One of my final images in Color.
This course is required as part of the MFA-Photography degree …at least it was this semester!
I have heard from a program director that this course is undergoing revision so I can only discuss my experience in the Spring ’10 section I took with professor Marc Ullom.
I learned a LOT in this class. I have never had any formal training in color and color theory and I now know why someone with red hair looks good in green from a technical perspective. I also found that I was creating images that I would have never attempted if I wasn’t studying color. I didn’t find this class hard, rather I seemed to be in a discovery mode in this class and every week was another mini-adventure in color and photography. There are some difficult aspects. If you had PH612: the Nature of Photography then you touched on plasticity. In this course you will get some more face time with this difficult concept. The modules in this class spend a lot of time discussing the exceptional work done by Johannes Itten on color theory. After a few weeks into the semester I decided that instead of reading about what Itten wrote about I should be reading what Itten wrote and I bought Itten’s famous book “The Art of Color” so I could actually read directly from the master.
I was not disappointed. If this is not yet a required book in future semesters you should get a copy of this book to supplement your reading. It is a splendid book and a wonder to read, review, and reread. It should be in every artists’ collection. Sure, it is expensive but it is a fraction of the cost of tuition and you will likely find yourself going back and reading parts of this book over many years to come.
The other thing I found useful was a color wheel. These are pretty cheap and found at most art stores and online.
I also found that using some online color wheels to be very useful in determining if images would well-fit with the weekly assignment.
http://colorschemedesigner.com/
http://ficml.org/jemimap/style/color/wheel.html
Marc Ullom is a great professor. I had him last semester for PH 601: Photography-Concept and really enjoyed the feedback and encouragement I saw him give to me and other students. He seemed even more attentive this semester and I greatly enjoyed his encouragement to play and experiment. I worked to create some very abstract images for this class. This was intended to push myself to do something completely new and it forced my attention on color and the relationships of color without having to bother with neither literal subjects nor narrative. This was so interesting that I’m considering continuing with this for my thesis.
Post MPR classes
November 4th, 2011Passing the MPR is a big deal.
A wonderful aspect of the AAU system is that they admit everyone that has the basic requirements for enrollment. Getting into other institutions requires jumping over the hurdles and the high bars that those other places put up between you and a seat in the first class. That technique has been a foundation pillar in traditional American higher education since its inception. This follows a long line of traditional European educational admission framework as well.
What AAU does is create easy entrance and hard exit. The exit is successful completion of the program. I’ve heard that around 10% of those that enter this program actually complete it and EARN an MFA – Photography degree.
The MPR is a screening process. If you pass you are a member of a more select and qualified group of graduate students. It really does show when you take post-MPR courses.
Post MPR students in classes stand out. There exists a spread of talent and ability in this group but it is nowhere near as wide as found the general pre-MPR student group. For assorted reasons, some students don’t go beyond the MPR. I have some posts on personal responsibility and taking charge of your own success at AAU. Not everyone is cut out for the advanced rigor of the program.
When I take classes with pre-MPR students I can generally spot my post-MPR classmates. There writing and ability to discuss, critique, and offer suggestions about their work and the work of their peers is better than the work done by most pre-MPR students.
We are better students that are more intellectually prepared and focused because we passed the MPR gauntlet. Our experiences should be shared with others to help them develop and become solid MPR candidates.
Some classes have MPR as a prerequisite. These classes maintain a higher level of discourse, individual work ethic, and basically better art.
In all the AAU material I can’t find any place that says the experiences and quality of work students do in the program is extremely wide. If you feel frustrated that you are not being challenged enough and some of your classmates don’t put forth quality visual work and solid discussions, don’t worry. You are ahead of the curve and the curve will get closer to you after you pass the Mid-Point Review.
Classes are simply better because I did my MPR work and passed.
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Posted in Courses, General Comments, Mid-Point Review (MPR)
Tags: american higher education classmates MPR photography degree student group work ethic work students