Back to School: Taking MoMA's "Seeing Through Photographs" Course

One of my course readings. I loved it so much, I asked for it for my birthday.

Ok guys, I did it.  I successfully completed the "Seeing Through Photographs" course offered by the Museum of Modern Art on Coursera!  As promised, I'll now let you know how it went.

First, a little background.  I've written several times that I wanted to take my understanding and learning of photography to another level, beyond technique.  I wanted to get a good foundation in the history, legacy, characteristics, and aesthetics of the art.  When I heard that MoMA was offering a free online course that would "address the gap between seeing and truly understanding photographs" I figured this was just the tool to fill my needs.  I read a lot of articles online, but most of that content is "how-to's" and current project/artist critiques and write-ups.  I needed someone to point me in the right direction on the why's, who's, and how's of photography's more distant past.  I really wanted to know where all today's stuff comes from and even though there are a lot of books out there, this course offered me one extra opportunity- it was going to actually teach me.  So, I signed up for the full certification option.  I figured that if I was paying for it, if there was a test at the end, if I was forced to commit to a time limit, I would get the most out of the experience.  I've read a few other reviews of the class by some pros and semi-pros, but so far I haven't come across anyone who committed to the full class format.  They didn't take the quizzes or participate in the final project.  That's totally fine I suppose, but in my opinion, if you're going to take a class, take the class!

So, here's what it was like.

The course is divided into six week modules.  It covers portraiture and documentary photography most specifically, but not from the perspective of instruction of technique, but the much deeper perspective of significance.  The course covered everything from the different ways they were done, to how they changed over time, the different motivations, the trends, and the influences. It always, always approached the topics from the perspective of an art museum, which was a refreshing way to look at images.  It dove deeply into examples as specific as one image to a series of images to an entire career.  It covered the impact of certain photographs and photographers not only on the field itself, but on our modern culture as well.

I had heard the names Winogrand, Adams, Evans, Stieglitz, etc., but this was a true opportunity to study their work in depth and gain an understanding how and why they shaped photography.  I learned how photography and fine art have had a fluid relationship, sometimes close, sometimes in opposition. Through the early lessons I came upon the idea that photography is practiced on a sort of swinging pendulum.  It is constantly tugged between the trend of creating pure documents or creating artistic images.  I now see clearly that today's trends are rooted in the the foundations of early photography.  While today's portrait, wedding, and event photographers may think they are doing something unique and new by going against the tack-sharp, bokehlicous aesthetic of digital photographs by creating images of a film-like, documentary appearance, they are in fact just recycling a look from the 1960's (and they're doing this because Instagram and its filters are the hottest things in photography right now).  Fine art photographers are hearkening back to the aesthetics of the Photo-Secession.  Then of course, there's this quasi-revolt against modern technology by photographers who shoot in film again (only to scan and edit in Photoshop anyway) and the development of new-old technology like Lomo's new Petzval 85 art lens which not only makes the images look like they come from old technology, but looks vintage itself.  In short, even though technology and technique is always changing and the pendulum never swings back to the same exact spot twice, when it comes to motivation and artistic ideas there is "nothing new under the sun."  Why did I find this so enlightening?  It's freedom.  It was the photographers who recognized that pendulum and the influence of pop culture and trends that found their voice.  With this knowledge in the back of my mind I feel that I'll be better aware of falling down the rabbit hole, and over time and practice I too will be able to find a clear voice.

Another lesson that I found absolutely fascinating was photography's role in influencing narratives.  What is in a photograph is just as important as what may have been left out.  It goes beyond the role of the photographer's framing decisions, but extends to the choices of the printer, the editor, the gallery, and the institution.  One photograph can mean several things depending on its context.  The ramifications of manipulation and placement go far deeper that I realized.  I sat back in my chair several times, feeling like the wool had been lifted from my eyes.  It is awesome to be able learn stuff like that.

