Jeff Curto - Photo History Lectures

Jeff Curto podcasts

genre: Arts/Visual Arts

History of Photography Lectures

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Photo History – Class 15 Spring 2012 – Photograph as Document, Concept as Photograph
5/2/2012
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Duration: 1:57:08

The 15th and final class session for the spring 2012 term examines documentary and conceptual photography, looking at the motivation and rationale behind them. We also try to tie up the ideas of the course with some concluding remarks. The History of Photography Podcast will be back in the fall 2012 semester. Until then, you [...]
Photo History – Class 14 Spring 2012 – Szarkowski: How To See
4/26/2012
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Duration: 37:43

During his 29-year tenure as Director of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the great curator and photographer John Szarkowski (1925 to 2007) changed the way the world saw photography. This short class session introduces Szarkowski’s work and was followed by a short film about him. Slides for this [...]
Photo History – Class 13 Spring 2012 – The Atomic Age and New Frontiers
4/18/2012
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Duration: 1:20:10

The middle of the 20th century was a time of tremendous change in all areas of the world and especially in the world of photography. This class session looks at the changes that photography experienced during the atomic age through an examination of the cultural, political and artistic climate of the time. Slides for this [...]
Jeff’s 2012 Italy Photography Workshops
4/14/2012
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Duration: Not Available

I’ll be leading two small-group photography workshops in Italy this summer… here are some of the details.     See itineraries for Tuscany and Venice Registration information Email Jeff jeff@jeffcurto.com
Photo History – Class 12 Spring 2012 – The Manipulative Impulse
4/12/2012
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Duration: 1:38:36

Is any photograph real? This question comes up as we trace the trajectory of the manipulated image in this class session. We also try to see if we can figure out where our digital photographic age is taking us and whether we want to go there. Slides for this class session – Manipulation Handout for [...]
Photo History – Class 11 Spring 2012 – Women in Photography
3/29/2012
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Duration: 1:35:45

Is anatomy destiny? This class session looks at women’s photography by examining the work of various female photographers as well as by looking at the bigger issue of whether the photographer’s gender changes the images that are made. Slides for this class session Handout for this class session  
Photo History – Class 10 Spring 2012 – Muybridge, Marey & the Movies
3/21/2012
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Duration: 00:01

Stop-motion photography as practiced by Edweard Muybridge and Etienne-Jules Marey and others is the topic of this class session. These scientific experiments ultimately led to the development of motion pictures by Edison. This “studio” recording of the class session uses a video format so the full-motion of movies played within the presentation can be seen. [...]
Photo History – Class 9 Spring 2012 – Cameras Big and Small
3/16/2012
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Duration: 1:50:01

This week, we examine photographers using large cameras and those using small cameras and try to examine the importance of the choice of tools to the photographer. Does the tool drive the idea, or the idea drive the tool? Slides for this class session Handout for this class session  
Photo History – Class 8 Spring 2012 – Stieglitz and the Photo Secession
3/8/2012
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Duration: 1:57:08

One of the great characters in the history of the medium, Alfred Stieglitz was also one of the most influential photographers and promoters of photography of the 20th century. In this class, we look at Stieglitz and the group of photographers and other artists he gathered around him. We also try to examine why what [...]
Photo History – Class 7 Spring 2012 – Stereography and Standard Subjects
3/1/2012
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Duration: 1:12:15

A slightly shorter class session, as we cover two smaller topics: 1) the ideas surrounding stereoscopic photography, 2) the way 19th century photographers handled photographing standard subjects; once you take away subject, what other choices do photographers have to make? Slides for this class session Handout for this class session The Rephotographic Survey  
Photo History – Class 6 Spring 2012 – Photography and Painting
2/23/2012
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Duration: 1:43:21

The interactive relationship that painting and photography have had for 170 years is the topic of this class session. We attempt to look at how painting influenced photography and vice-versa. We also look briefly at how what photographs “look like” influence our understanding of what they are. Slides from this class session Handout from this [...]
Photo History – Class 5 Spring 2012 – Photography as Transport + On The Road
2/16/2012
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Duration: 1:31:58

