Pictures into Words: Writing About Art

Harvard FAS

In an attention economy, with phone cameras and AI ubiquitous, are we losing the ability to describe what we see with our own eyes? What meaning can emerge from paying attention to art and converting attention into description?This course will examine various kinds of ekphrasis – or vivid written responses to works of art – as we work to develop our own, personal forms of ekphrasis in different modes. Readings will include poetry, fiction and criticism.Additionally, the course will…