The course provides the learner with videos and slideshows for each module.  But, there is also reading.  A lot of reading.  Towards the end of the class it began to taper a little, but early on I was constantly feeling like I had traveled back in time to my days at university, frantically reading massive out of context articles, scribbling notes, writing outlines, and then going back to make sure I had gotten it.  A lot of the reading was for lack of a better term "arty."  Many of the articles are written by former curators or directors from MoMA and while there is no doubt these folks were at the top of their field, some of them needed a good lesson in writing.  I like to think I have a decent mind, but I often found myself reading and re-reading the same paragraphs over and over again only to write in my notes, "I have no idea what this guy was trying to say.  It was 1966, so maybe he was high."  I have a lot of friends who talk like these articles.  They go on and on in what sounds like coherent sentences, and occasionally the light comes on and I get this huge sense of relief that I'm able to "hang" only to have the light go out again.  Let's just say I prefer my sources to be a bit more on the academic side.  But, this is art we are talking about, and by nature it's not going to be talked about in an academic way.

Be that as it may, the readings were invaluable.  And once I got comfortable with their style, I found myself reading everything, even the supplemental articles.  Thanks to this class, I've discovered the wondrous world of self-published, photo collection or exhibition books.  Through these books I'm able to access photographs that stimulate and refresh my mind from a time before the infiltration of the Instagram and social media effect.  I love it.  Family members are now relieved that there is an endless list of books to choose from for gift giving occasions.  That hole I was feeling from my lack of background in formal art history and photography instruction is beginning to be filled.

Ok, about the quizzes.  Yes, there are quizzes, one at the end of every module.  These quizzes were probably the most frustrating aspect of the class.  You have 10 questions and you are only allowed to miss 2 in order to pass.  You do get a chance to retake the quiz 3 times if you don't pass, so that's a plus.  I passed all my quizzes on the first try, but I think that was mostly because of my obsessive note taking.  There were several times that I found the wording of a question to be tricky or possibly purposefully misleading and I called out the Admin on it.  Sometimes, they went in and reworded the question, sometimes they didn't.  The fact that they actually read and considered my concerns went a long way with me.  It showed they weren't leaving this up to Coursera, but someone at MoMA was monitoring and paying attention, like a proper class should be run.  I came to the class thinking the quizzes would be more conceptual based to make sure we understood the main themes of the module, but often they were detailed focused.  You had to do the reading, and pay very close attention to it.

To finish the course you have to submit a final project.  Since they don't tell you what that project is until you get to that point in the course, I won't tell you either.  I will say it involves writing two 500 word essays, submitting a published photograph to accompany one of the essays, and that you will be graded by your peers.  Once that's been done, you receive your final grade for the course. If you signed up for the certification they send you the certificate file.

So, what's my final word?  It isn't an easy course.  Back in the day, I think online learning was looked down upon.  I don't know, maybe it still is.  This course, however, was just as challenging conceptually and in work load as a university level course.  At no point did I think this was a piece of cake.  It pushed me from beginning to end.  Having it online, of course, means that you can take it no matter where you are.  For me, that was perfect.  The only way I'd get similar instruction would be to attend a class somewhere around here and that would mean I'd have to be fluent in German.  However, what was the most helpful to me is a huge problem for students who don't have English as their first language.  There are no subtitles in other languages and the reading is high level comprehension.  If your English isn't at expert level then you probably don't want to sign up for the certificate.  Just do the free version and skip the quizzes and project.  Because of the language there were a lot people struggling with assignments and they weren't able to pass.  That's disheartening and in my opinion takes away from the experience.  Don't stress yourself out.

So, should you take it?  If you like looking at photographs or if you take them, yes.  In my opinion, the best way is to dedicate yourself to the course so you can take complete advantage of what Photography Dept. Curator Sarah Meister has compiled for you.  That means doing the readings, taking the quizzes, and submitting the project.  This course has a lot to offer those who, like me, want to take their knowledge and understanding of photography to a deeper level.  I'm certain that it's not only helpful for those who want to learn about how to look at photographs, but also for photographers.  Seeing and studying exceptional work from the past certainly righted my compass a bit.  I'm really pleased I signed up.