Photography as a form of transportation is the topic for class #5. We look at how the advent of wet-plate collodion technology spurred the advance of travel and landscape photography, with a special emphasis on photography of the American west. There is also a brief exploration of 20th century photographers who went “on the road” [...]
Photo History – Class 4 Spring 2012 – Light & Likeness: Portrait Photography
2/9/2012
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Duration: 2:01:46

The 4th class meeting starts a more conceptual approach to the medium’s history. We look at 19th, 20th and some 21st century portraits and see if we can draw some conclusions about what makes a good portrait photograph. We also see if we can draw some parallels with the words and ideas of the Transcendentalist [...]
Photo History – Class 3 Spring 2012 – History Survey Part 2
2/3/2012
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Duration: 2:00:49

In this second part of a two-part survey, we continue our fast trip through the history of photography, attempting to get a handle on who did what, when they did it and how it happened. We start in around 1880 and finish up in the 1990s. Slides for this class session Handouts for this class [...]
Photo History – Class 2 Spring 2012 – History Survey Part 1
1/27/2012
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Duration: 2:07:33

Class session #2 is the first part of a two-part overview of the history of photography; a sort of “condensed” history in order to get a sense of the medium’s “who, what, when and where.” This week, we cover from 1800 B.C. to 1888 A.D. The podcast has moved from being an “enhanced” podcast to [...]
Photo History – Class 1 Spring 2012 – Course Intro & Overview
1/21/2012
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Duration: 1:56:56

In this first class meeting for the spring, 2012 semester, we spend the first 60 minutes or so going over class mechanics & course technology enhancements, including explanation of this podcast and other internet resources. The last hour is spent looking at some of the problems that the photo historian faces, including an introduction to [...]
Photo History – Class 15 Fall 11 – Photograph as Document, Concept as Photograph
12/9/2011
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Duration: 1:58:16

The 15th and final class session for the fall 2010 term examines documentary and conceptual photography, looking at the motivation and rationale behind them. We also try to tie up the ideas of the course with some concluding remarks. Slides for this class session Handouts for this class session
Photo History – Class 14 Fall 11 – The Atomic Age and New Frontiers
12/1/2011
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Duration: 1:13:49

The middle of the 20th century was a time of tremendous change in all areas of the world and especially in the world of photography. This class session looks at the changes that photography experienced during the atomic age through an examination of the cultural, political and artistic climate of the time. Slides for this [...]
Photo History – Class 13 Fall 11 – Szarkowski: How To See
11/22/2011
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Duration: 32:24

During his 29-year tenure as Director of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the great curator and photographer John Szarkowski (1925 to 2007) changed the way the world saw photography. This short class session introduces Szarkowski’s work and was followed by a short film about him. Slides for this [...]
Photo History – Spring 09 : Art Institute of Chicago Field Trip
3/15/2009
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Duration: 46:19

Field Trip! The Photo History class visits the The Mary L. and Leigh B. Block Photography Study Room at the Art Institute of Chicago, giving us the opportunity to see original images from the history of the medium. The Art Institute of Chicago: The AIC Photography Department The AIC Photo Study Room
Photo History Intersession – January 14
1/15/2009
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Duration: 04:39

The 5th and final Photo History Intersession commemorates the anniversary of the death of 19th century photographer Charles Dodgeson. Dodgeson, better known by his writing pen name of Lewis Carroll, was an important and interesting photographer as well as an author. Alice Liddell – Photograph by Charles Dodgeson aka Lewis Carroll (left) and Julia Margaret [...]
Photo History Intersession – January 05
1/5/2009
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Duration: 06:05

The 4th Photo History Intersession looks at two rather dramatically opposed technical applications of photography: The first X-Ray image, made by Wilhelm Röntgen in 1896 and the first auroral (northern lights) photograph made by Martin Brendel in 1892. (left) First X-Ray image by Wilhelm Röntgen – 1896 & (right) First auroral (northern lights) photograph by [...]
Photo History Intersession – January 01
1/1/2009
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Duration: 08:30

In the third History of Photography Intersession, we look at some interesting events from January first, as we commemorate the birth date of photographer William Klein, the anniversary of the death of Edward Weston, some facts about George Eastman and his inventions and the birth of the Associated Press Wirephoto. William Klein at Masters of [...]
Photo History Intersession – December 29
12/30/2008
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Duration: Not Available

