Seeing Through Photographs

About this Course

Taking, sharing, and viewing photographs has become second nature for many of us. Given our near-constant engagement with images this course will help you dig into the meaning of pictures and reconsider photography’s role in our visual culture. This course aims to address the gap between seeing and truly understanding photographs by introducing a diversity of ideas, approaches, and technologies that inform their making.

In this course you will look closely at 100 photographs from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, going behind the scenes of the Museum and into artist studios through original films and audio interviews. You will hear a variety of perspectives on the ways photography has been used throughout its 180-year history: as a means of artistic expression, a tool for science and exploration, an instrument of documentation, a way to tell stories and record histories, and a mode of communication and critique. Short texts and readings from MoMA publications provide enhanced context for the works in the course. By enrolling in this course, you’ll join a community of international learners in discussion forums, receive invitations to live and virtual events from our lead instructor Sarah Meister, and gain exclusive access to MoMA resources. UPDATE: We’ve been listening to your feedback! In September 2020, we launched new content in Seeing Through Photographs, including audio interviews with additional contemporary artists from around the world, videos of Sarah introducing key ideas, and almost doubling the number of photographs from the collection. We’ve also added opportunities for you to share and receive feedback on your photographs in the discussion forums.

Learner Career Outcomes

11%

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 2 of 4 in the

Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Serbian, Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

What you will learn

• Understand artists’ processes and the choices that inform a photograph’s making, including experimentation and responses to technological innovation.

• Learn how context influences the production, circulation, and reception of photographic images.

• Understand the relationship between a photograph’s subject and meaning, and the differences between photographs as objects and photographic images.

• Gain confidence in looking at and talking about photography, and find inspiration from photographs all around you.

Skills you will gain

• Photography
• Art
• History
• Museums
• Art History

Learner Career Outcomes

11%

Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Course 2 of 4 in the

Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization

English

Subtitles: Arabic, French, Portuguese (European), Serbian, Italian, Vietnamese, German, Russian, English, Spanish

Instructor

Offered by

The Museum of Modern Art is a place that fuels creativity, ignites minds, and provides inspiration. Join us in exploring the art, ideas, and issues of our time through the Modern and Contemporary Art and Design Specialization or through individual courses: Modern Art & Ideas, Seeing Through Photographs, What Is Contemporary Art?, Fashion as Design, and In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting. Learn about teaching with art in our three courses designed for K-12 educators: Art & Inquiry, Art & Activity, and Art & Ideas.

Week 1

1 hour to complete

Introduction to Seeing Through Photographs

1 hour to complete

3 videos (Total 8 min), 5 readings

Seeing Through Photographs1m

Sarah Meister Introduces the Course2m

Marvin Heiferman on “Photography Changes Everything”3m

Welcome to Seeing Through Photographs!10m

Getting Started: How Does This Course Work?10m

Optional Discussion Forum Prompts10m

Optional Readings and Resources30m

Pre-Course Survey10m

Week 2

3 hours to complete

One Subject, Many Perspectives

3 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 24 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz

Vik Muniz on Photographing the Familiar3m

Early Photographs of the Moon: Surface, Scale, and Technology2m

Eugène Atget. Pendant l'éclipse. 19123m

Liz Deschenes on Tilt/Swing (360º field of vision, version 1), 20091m

New Perspectives: Man on the Moon2m

U.S.G.S. and NASA, Surveyor III. Surface of the Moon, Day 319, W-F. 19671m

Vernacular and Fine Art Photographs of the Moon3m

Ansel Adams. Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico. 19413m

Introduction to This Week10m

Artistic Equivalents10m

Moons and Moonlight10m

Photographs by NASA10m

Who Does the Moon Belong To?10m

Moon Phases10m

Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m

Optional Readings and Resources30m

Practice Memory Check30m

Week 3

3 hours to complete

Documents and the Documentary

3 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 25 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz

Sarah Meister on Documents and the Documentary3m

Zora J Murff on At No Point in Between, 2018–198m

Mike Mandel on Evidence, 19774m

Thomas Demand on Room (Zimmer), 19961m

Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother. 19361m

Dorothea Lange. On the Road to Los Angeles, California. March 19371m

Sarah Meister on Documentary Photography3m

Introduction to This Week10m

Facts and Fictions10m

Fictions and Facts10m

Artist Spotlight: Dorothea Lange10m

Artist Spotlight: Gordon Parks10m

Arbus, Friedlander, and Winogrand10m

Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m

Optional Readings and Resources30m

Practice Memory Check30m

Week 4

3 hours to complete

One and Another

3 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 27 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz

Sarah Meister on Photography and Multiplicity2m

Frances Benjamin Johnston. The Hampton Album. 1899-19001m

Nicholas Nixon on The Brown Sisters, 1975–Present1m

Sohrab Hura on Snow, 2015–ongoing5m

Irina Rozovsky on Miracle Center, 2019–ongoing5m

Iñaki Bonillas on Marginalia, 2019–ongoing9m

Introduction to This Week10m

Artwork Spotlight: Frances Benjamin Johnston's The Hampton Album, 1899-190010m

Photo Books10m

Photo Series10m

One from Many10m

Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m

Optional Readings and Resources30m

Mid-Course Survey5m

Practice Memory Check30m

Week 5

3 hours to complete

Constructing Narratives, Challenging Histories

3 hours to complete

8 videos (Total 33 min), 7 readings, 1 quiz

Hank Willis Thomas on the Role of Advertising Images3m

Carrie Mae Weems on From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried, 1995–962m

Walid Raad on My neck is thinner than a hair: Engines, 1996–20011m

Harrell Fletcher on The American War, 20054m

Iñaki Bonillas on Constructing Identities5m

Cindy Sherman. Untitled Film Stills. 1977–801m

Dionne Lee on True North and AA O KK, 20197m

David Alekhuogie on To Live and Die in LA, 20194m

Introduction to This Week10m

Artwork Spotlight: Hank Willis Thomas's UNBRANDED series10m

Constructing History10m

Challenging History10m

Constructing Personal Narratives10m

Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m

Optional Readings and Resources30m

Practice Memory Check30m

Week 6

3 hours to complete

Pictures of People

3 hours to complete

7 videos (Total 25 min), 8 readings, 1 quiz

Katy Grannan on Taking Portraits3m

Susan Meiselas on Carnival Strippers, 1973–755m

Akram Zaatari on After They Got the Right to Arms. Fourteen young men posing with guns, early 1970s/20066m

Stephanie Syjuco on Cargo Cults, 2013–162m

Tina Barney on Sunday New York Times, 19821m

Deana Lawson on Roxie and Raquel, 20101m

Maria Antelman on Hall of Mirrors, Self Stranger, and Puzzlers I and II, 20204m

Introduction to This Week10m

Artwork Spotlight: Katy Grannan's Portraits10m

Exploring Agency10m

Self-Possession10m

Performing Identity10m

Loved Ones10m

Optional Discussion Prompts and Creative Challenges10m

Optional Readings and Resources30m

Practice Memory Check30m

Week 7

3 hours to complete

Ocean of Images

3 hours to complete

10 videos (Total 37 min), 7 readings, 2 quizzes

Sarah Meister on the Ocean of Images2m

Gertrudes Altschul. Lines and Tones. c. 19521m

Robert Heinecken. Are You Rea. 1964–681m

Martha Rosler on House Beautiful: Bringing the War Home, 1967–727m

Carmen Winant on My Birth, 20182m

Thomas Ruff on jpeg msh01, 20044m

Anouk Kruithof on Subconscious Travelling, 20134m

Lucas Blalock on Strawberries, 2014–153m

David Horvitz on Mood Disorder, 20153m

Özlem Altın on Topography (of time, of body), 20195m

Introduction to This Week10m

Before the Digital Wave10m

Appropriating Mass Media10m

Born Digital10m

Optional Creative Challenge10m

Optional Readings and Resources30m

End of Course Survey5m

Practice Memory Check30m

Final Assignment (Required for Certificate)30m