Course Description
For many photographers, seeing their work in book form is the ultimate goal. But how do you move from a collection of images to a publication that is thoughtfully edited, sequenced, designed, titled, and capable of expressing years of sustained inquiry?
Making photographs is often easier than understanding what they mean when viewed together. This course explores the photobook as a critical tool for editing, interpretation, and meaning-making. Through discussions, critiques, and hands-on exercises, students will develop strategies for evaluating bodies of work, refining point of view, exploring text-image relationships, and designing a coherent visual narrative. Beginning with work prints on the wall, floor, or table, students will work toward creating an InDesign prototype that could eventually be self-published or presented to publishers.
Because documentary photography encompasses a wide range of approaches—from traditional reportage to personal, subjective, and conceptual practices—students will engage with an expansive selection of photobooks to better understand the field and contextualize their own work. Whether you identify as a documentary photographer or simply want to explore the book as a vehicle for organizing and clarifying your ideas, this course is open to all students interested in developing a deeper understanding of their work through the photobook form.
Instructor
Paul D'Amato is a Guggenheim Fellow and Pollock-Krasner Fellow whose work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, among other major institutions. His photobook Here/Still/Now received the 2018 Lucie Foundation Book Prize, and he has been awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Grant to Bellagio, Italy, and multiple Illinois Arts Council fellowships. Over four decades, his influential documentary practice has produced several celebrated photobooks, including Barrio, Here/Still/Now, and Rave.
DEtails
1821 W Hubbard St, Suite 207. Chicago, IL 60622
September 13th - November 18th
Tuesday Nights
6:00 - 9:00 PM
Requirements
Laptop
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Lightroom