The second “intersession” history of photography podcast commemorates the anniversary of the death of French photographer Robert Demachy, who was active around the turn of the 20th century, as photography was trying to find its artistic self. Robert Demachy at The Art of the Photogravure
Photo History Intersession – December 20
12/21/2008
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Duration: 05:58

In the first of a few “intersession” podcasts between the fall and spring semesters, we commemorate the birth date of photojournalist W. Eugene Smith (1918) and the anniversary of the death of photographer Bill Brandt (1983). W. Eugene Smith at Masters of Photography Bill Brandt at Masters of Photography
Photo History Summer School – August 22
8/26/2008
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Duration: 04:46

We bring the summer school sessions to a close with a rememberance of the 100th birthday of the great photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson. Henri Cartier-Bresson, “Hyères, France, 1932″
Photo History Summer School – July 16
7/16/2008
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Duration: 04:36

On this date in 1926, National Geographic Magazine published color underwater photographs; a photographic first. This wasn’t the first attempt at underwater photography, however; photographers had been taking pictures below the waves since 1856. svgallery=underwater Links: Wayne Levin Photography National Geographic Underwater Photo History
Photo History Summer School – July 7
7/7/2008
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Duration: 00:01

Alexander Gardner photographed the hanging of the Lincoln Conspirators on July 7, 1865. This image and a pair of Gardner’s portraits of two of the men who are about to be executed are the subjects of this Photo History Summer School session. Click on images for larger views:
Photo History Summer School – July 5
7/5/2008
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Duration: 06:06

Powerful and horrific photographs of the effects of the Battle of Gettysburg by Timothy O’Sullivan and Alexander Gardner are the subject of today’s Photo History Summer School. Click Images for a larger view Above: Timothy O’Sullivan – A Harvest of Death – July, 1863 Above: Alexander Gardner – The Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter, July, [...]
Photo History Summer School – June 8
6/8/2008
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Duration: 00:01

In this summer school session, we explore two remarkable photographers; the Vietnamese photojournalist Nick Ut whose best-known image was created on this date and the Chinese pictorial master Don Hong-Oai, who died on this date in 2004. svgallery=ut_hong-oai Links for this session: Nick Ut at DigitalJournalist.com Kim Foundation International Don Hong-Oai at PhotoEye Chin-san Long [...]
Photo History Summer School – May 30
5/31/2008
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Duration: 00:01

Today’s summer school session is all about color. On this date in 1904, The Parisian brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière presented their patented color photographic process, the Autochrome, to the French Academy of Sciences. The Autochrome was the first commercially feasible color photographic process; the first time photographers could reliably produce color images. This is [...]
Photo History Summer School – May 25
5/26/2008
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Duration: 06:09

In today’s May 25th edition of Photo History Summer School, we note the birth dates of the avant garde Cech photographer Jaroslav Rossler and the oddly surrealistic American photographer Ralph Eugene Meatyard as well as the anniversary of the death of the preeminant war photographer Robert Capa. Some images by Rossler, Meatyard and Capa: svgallery=meatyardrosslercapa
Photo History Summer School – May 23
5/24/2008
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Duration: 04:46

Cornell Capa, the photojournalist and tireless advocate of humanistic photography died today, May 23, 2008. He was 90 years old. A great and committed photographer, Capa’s heartfelt images were often overshadowed by two other elements in his life. One was the photography of his brother, the pre-eminent war photographer Robert Capa. The other was the [...]
Photo History Summer School – May 13
5/14/2008
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Duration: 05:29

It’s summer, but photo history doesn’t rest… May 13th is the anniversary of the birth of Czech photography Jan Saudek (1935, Prague) and also the anniversary of the death (1980) of German photographer Otto Umbehr, known as Umbo. This “summer school” podcast briefly presents their work. Some images by Jan Saudek & Umbo svgallery=saudek_umbo Websites [...]
The Camera in The Cathedral: A Brief History of Photography of the Natural World
2/24/2008
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Duration: 56:27

From the very beginning of the medium, photographers have wanted to portray their sense of wonder and awe in the face of the natural world through the camera’s lens, often offering up nature as the Great American Cathedral. This romantic tradition continues, but the mid-20th century saw a change in the way photographers looked at [...]

Jeff Curto - Photo History Lectures

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