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This website is generously supported by a grant from the University of California Institute for Research in the Arts (http://www.ucira.ucsb.edu/). Established by Dr. ShiPu Wang, this site exhibits students' works from the course, History & Practice of Photography in the Global Arts Studies Program (GASP) at University of California, Merced. It provides a forum for students and viewers to critique and expand students’ photographic narratives. This interaction enables students to engage in a constant exchange of ideas beyond the classrooms that will also inform their subsequent creation of visual essays and the group exhibition for this course. In Spring 2009, this course is offered as ARTS/GASP 141 History & Practice of Photography.

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About History & Practice of Photography at UC Merced : This upper-division course offers an innovative curricular design that bridges the creative and theoretical sides of photography, traditionally taught separately, by integrating hands-on image making into the study of history. The course challenges students to develop a critical eye and mind and to interrogate our visual culture with their camera and writing. Students examine key texts on the development of photographic technologies and analyze the diverse work of photographers from around the world. Students also investigate cultural and sociopolitical issues in photographic practices, including a postcolonial reading of the so-called anthropological pictures, the use of photography as social construction in the case of W.E.B. DuBois, and photographic performances that call racial and gender stereotypes into question. Our historical survey is punctuated by a series of assignments that require students to produce photographs that correspond to the periods, styles, and photographic inventions under study. As they have to write a short passage to accompany each submission, students are encouraged to explore the nuances of image-text interplays in these visual essays. Students in the Spring 2007 class showed sustained interest in exploring issues concerning the people and their lives in Merced and the San Joaquin Valley; assignments in Spring 2008 require students to continually photograph and write about the changing cultural, economic, and sociopolitical landscape of the Central Valley region. Students will not only explore issues of aesthetics, visual perception, and social consciousness in relation to their imagery, but also dialogue with their peers and visitors via this website to create meaningful and continual interactions. Students can also integrate the course website into their online social networks, such as facebook.com and myspace.com, to reach a broader audience and solicit more diverse feedback. Towards the end of the course, students will collectively curate an online exhibition showcasing their best works and collaborate with the UC Merced Kolligian Library staff to also stage their exhibit on digital screens throughout the campus. Students will design and distribute flyers and posters to advertise the course project and invite local communities to visit the campus and participate via the website throughout the semester. The Effecting Eye will be an interdisciplinary project that encourages students to document and connect with our locality as well as explore the possibility of digital photography and the Internet as crucial tools for them to effect cultural and social changes.

About History & Practice of Photography at UC Merced

GASP 141 Student Portfolios : Students submitted their five best works from this semester. Some chose to re-shoot or improve their original photos; some submitted as they were.

GASP 141 Student Portfolios

Students submitted their five best works from this semester. Some chos ...

Updated: May 07, 2009 3:35pm PST

GASP 141 Group Exhibits Activities : These are snapshots of students curating, presenting and reviewing their group exhibitions. Students have the option to install and present their work at any location on campus that they see fit for their photographic subject matter. The class of 60 students was divided into two groups to visit each exhibit.

GASP 141 Group Exhibits Activities

Photo 1: Encounter/Self-Portrait (Spring '09) : "Who are you?" It is a simple question, but your response may not be simple at all. The challenge is: how do you photographically present your answer, which may be very complex and nuanced, in a single image? What and which aspect or trait of you (and how many of them) can you convey in a photograph? This assignment asks students to take self-portraits, in black and white and in a manner of their choice, that represent their idea(s) of who they are. *141 students: Remember to include your name to get the participation credit for your comments.

Photo 1: Encounter/Self-Portrait (Spring '09)

"Who are you?" It is a simple question, but your response may not be ...

Updated: Feb 09, 2009 10:46pm PST

Photo 2: Delicious (Spring '09) : How do you show "delicious" in a photograph? How do you make a picture "delicious"? How can an image convey a sensory response that is not visual? Students take color photographs to convey their idea(s) of, or to make their viewers think of, "delicious." However, they cannot have people as main subjects (no portraits). They are to find subjects in our surroundings, including the UCM campus, the town, or the greater Valley region. Each image needs to have contrasting elements: soft vs. rough surfaces, curvilinear vs. angular lines, organic vs. geometric shapes, etc. Students are free to extrapolate but should pay special attention to the visual elements we discussed in class: composition, camera angles, exposure, contrast, tonal values, and texture.

