Experimental Photography: An Introduction

Quarters
Summer Open
Location
Olympia
Class Standing
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Julia Zay

What is a photograph? Explore this question in a hands-on, 3-week intensive introduction to analog cameraless photographic techniques. We'll take advantage of long, bright summer days to learn non-traditional photographic printmaking approaches, test the boundaries of our understanding of photography, and experiment with our processes and materials. We'll focus on the many approaches to making photograms, a cameraless image related to the monoprint, both in the black-and-white darkroom and with handmade emulsions exposed in the sun. We will create these photographic images using common materials and largely non-toxic chemicals to create emulsions sensitive to UV light, coating paper with these emulsions, creating compositions on paper with stencils, hand-made negatives, found objects and materials, plants, fruits, vegetables, and more, exposing our compositions in the sun, processing them in water and hanging them to dry. Techniques include: silver-gelatin (darkroom) photograms, cyanotypes (also known as "blueprints" or "sunprints"), Van Dyke Brown, anthotypes (plant-based dye/emulsions), lumenprints (exposing black + white photo paper in UV light), and as many hybrid combinations of these techniques as you can invent.

Class sessions combine demonstrations, supervised studio work, group critique and discussion, and short presentations on historical and contemporary practices and artists. Students submit a complete portfolio of all work made and participate in a final critique.

This class welcomes everyone from beginners to advanced practitioners; it is equally suited to students new to photography who want to learn basic photographic principles through experimental, low-tech methods, more advanced photography students who are ready to incorporate non-silver, non-digital techniques in their practice and experiment with new materials; and students with a background in 2D visual art who are interested in exploring the rich intersections of drawing, painting, printmaking, and photographic processes. 

This class is a 3-week intensive, June 24 - July 12, 2024, offered for 4 or 8 credits. Students enrolled for 4 credits will attend class 1.5 days/week and students enrolled for 8 credits will attend 3 days/week. Assignment quantity and scale will be scaled accordingly. 

This class is a prerequisite for "Experimental Photography: Projects," offered in the 2nd summer session for students interested in advancing skills learned in this class through individually designed projects.

Registration

Course Reference Numbers
First Session (8): 40013
First Session (4): 40158

Academic Details

Arts, Humanities, Education

4
8
12
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Senior

$135 fee covers all specialized supplies [photographic paper and photo chemicals ($85)] and the required media studio fee ($50).

Total out-of-pocket costs will range $20-50. Students will be expected to purchase a few basic art supplies, some available at the Evergreen bookstore, and a list will be provided before the class begins. Students will also need to bring a range of found objects, materials, etc. that can be found at second-hand stores, dollar stores, etc. Handouts and Readings will be provided as hard copies and/or PDFs for download. An optional textbook, "The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes" (3rd edition), by Christopher James, is approximately $75 to buy or $26 to rent.

Schedule

Summer
2024
Open
In Person (Su)

See definition of Hybrid, Remote, and In-Person instruction

Day
Schedule Details
Evans Hall 1326 - Workshop
Olympia

Revisions

Date Revision
2024-05-21 Added 4 credit option