Experimental Photography

Subject 760-249 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009.

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 2 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Semester 1, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 1-hour lecture and 2-hour practical workshop, and four hours of studio access per week
Total Time Commitment: 3 contact hours/week , 5 additional hours/week. Total of 8 hours per week.
Prerequisites: 25 points of first year visual media or equivalent.
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Coordinator

Dr Barb Bolt

Contact

Creative Arts Office Phone: 8344 8389
Subject Overview: This subject examines the so-called authenticity of photographic images. Through a series of lectures students will gain an understanding of how artists including Man Ray, Moholy-Nagy, Peter Kennedy and Martyn Jolly have diverged from the mainstream of straight photography from the beginning of the twentieth century until the present. Composition and aesthetic principles will also be covered in the lectures. Art criticism, interpreting images and identifying context will be covered in lectures leading students to develop critiquing skills to enable them to evaluate their own work and the work of others. In their practical projects students will explore concepts such as deception, illusion, representing the un-representable, absence, emptiness, photomontage and distortion using devices such as layering, blurring, ghosting, photograms and digital effects. To achieve these visual effects they will be introduced to studio lighting and advanced Photoshop techniques. Students can also combine their photographs with other visual media and/or text.
Objectives:
  • comprehend the reasons why artists might want to diverge from 'straight' photography;
  • understand the various means that are available to achieve illusory effects;
  • be able to demonstrate that they have the necessary technical skills to create illusory images.
Assessment: Class participation and work equivalent to 4000 words comprising three photo assignments 60% (due during semester) and a final folio of six related prints with a written introduction to the folio 40% (due at the end of semester). In week 9 each student will give a brief presentation of their proposed final project.
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader will be available.
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • be able to work independently to carry a concept through to an artistic outcome;
  • demonstrate sound and independent critical and ethical thinking in their choice of materials and processes;
  • able to discuss their work conceptually and technically in a group image review
Notes: Students who have completed 760-222 Media Production: Photography are ineligible to enrol in this subject. Students without a basic knowledge of photography must complete the relevant online modules in MAIL: Media Arts Interactive Learning. A basic knowledge of Photoshop is required. A quota of 40 students applies to this subject.
Related Course(s): Bachelor of Creative Arts
Bachelor of Creative Arts and Bachelor of Music
Bachelor of Creative Arts and Bachelor of Teaching
Diploma in Creative Arts

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