Photography: Art Practice (A Sense of Place or Understanding Place Through Photography)

3 units

This course explores the concept of place and the cultural implications that accompany the definitions of place. Working with photography and taking inspiration from the fields of geography, environmental studies, urban design and cultural anthropology, this course considers how a relationship to place is constructed. We will also consider displacements throughout history and value systems embedded in the construction of a sense of place. Is one's relationship to place personal? Is it collective, is it cultural, is it rooted in the surrounding environment? What are the marks that define a sense of place, and is there residue or lingering evidence that can be perceived? The medium of photography has unique capacities to address these questions. This studio course builds knowledge through photographic practice with accompanying readings, seminar discussion and guided assignments. Students will participate in an active process of exploring diverse concepts of place in relationship to the built environment. Students will be introduced to a range of ways of making and thinking about the subject of place, including looking at place as site, as geography, as memory, as non-place, as urban space, as rural space, as community, and as ecological site. No formal photographic training is necessary. Students will be introduced to the basics of camera operation, Photoshop and Lightroom software for editing and the fundamentals of digital print output for fine art printing will be covered.