Finding meaning in your own photography is something I’ve prattled on about for the past year, and now there’s a MoMA free (Museum of Modern Art) online course called “Seeing Through Photographs” on Coursera that continues with this motif.
If you are interested in finding out more on my thoughts on how to photography with meaning, check out an article here I recently wrote for Digital-Photography-School.com.
The goal of this free course is to help photographers (or anyone really) interested in photography to learn perspectives and techniques of those who have already mastered the craft.
I am a huge proponent of all creatives, whether photographer, painter, graphic designer, writer, finding meaning in creative projects because it gives us more of a connection to our work, teaches us things we didn’t already know about photography, and forces us out of our comfort zones to take more chances in our photography practice.
This master class provides an amazing curriculum of introductory lectures and a photography book list that will inspire and teach invaluable information on iconic photographers, methods, the history of photography, and much more.
The course explores the following themes:
- Introduction to Seeing Through Photographs
- One Subject, Many Perspectives
- Documentary Photography
- Pictures of People
- Constructing Narratives and Challenging Histories
- Ocean of Images: Photography and Contemporary Culture
Led by Sarah Meister, Curator, Department of Photography, the course introduces learners to firsthand perspectives and ideas from artists and scholars about what a photograph is and the many ways in which photography has been used throughout history and into the present day: as a means of personal artistic expression; a tool for science and exploration; a method for documenting people, places, and events; a way of telling stories and recording histories; and a mode of communication and critique in our increasingly visual culture.
Original course content includes dynamic conversations, artist studio visits, and a close look at works from MoMA’s collection, and features:
- Six short films featuring Katy Grannan, Marvin Heiferman, Vik Muniz, Nicholas Nixon, Hank Willis Thomas, and Sarah Meister
- Four video conversations featuring New Photography 2015: Ocean of Images artists Ilit Azoulay, Lucas Blalock, David Horvitz, and Anouk Kruithof
- 6 audio slideshows featuring interviews with artists Tina Barney, Iñaki Bonillas, Harrell Fletcher, Mike Mandel, Susan Meiselas, Nicholas Nixon, Walid Raad, Martha Rosler, Thomas Ruff, Carrie Mae Weems, and Akram Zaatari, and curators Sarah Meister, Roxana Marcoci, Quentin Bajac, and Eva Respini (Chief Curator, ICA Boston)
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