B4883 - FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

Learning outcomes

At the end of the Course the student will have acquired knowledge of visual communication for fashion, with a focus on photography and how it is best exploited. They will refine the skills and interpretative tools necessary for developing visual projects in the fields of publishing and curating with critical awareness.

Course contents

The course explores key moments in the history of fashion photography from the 1920s to the present day, focusing on the following cross-cutting themes:

• the interface between commercial and art photography;
• the imaginaries between fiction and reality in fashion photojournalism;
• the construction and deconstruction of female beauty canons by mainstream and niche fashion magazines.

Readings/Bibliography

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS

Mandatory readings and learning resources:

Attending students must study various educational materials, including slideshows, articles, book chapters, documentaries and streaming videos. These materials can be downloaded from the "Virtuale" page, linked to the course webpage.

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR NON ATTENDING STUDENTS

Readings (helpful to write the mandatory paper - see "Assessment methods"):

• N. Hall-Duncan, The History of Fashion Photography, Alpine Book Company, 1979.
• E. Shinkle (ed.), Fashion as Photographs. Viewing and Riviewing Images of Fashion, I.B. Tauris, New York 2008.
• S. Kismaric, E. Respini (eds.), Fashioning Fiction in Photography since 1990, The Museum of Modern Art, New York 2004.

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures will integrate with active classes.

Assessment methods

 

Methods for the assessment of the attending students

During classes, attending students should complete multiple-choice and true/false questionnaires, as well as iconographic and bibliographical research exercises. The assessment of these activities will influence the final grade.

In addition, attending students must write a short paper (10,000 characters, including spaces) on a topic covered in the lectures, along with iconographic research. The teacher must approve the chosen topic, and the paper must be sent to the following email addresses at least 15 days in advance before the exam call: chiara.pompa2@unibo.it; elenorora.stacchiotti@unibo.it (CC'd).

Additional details will be provided at the start of the classes.

 

Methods for the assessment of the non-attending students

Non-attending students will be evaluated on a written paper.

Non-attending students must write a paper on a topic chosen from the teacher's slideshow and readings listed in this Course's Bibliography for not attending students. They must arrange the topic with the teacher in advance by e-mail.

The paper must be typed using Times New Roman 12 and be 20,000 characters (blank spaces included).

The paper must include:

• Student name and surname and identification number ("Matricola")
• Title of the paper
• Main Text (structured in sections or not)
• At least 15 photographic images (e.g. covers, editorials, advertising campaigns from fashion magazines) accompanied by the relevant captions (photographer's name, title or brief description of the image, year)
• Bibliography

Students must send the paper to the teacher as email attachment (in .pdf format) at least 15 days before the day of the exam call published on AlmaEsami.

 

PAY ATTENTION:

• "Attending students" are expected to attend the classes regularly. Consequently, to be considered an attending student, students must maintain an attendance of 75%, which is about 24 hours.
• The topic of the final essay must always and, in any case, agree with the professor.

Teaching tools

All slides shown during the lessons (including video and other content) will be shared with the students.

It is highly recommended to take notes during the lessons.

Office hours

See the website of Chiara Pompa