Photos at Zoom
Henry Wessel Jr, Santa Barbara California, from "The New California Views" portfolio, 1977
Harry Callahan, Eleanor, 1947
Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled #2451, 1990
Sandy Skoglund, Ferns, 1980
Dawoud Bey, The Birmingham Project: Don Sledge and Moses Austin, 2012
Barbara Kasten, Architectural Site #17, The High Museum, 1988
While our recurring series Photos at Noon has been put on hold until the museum reopens, we are thrilled to introduce our new online photography course: Photos at Zoom! Every week, Photos at Zoom will explore different topics relating to photography. Read on for more resources, recordings of past sessions, pdf guides to images discussed, and more.
Week 1: Fundamentals of Photography
Let’s start with the basics! In this discussion, we will analyze artworks that demonstrate a range of techniques including use of vantage point, framing, lighting, and depth of field. This selection will also introduce viewers to a variety of traditions, including portraiture and street photography. Join us online as we dig into some of the fundamental principles artists employ to create their images with works by Harry Callahan, Roy DeCarava, Clarissa Bonet, and Berenice Abbott, among others.
Additional resources:- Download the PDF of images discussed
- How to transform your own room into a Camera Obscura
- Learn more about the Shirley Card by Sarah Lewis for the New York Times
- Learn more about Roy Decarava by reading A True Picture of Black Skin by Teju Cole for the New York Times
- See the studio and meet the artist! MoCP's new series Behind the Lens starts with Clarissa Bonet on Friday, April 3rd at 12pm CST
Week 2: Photographing the Domestic
For this week, we will discuss works artists have made inside their homes and intimate spaces as well as of family members and friends. We will build on topics discussed in Week 1 to introduce documentary and conceptual approaches in personal storytelling. Select artists featured include LaToya Ruby Frazier, Kelli Connell, Carrie Mae Weems, Cecil McDonald, and Melissa Pinney.
Event details
Watch video recording
- Additional resources
Download the PDF of images discussed - Read more about LaToya Ruby Frazer in the New York Times
- Hear Lisa Lindvay and Natalie Krick in conversation on the MoCP podcast, Focal Point
- Hear Melissa Ann Pinney and Joanne Leonard in conversation on the MoCP podcast, Focal Point
- Learn more about Cecil McDonald's work and find his book In the Company of Black
Week 3: Landscape and Place
Now bring your camera outside! This print viewing addresses various approaches to the genre of landscape photography from the late-19th Century to the present. We will discuss the numerous ways photographers have imaged the land, its use, and its place within the popular imagination. Select artists featured include William Henry Jackson, Marilyn Bridges, Henry Wessel, Jr., and Barbara Diener.
Event details
Watch video recording (link to come)
Additional resources (links to come)
Week 4: Color Theory
How does the use of color change the way people see your photographs? This session will focus on the fundamentals of color theory and how factors such as time of day, light source, and composition impacts the viewer's perception of color in images. Artists discussed include William Eggleston, Barbara Kasten, William Christenberry, Stephen Shore, Hyers + Mebane, and more.
Event details
Watch video recording (link to come)
Additional resources (links to come)
Week 5: Constructed and Staged Images
What can you build within your home to photograph? The sky is the limit. This session introduces artists who create narratives by carefully composing their settings, altering photographs, or going to more elaborate ends to construct images based in imagination rather than a record of “real” events. Techniques vary, including handmade montage, collage, and stitching together multiple images in the darkroom or digitally. Artists discussed include Jennifer Greenberg, Cindy Sherman, Sandy Skoglund, Mary Sibande, Cortis + Sonderegger, and more.
Event details
Watch video recording (link to come)
Additional resources (links to come)
Week 6: Portraiture and the Human Subject
This session introduces works by historical and contemporary photographers who depict the human subject and where visual information such as setting, clothing, body language, and facial expression speak to the identity of their subjects. Artists discussed include Edward Steichen, Dawoud Bey, Julia Margaret Cameron, Myra Greene, Natalie Krick, Shizuka Yokomizo, and more.
Event details
Watch video recording (link to come)
Additional resources (links to come)
