This intensive class is designed as a platform for intermediate and advanced level students to further develop their photographic production with an emphasis on generating documentary projects focusing on the people, culture, and architecture of Japan.

The megacity of Tokyo will serve as the starting point for our investigations, with image making itineraries that will take us from the cosmopolitan ward of Shinjuku, to the center of youth culture in Shibuya; and from the cutting edge fashion districts of Harajuku, to the temples and shrines of Asakusa. Concurrent with our photographic explorations we will examine contemporary exhibitions in venues such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu, as well as view the ancient collections housed in Japan’s oldest and largest museum, the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno.

Traveling by Shinkansen bullet train at 300 km/h (186 mph), we will make our way south to Kyoto, the nexus of traditional Japanese culture and history with approximately two thousand temples, shrines, and gardens that we can utilize as both the catalyst and stage for our photography. The extraordinary wealth of visual stimuli we will experience in Japan over ten days will certainly inspire, as well as function as the backdrop against which to critically discuss the strategies that photographers employ in communicating their interests.

The course will conclude in New York City during the spring semester where participants will work together with the instructor to edit, design, and produce a professional quality book of their photographic projects, including essays detailing the richness of their experience abroad. Prior to traveling to Japan there will be relevant readings and film screenings to serve as preliminary introductions to aspects of Japanese culture. Japanese language skills are not a prerequisite; however, prior completion of Photography One (VART 1124), or Digital Photography (VART 1128) is essential. Class meeting times are demanding and participation in the course necessitates a healthy attitude towards exceptional amounts of walking.

The latest 2011-2012 book:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/3286333

The 2010-2011 book:
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2177501

VART 3001 – Documentary Photography: Japan 
Dates: 12/27/2012 – 01/06/2013 
Credits: 4
For more information, please contact Professor Apicella-Hitchcock at apicellahit@fordham.edu