Photography
The teaching area of photography focuses on conceptual work and experimenting with the photographic medium.
Starting out from the perception of photography as a medium that represents reality, students will explore the difference between the photographic depiction and the depicted subject as a way of discovering the possibilities, conditions and boundaries of the medium. This can also involve going beyond the realm of photography and incorporating other media. Possible areas of study include works that straddle the border between still and moving images, or practices that combine ‘hand-crafted’ approaches with machine-based or photographic methods of recording.
We look at how photographic images have been used by artists in previous decades, but also how photographs turn up in different areas of present-day society and the influence they have upon the viewer’s gaze – considering, for example, the use of product photography by manufacturing companies, the pictures generated by surveillance technology or everyday images created with camera phones. Another interesting aspect is the relationship between photography and painting, as painting has had the most significant influence on our idea of what makes a ‘successful’ image.
Studying art photography is not just a matter of reflecting upon the medium, however; it also involves engaging with historical, social, political, local, private or marginal themes, subjecting these to careful examination and evaluating one’s own particular interest in them, with a view to subsequently working on these topics using photographic means or another medium.
The aim is for students to develop their individual artistic stance, which may also be clearly opposed to the content and themes described above. In this respect, the realm of photography serves as a reflective framework within which students are encouraged to formulate their own position.
Starting out from the perception of photography as a medium that represents reality, students will explore the difference between the photographic depiction and the depicted subject as a way of discovering the possibilities, conditions and boundaries of the medium. This can also involve going beyond the realm of photography and incorporating other media. Possible areas of study include works that straddle the border between still and moving images, or practices that combine ‘hand-crafted’ approaches with machine-based or photographic methods of recording.
We look at how photographic images have been used by artists in previous decades, but also how photographs turn up in different areas of present-day society and the influence they have upon the viewer’s gaze – considering, for example, the use of product photography by manufacturing companies, the pictures generated by surveillance technology or everyday images created with camera phones. Another interesting aspect is the relationship between photography and painting, as painting has had the most significant influence on our idea of what makes a ‘successful’ image.
Studying art photography is not just a matter of reflecting upon the medium, however; it also involves engaging with historical, social, political, local, private or marginal themes, subjecting these to careful examination and evaluating one’s own particular interest in them, with a view to subsequently working on these topics using photographic means or another medium.
The aim is for students to develop their individual artistic stance, which may also be clearly opposed to the content and themes described above. In this respect, the realm of photography serves as a reflective framework within which students are encouraged to formulate their own position.
Current Seminars
Aktuelles Fachseminar: "Photographic" Utopia,
Alex Grein
Alex Grein
Freitag wöchentlich 14:00 – 16:00
Erster Termin 25.10.2021
Filzengraben 2, Aula
Ggf. auch als Online-Seminar.
Im Fachseminar „Photographic" Utopia sollen Ideen entwickelt werden, wie eine utopische „Fotografie" aussehen könnte und inwieweit eine gesellschaftliche Relevanz darin zu erkennen wäre. Fragen, ob die Kameras der Zukunft überhaupt noch von Menschen bedient werden oder wie sich Motiv und Material verändern können, sind Bestandteil dieser Auseinandersetzung. Das Themenfeld kann medienübergreifend bearbeitet werden.
Neben der künstlerischen Auseinandersetzung soll ein theoretischer Diskurs anhand von Texten und Filmen das Seminar begleiten. Theoretiker:innen wie zum Beispiel Joanna Zylinska oder die Reihe „Digitale Bildkulturen“ (Verlag Klaus Wagenbach) sollen hier die Grundlage bilden. Ziel des Fachseminars ist eine Gruppenausstellung, die von einer gemeinsam erarbeiteten Publikation begleitet wird.
Aktuelles Grundlagenseminar: Fotografie I
Heiko Diekmeier, Alex Grein, Claudia Trekel
Heiko Diekmeier, Alex Grein, Claudia Trekel
Grundlagenseminar Fotografie Grundstudium
Dienstag wöchentlich 10:00 – 13:00
Erster Termin 26.10.2021
Filzengraben 2, Aula
ggf. auch als Online-Seminar.
Das Seminar besteht aus zwei wöchentlich wechselnden Teilen.
In einem Teil wird anhand der studentischen Arbeiten an der Entwicklung einer eigenen künstlerischen Haltung gearbeitet. Die Studierenden zeigen ihre aktuellen Skizzen und Projekte, wobei diese auch über das Medium Fotografie hinausweisen können. Daneben wird eine Auswahl sowohl etablierter als auch aktueller künstlerischer Positionen, die mit dem Medium Fotografie arbeiten, im Seminar vorgestellt und diskutiert.
In dem anderen Teil des Seminars werden fototechnische Grundlagen vermittelt. Themen wie Blende, Verschlusszeit
und Tiefenschärfe werden im Umgang mit digitalen Spiegelreflexkameras behandelt. Die Aufnahmetechnik im Studiobereich und der Umgang mit den verschiedenen Scannern, Druckern und dem Durst Lambda-Belichter werden in kleinen Gruppen eingehend erläutert. Erste einführende Schritte in das Bildbearbeitungsprogramm Photoshop ergänzen die technische Einweisung.
Im Sommersemester 2022 wird als Fortsetzung ein Grundlagenseminar Fotografie II angeboten.
Das Grundlagenseminar wird zunächst auf 20 Personen begrenzt. Abhängig von der Situation und den damit verbundenen Hygienebestimmungen ändert sich ggfs. die Anzahl der Teilnehmenden.
Semesterapparat: Heroes of the Year: Helena Almeida, Hilla und Bernd Becher, Talia Chetrit, Simon Denny, Jan Dibbets,
Roni Horn, Sabine Hornig, Annette Kelm, Mark Leckey, Katja Novitskova, Pedro Paiva & João Maria Gusmão, Peter Piller, Andrzej Steinbach, Rebecca Ann Tess.
