This course will explore the history and nature of photographic imagery relating to its capacity for misrepresentation, with emphasis on context and photography as a contemporary art practice. From the work of 19thcentury daguerreotypists, to conceptual artists of the 1980s and current digital imaging practitioners; from optical lens distortion to post-production manipulation; and from re-contextualized art photography to Internet hoaxes, we will investigate the age-old issue of truth and its relationship to photography. In addition to more extensive essays, students will write short responses to readings, and produce imagery related to discussion topics.

artist unknown
Man on Rooftop with Eleven Men in Formation on His Shoulders
gelatin silver print
34.5x27.2 cm
ca. 1930

From Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop Metropolitan Museum of Art