Alan Labb

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.

Capturing Time explores the relationship between cinematic and photographic images through historical, theoretical, and artistic practices. Students will investigate the elusive concept of time and its presence across disciplines, forming the foundation for creating and experiencing time-based art.

Weekly readings, screenings, and research will examine time, temporality, and the boundaries of still and moving images. Historical and contemporary resources will inform studio work, including visual exercises and a final project, culminating in a substantial body of work in each student¿s chosen medium.