Photography
When students enter the photography and digital filmmaking department they select one of two tracks or courses of study in either photography or digital filmmaking and work for three semesters through an immersive experience in one of these disciplines. In their fourth semester students enter the advanced workshops and begin an intensive critical dialog between these fields of study in accordance with the general tendency of contemporary art practice and emerging fields of professional development incorporating art and technology. Although most students will continue to produce work that is grounded in their major discipline, students become involved in a dialog with artists from related disciplines. During their senior year all students produce a major thesis project that is presented in an off-campus professional art venue.
Students in the photography and digital filmmaking programs learn about technical, conceptual, and visual issues relating to traditional and digital photography, digital filmmaking, sound, performance, interactivity, installations and net art. Students view the work-in-progress of their peers and a variety of contemporary media artworks through classroom dialog and other departmental resources such as visiting artists, field trips, and film screenings. The ELECTROMEDIASCOPE film and video programs and access to the photography exhibitions and collections at the nearby Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the Internet and the departmental exhibition areas within the photography and digital filmmaking department where solo and group exhibitions of photography, digital filmmaking, installations and expanded media are presented are also important resources.
The photography and digital filmmaking department’s facilities include:
- 2 darkrooms with 14 large-format black-and-white enlargers.
- 6 medium format and 8 large format (4 x 5) film cameras
- 4 Nikon and Canon digital single lens reflex cameras
- Heavy- and medium weight tripods
- 6 quartz-halogen portable lighting kits
- 2 video lighting kits and several incandescent (hot) flood light kits
The lighting studio includes:
- Soft boxes
- Booms
- Multiple rolling light stands
- Diffuser screens
- Polarizing screens
- Radio slaves
- Reflectors
- Umbrellas
- Seamless paper back drops
- Copy stand
- Comet power pack strobes and photoflood lighting
- Tethered computer with Nikon Control Pro software
- Parabolic green screen for image compositing.
The department also has:
- An E-6 and C-41 color film processing facility where students develop 35mm, 120mm, 220mm and 4 x 5 sheet film.
- 2 light rooms with four Epson 4990 digital scanners
- 8 Epson inkjet printers including: two 2200’s, three 4800’s, one 9600 and one 9800 with calibrated monitors and printer output capable of producing high resolution archival photographic quality color and black and white prints with maximum widths between 17 and 44-inches wide
- Software on the computers linked to these printers includes Adobe CS3 and Lightroom, image enhancement software including Photomatrix for tonal mapping and high dynamic rage photography, Quadtone RIP for superior “toned” inkjet prints, Blow-Up, Focal Blade, Picture Cooler, and other RIPs, and high-quality microscope with Nikon Digital attachments.
The department’s digital media lab with complete on-line and off-line video and audio editing and image processing facilities includes:
- PC and Mac-based high-end computer processing workstations
- Digital filmmaking editing workstations that include: Mac Pro 2 x 3GH Intel Xeon dual core processors, with dual Apple 22” cinema displays and dual processor Intel core 6300 PC’s with Invidia GeForce 7300 GT Graphics Processing Units.
- Image processing, video and audio post-production software that includes complete Adobe and CS3 Master Suite, Final Cut Pro, DVD StudioPro, Light Wave 3D modeling and animation, multimedia image-processing software, with RAID array-based render farm and mass storage on the departmental server
- 1 Hewlett Packard XW-8400 Avid turn-key workstation with dual GH Intel dual core Xeon 5100 processors and Invidia Quadro FX 1400 video card
- Digital filmmaking classroom and studio with green screen and ceiling mounted video projection
- Digital filmmaking equipment that includes CCD Professional grade cameras
- HD and prosumer video cameras, 25 Consumer grade video camcorders,
- DVD players and sound systems and video and film projection sources are available for installations
- Three 37 inch 1080P LCD screens mounted in the department for proposal-based student projects
- Video lighting kits, tripods and other equipment is also available for video shoots
The department’s audio equipment includes:
- 5.1 channel mixing and playback facilities in both the audio production studio and classroom/exhibition spaces, including G-5 computer with 500 GB GT062 Glyph drive for multi-channel mixing, ProTools, Logic Pro, and Ableton Live sound editing software
- A Mackie Onyx 1640 with firewire support, Digi 002 A to D interface
- An isolated recording studio with a variety of Rode, Sure, piezo and directional microphones and 4-channel hard disc recorders. The audio studio incorporates a Furman headphone distribution amp that allows 6 people to perform multi-channel recording
The Expanded Media Suite for interactive media incorporates Mac mini computers and MAX/MSP and Jitter software and an area for prototyping and experimenting with bend sensors (for gloves), photo cell relays, piezo sensors, integrated circuit design and microprocessor implementation for installation, performance and video and audio production.
KCAI’s comprehensive photography program provides students with critical guidance and exposure to a broad range of aesthetic and conceptual perspectives leading to an understanding of the principles of fine art photographic practice and the development of the individual’s ability to communicate and express ideas in relation to contemporary photographic image-making. The exploration of aesthetic and technical aspects of the photographic medium address the current technological changes that are taking place through studio and real world assignments and self-directed experiments that take place in new, well-maintained facilities incorporating both traditional photographic and new digital imaging technologies. The photography curriculum prepares students to be artistically innovative, technically accomplished and culturally aware of the evolving field of photography while leading successful creative lives as participants in the emerging global economy.
Students in photography learn about technical, conceptual, and visual issues through individual and collaborative projects that explore ways to represent, visualize, express, and communicate ideas, images, narratives, and experiences relating to traditional, digital and expanded forms of photography. In the sophomore year, there is an emphasis on conceptualizing, composing, and capturing images with 35mm, medium format, digital SLR, and view cameras; developing professional color management and workflow skills; generating exceptional prints in black and white darkrooms and color ink jet lightroom facilities and learning applied photographic imaging techniques in real-world situations and the photography studio. The junior and senior years consist of advanced workshops in which students continue to hone their technical and conceptual skills while integrating ideas and artistic expression. They are also developing research and critical abilities in the context of internships, and group discussions and critiques in relation to photography and contemporary art.
Photographic technology is used in many different disciplines of cultural production including, but not limited to fields of fashion, entertainment and design; scientific visualization and bio-medical research; museum work, art history and conservation of prints; communications media; forensic and crime scene analysis; ecological research, and contemporary art production. KCAI’s Photography track emphasizes fine art production within an expanded field of cultural practice. Experimental, narrative and non-narrative, documentary and conceptual forms of photography are playing significant roles in today's international arena of contemporary art practice. Contemporary photography incorporates both traditional and ink-jet prints as well as “still” photographic imagery that is viewed on the Internet, plasma screens and experienced in installation formats accompanied by sound. Students in KCAI’s photography track work in many areas of emphasis while exploring and gaining in-depth knowledge and skills that are grounded in strong professional development. There is an on-going critical dialog between students and faculty enrolled in the photography and digital filmmaking tracks of the photography and digital filmmaking department as well as joint critiques, field trips, visiting artist lectures and professional demonstrations that are open to all departmental majors. Photography practicum or internships are required for all students who enroll in the program and local, regional and national opportunities are available during the academic year, summers, and between semesters.
