Looking at Photographs

I'd like you to keep your Looking at Photographs text on your personal bookshelf— basically for life. It's a beautiful and thought-provoking collection from the Museum of Modern Art with really excellent commentary. Having done a photography project for this class, you hopefully now find the photos in the collection more meaningful than ever (if you were already familiar with them) or freshly meaningful (if you had never seen them prior to this class).

The book is not just an accessory to the course, however. I want to give you a fairly significant extra credit opportunity which involves digging into the piece a bit. This brief project is worth a maximum of 7 points, which can easily be the difference between a lower and a higher grade at the end of the term.

Instructions

You have one of three options:

1. Select any one photo in the text and do some fairly thorough research on it. Look up any background facts which aren't already in the book itself, but also discover what critics have said and how the piece has been understood since its inception. Your paper will be a report on what you find. When you come across interpretations or critical analyses, see if you can identify what kind of critical lens is being used by any particular writer. 3 pages, typed and double-spaced.
2. Select three photos from the text and do a brief but intensive formalist summary of each. That is, identify what photographic and design techniques are used to create the image. Be very specific and draw on our various course materials dealing with the camera, photography, types of art, and design. Write a minimum of one fully developed paragraph for each photo.
3. Take a photo yourself which in some way imitates the work of one of the artists in the text. You should imitate at least three specific techniques or elements: lighting, subject matter, exposure, composition, theme, style, genre, etc. You might think, for instance, about mode: is the shot representational or abstract? Is it "captured" from life as it's going by—ala David Doublas Duncan or Weegee —or is everything in the shop deliberately inserted and composed (staged), as in Chalres Sheeler or Wright Morris? Does the shot REVEAL what we wouldn't normally see, or does it question the very notion of seeing itself? Does it have a didactic purpose, or is it meant to be experienced for its own sake? Etc. Include your photo and a brief (no more than 1-page, typed and double-spaced) explanation of what you were imitating.

For All Options

• Type your work using MLA manuscript format.
• Edit and proofread for clarity, concision, mechanical correctness.
• Document sources using MLA guidelines.
• Post your finished piece in our Blackboard Drop Box, under "Looking at Photographs: Extra Credit."

An "A" effort accomplishes what is asked for and then some. Stands out.

A "B" effort accomplishes everything that is asked for.

A "C" effort accomplishes some of what is asked for.

A "D" effort accomplishes a little of what is asked for.

An "F" effort accomplished none or almost none of what is asked for.

A = 7 pts
B = 6
C = 5
D = 4
F = 0

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