After finishing a week of intensive Czech instruction, it was time to jump into the rest of my classes. My academics this semester are unusual to me in a few ways. The first reason is that I am taking my core classes through my study abroad program which are taught by Miroslav Vojtěchovský, an award-winning Czech photographer. In addition to my core classes, I am also taking an elective class on fashion and studio photography with a Prague-based professional photographer and completing a few lighting workshops through CET. My electives are being taken through the FAMU TV and Film School’s international program so that I receive instruction in English with other students from across Europe and Asia.
Another way class is unusual for me was how disorganized classes actually were. Admittedly, I expected this when attending an art school as compared to CMC where the registrar makes sure classes work like clockwork. After laying out seven different schedules to get the complete list of classes available to us, we couldn’t even find syllabuses for most and I decided to attend every class I could to figure out which ones would be best for me. During the first week of classes, I caught a glimpse of the full range of classes FAMU offers; everything from nude portraiture, to large-format architecture photography, to basic visual theory is covered.
I quickly realized a pattern after the first day of classes which consisted of getting to know the professors and showing your own work to the class. As I have alluded to in earlier posts and elsewhere, this semester is my first time taking a real art class. I took Intro to Photography my freshman year of high school which was mostly a joke of a class because the juniors and seniors spent most of their time getting food off campus instead of shooting. Also, the class was taught by one of the PE coaches.
Needless to say, then, I have never really presented my work to anyone who is an authority on photography. Presenting my work on the first day to the professor and the rest of the class was nerve wracking for me. I clicked through each of the pictures on my portfolio pausing for the occasional comment or question from the professor while talking about my experience with photography and my “vision” as an artist.
My lack of formal instruction was very apparent. Instead of having projects and photo series focused on specific themes and messages like the students from Syracuse, my portfolio consisted of a mish-mash of photos I had taken over the last approximately four years. Most of my pictures are landscapes of places I’ve traveled or scenes I otherwise thought were striking in some way. I have not created a project from start to finish with an overarching theme or approached photography as a means to convey deeper meanings.
This has been a concern of mine long before I found myself in front of the class presenting my work to seasoned photographers, but instead of trying to gloss over that glaring fact, I have embraced it. One of the reasons I chose this specific program was to completely immerse myself in that kind of conceptual thinking and to experience the artistic process so that I could bring it back to my own projects in the future. I kept this goal in mind as I visited each class the first week, trying to pay attention to what the class had to teach me about being an artist, not just a photographer.
Even from this first week, I have learned how valuable it is to have someone who understands photography to critique and evaluate your work. Since the first day, I have adjusted my portfolio slightly, taking out images I thought were weak and scouring my library of 25,000+ photos for better examples to showcase my work. Each professor has added their own input and advice, and the fact that they have taken the time to get to know students that will be here for only a few months has been inspiring.
So far I am enjoying the ups and downs that come with the disorganization and informal nature of classes. Class almost never starts on time, but we have also taken time outside of class to visit galleries and practice techniques. I am looking forward to my classes as I have now settled on a schedule that will push me intellectually, but mostly it will challenge my creativity and promote self-reflection about my work.