Dawit L. Petros

Topics courses cover a wide range of aesthetic concerns and change according to the semester and faculty, allowing a more in-depth examination of specific topics within photography. The courses provide students access to the specific topics driving faculty research and practice, as well as allowing the department to nimbly address issues pressing to our current context and time. Additionally, these courses are used to address the interests of students not already covered in our curriculum. The format ranges in each section, but these six hour studio courses are meant to engage students in both research and making, developing their own artistic trajectory. The format is often experimental, modeling the artistic practice of the instructor and generously expanding the photographic medium.

Close-reading and discussion are essential; looking at and discussing art; creating new work and exchanging feedback. Recent topics have included: Decolonizing the Gaze, Desire, Representation and the Self, Screen Capture, Creative Production and Portfolio, Observing Power, Rich and Poor, The Archive, and Constructing the Rural. Readings are subject to individual course topics and not exemplified here.

This interdisciplinary capstone, with an emphasis on contemporary photography and visual culture, is structured as an intensive critique and mentoring class focused on the development and presentation of culminating work at the end of the BFA and the continued progression of studio work beyond the BFA exhibition. The course supports the production of self-initiated work, a successful BFA show and a road map for a sustainable art practice after graduation. Preparations for the BFA exhibition include workshopping project proposals, budgets, production schedules, the development of new work and an array of possible final presentation forms.

Readings, screenings and discussions will examine useful models of participation in cultural production and a critical framework for analyzing a range of platforms to share work online, in print and exhibition. Studio visits will provide insight into the day-to-day life of artists at various stages in their career ranging from current SAIC grad students to working professionals.

Online and printed portfolios utilizing an ever-evolving archive of work will be refined along with professional supporting materials such as statements, CVs and artist talks necessary for a professional practice beyond graduation.