From its official introduction to the public in 1839 photography was heralded as an art and a science. However, while scientific applications came immediately, it took 100 years before photography was accepted as a major art form. In this class we will learn about the practices and debates that have surrounded photography since its inception. We will examine the visual—photographs and paintings— as well as the textual evidence that mark the evolution of photography from the early-nineteenth century to today. We will learn how to understand photographs in their historical as well as modern artistic, political, and economic contexts. We will especially consider how photography developed into acceptance as an art and its influence on other art forms in particular painting.
View complete course outline: ARTH360A2010 [.pdf]