Photo 2: Delicious (Spring '09)

How do you show "delicious" in a photograph? How do you make a picture ...

Updated: Feb 12, 2009 8:59am PST

Photo 3: Conflict (Spring '09) : How does a picture convey conflicts? In this assignment, students are encouraged to pursue their own interpretation of the notion(s) of conflict expressed in photographic terms--particularly in relation to our recent discussions of colonial, anthropological, medical, and war pictures. The photograph should not be staged. The objective is for students to find things in everyday life that show conflict in a visually interesting way that would generate discussions, debates, or even controversies. The photograph could be abstract or representational and the subject matter does not have to include people.

Photo 3: Conflict (Spring '09)

How does a picture convey conflicts? In this assignment, students a ...

Updated: Mar 03, 2009 10:50pm PST

Photo 4: Appropriation :

Photo 4: Appropriation

Updated: Apr 21, 2009 10:36am PST

Visual Essay 1: Identity, Mediated (Spring '09) : As an elaboration on Photo 1, this assignment asks students to pair up with a partner, interview her/him and take a picture to present a photographic portrait/representation of the partner. Their portraits, in black and white, imitate but also elaborate on the style of one of the following photographers: Julia Margaret Cameron, David Octavius Hill, Oscar Gustav Rejlander, Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Etienne Carjat, or Gaspard Félix Tournachon Nadar. Students provide a short essay to accompany their portraits. (The essays are posted here, unedited, as they were submitted.) *Click on the images to enlarge or to comment on a specific picture.

Visual Essay 1: Identity, Mediated (Spring '09)

As an elaboration on Photo 1, this assignment asks students to pair up ...

Updated: Mar 01, 2009 9:03pm PST

Visual Essay 2: Fictitious Verisimilitude (Spring '09) : How do we know a picture is real? And what do we mean by "real"? This assignment asks students to create images that blur the line between reality and fiction, photographically speaking.The picture is staged by the student but it should look as “natural” as a random shot. The image should also have enough “narrative potency” by itself, as it tells a complex story beyond what meets one's eyes. In other words, the objectives are to bring fiction out of the real life and present verisimilitude in a constructed image. Students are strongly encouraged to think about how a title can affect the viewer's understanding of an image. Instead of writing an essay to accompany her/his own picture, each student takes creative license to write a 100-word story inspired by one of the photographs here.

Visual Essay 2: Fictitious Verisimilitude (Spring '09)

How do we know a picture is real? And what do we mean by "real"? Th ...

Updated: Apr 13, 2009 9:47am PST

Visual Essay 3: Seduction Merced (Spring '09) : Merced and the San Joaquin Valley region have not received much positive press and the recent headline-making high rates of home foreclosure and unemployment have worsened the public perception (justified or misguided) of this area. For this assignment, students act as important members of a mock non-profit organization in charge of promoting Merced to the national audience. They are given the task of designing a poster, with one to two images and a paragraph of 200 words, to show the "seductive" side(s) of Merced. They have the freedom to choose any subject matter (with or without people) and use any visual style that they deem appropriate to produce an effective poster. There is no specified target audience, either. That is: the poster can appeal to the general public, families, business owners, developers, professionals, or young people like them. They have the following options: 1) Simply submit 1-2 images and a text passage, or 2) Design an actual poster, with the image(s) and text incorporated, and submit a PDF of the poster (this option will be considered for a higher grade). Move your mouse over the picture to select a larger view.

Visual Essay 3: Seduction Merced (Spring '09)

Merced and the San Joaquin Valley region have not received much positi ...

