
Open Lab
Assignment Due for 11/29:
all head shot prints
Wednesday, November 29
Work in Progress Critique
Week Fifteen
Monday, December 4
Power Point Presentations
Wednesday, December 6
Work in Progress Critique for Final Project, finish powerpoint if necessary
Week Sixteen
Monday, December 11
Final Project Due