Syllabus: Constructing a Narrative

University Settlement Digital Photography

Instructor: Christina Freeman

christinahfreeman@gmail.com

class blog: www.universitysettlementphoto.blogspot.com

Syllabus: Constructing a Narrative

Learn how to use photography to tell a story- whether it be truth or fiction. Students will explore narrative both through individual images and series. We will discuss narrative both in documentary photography and in staged fine art photography by referring to works that have shaped the medium. Some of the photographers we will discuss include: Sebastiao Salgado, Nikki Lee, Sophie Calle, Cindy Sherman, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Kelli Connell, Graciela Iturbide, Duane Michals, Sally Mann, Nan Goldin, Collier Schorr, Jeff Wall, Phillip Lorca Di Corcia, Dawoud Bey, Lorna Simpson, Hank Willis Thomas.

This workshop will address the following questions:

Is the narrative about a person(s) or culture?

Is the narrative about a place or other inanimate object?

What is the time span of the narrative? (5 years, 30 years, 1 day?)

Is the narrative fiction or non-fiction?

Who or what inspires the narrative?

Will it have a specific order (sequence)? Will it have a non-traditional structure? Will it start in the middle or at the end?

Will it be made of straight photographs or images constructed in Photoshop? Or a combination of both? Will you use found imagery?

What form will it take? One single image or a series? Very small photographs or very large ones?

Why is this narrative important to you?

Subjectivity vs. Objectivity: from whose point of view is the story told?

Course Outline

week 1 (march 9): what is narrative?

outline for the workshop

documentary narrative vs. constructed narrative

slideshow of artists

brainstorm of ideas

week 2 (march 16):

slideshow of artists

students present outline for project

discuss student ideas and look at preliminary images

review technical elements of photography

week 3 (march 23):

slideshow of artists

discuss student ideas

week 4 (march 30):

field trip

week 5 (april 6):

slideshow of artists

group critique

week 6 (april 13):

slideshow of artists

group critique

week 7 (april 20):

slideshow of artists

group critique

week 8 (april 27):

students present final project