Updated: Apr 29, 2009 12:17pm PST

Exhibition: Signs of Our Time (Spring '09) :

Exhibition: Signs of Our Time (Spring '09)

Updated: Apr 16, 2009 9:19am PST

Visual Essay 1 (Spring '08) : "Change" The first visual essay asks students to use both images and texts to interpret or elaborate on different notions of change -- the most "abstract" of all assignments. Requirements: 1) Incorporate aspects of Merced or the university into the pictures; 2) Each photograph needs to have contrasting elements (rough vs. soft, bright vs. dark, etc.); 3) The accompanying passage, creative in nature, should not explain the meanings of the pictures but should aim to enhance or complicate the viewer's reading of the images; and 4) People cannot be the main subjects in this visual essay. As the very first assignment, students are only beginning to explore the possibilities and complex relationships between imagery and text. Some already did a good job, but all will improve and grow, as the online and in-class feedback, and course readings and lectures, will help students develop their eyes and skills. Feel free to leave encouragement or criticism for these students. Please be constructive; we are all learning to do better. (Note: the texts and comments have not been redacted, edited, or corrected for typos or errors)

Visual Essay 1 (Spring '08)

"Change" The first visual essay asks students to use both images an ...

Updated: Feb 06, 2008 12:55pm PST

Visual Essay 2 (Spring '08) : "Identity, Mediated" Paired up randomly, students take two pictures to represent their partners after interviewing each other. The black & white portrait imitates the style of one of the following photographers whose work we have discussed in class: Julia Margaret Cameron, David Octavius Hill, Oscar Gustav Rejlander, Matthew Brady, Alexander Gardner, Etienne Carjat, or Gaspard Félix Tournachon Nadar. Students choose their own style and approach they deem appropriate to portray their partners in the color picture. Students are encouraged to use the essay to help the viewer understand who their partners are, or the essay can even contradict the way their partners are portrayed in their photographs. Alternatively, the photographs and words can give their partners a constructed identity that might be different from their own perception. *Students: when commenting on the b&w pictures, think about whether or not the evocation of a specific photographer's work is successful. Consider how much effort the photographer/model put into staging the shot (dress/costume, props, lighting, etc.) and what you think should have been done to make the picture better. Consider the composition, contrast, saturation, and image/text relationship when commenting on each photograph. (Note: the texts and comments have not been redacted, edited, or corrected for typos or errors)

Visual Essay 2 (Spring '08)

"Identity, Mediated" Paired up randomly, students take two pictures ...

Updated: Mar 11, 2008 11:19am PST

Visual Essay 3 (Spring '08) : As students were introduced to the work of Friedlander, Winogrand, Sherman, Goldin, Wall, and others, their objectives in this assignment are to bring fiction out of the real life and present verisimilitude in a constructed image. Comments are direct posts from students and have not been edited. Unlike the previous visual essays, students do not write their own accompanying texts. Instead, they choose five pictures and write their interpretations or stories inspired by viewing the images. You are welcome to either comment on the quality of the photographs or participate in the image/text interplays by supplying your own interpretive or creative texts. *Comments are posted directly by students and have not been edited.

Visual Essay 3 (Spring '08)

As students were introduced to the work of Friedlander, Winogrand, She ...

Updated: Apr 25, 2008 11:55pm PST

Visual Essay 4 (Spring '08) :

Visual Essay 4 (Spring '08)

Updated: Apr 30, 2008 6:28pm PST

Exhibition: Signs of Our Time (Spring '08) :

Exhibition: Signs of Our Time (Spring '08)

Student Portfolios (Spring '08) : Students were asked to take pictures that photographically interpret the topic of their choosing under the larger theme, "Signs of Our time." They had to submit five photographs for their individual portfolios. With three or four members in each group, students worked together to curate their own exhibition that presented eight of their best images. Twelve mini-exhibits in PowerPoint and QuickTime formats were showcased in class and collectively judged. Here are students' portfolios organized in the order of their respective groups. Feel free to comment on the individual and/or overall quality of the photographs and portfolios. *Click on the pictures to rank them.

Student Portfolios (Spring '08)

password protected gallery

Chiura Obata

Updated: May 03, 2009 9:51am PST

password protected gallery

Chiura Obata at SDMA

Updated: Apr 10, 2009 1:17pm PST