Photography Schools/MFA

[jp]

http://www.mainemedia.edu/ is another option. Photo education has long been a part of the midcoast maine culture since short lived Kodak Center for Creative Imaging brought people in. Now, the photo bug is supported by a combination of the geography and scenery, the college, and the local art business that revolves around the Farnsworth museum and it's fans.

[John T]

My turn to bite.

I think the one thing that the “art schools” don’t/won’t teach is how to “enjoy” photography. Photography is an exhilarating, contemplative, personal, gratifying… oh crap, I might as well say it… it’s FUN! Most of these MFAs I see look like they have some psychological issues to work out or they are out to change the world. They’re not having FUN!

from Richard Coda's blogsite

I love this ill-informed and pathetic attempt to negate another person's life and work because the author has an over-inflated opinion of the value and purpose of photography. Why is the investigation of psychological issues not fun? In the same way your blog sounds more like a bitch session rather than FUN-but you obviously enjoy doing it. People enjoy expressing themselves.

I do documentary in order to express my feelings and to try to influence people's opinions. I enjoy the photography, the discussions with people and people's reactions to my work. But according to your complaint, my desire to "change the world" means that I can't be having fun.

Photography mean a lot of things to a lot of people. I enjoy a beautiful landscape as well as a photograph that challenges my perceptions. But maybe this is because I earned an MFA. Through coursework, discussions, lectures and critiques, I learned to see the value of art beyond my own preconceptions. I used to only appreciate work that appealed to me. Now I try to look at photographs with artist intent in mind, as well as trying to go beyond my preconceptions.

I agree with Kirk. An MFA is by no means necessary, but growth is never a bad thing. Some people do great as self learners/doers, while others work better with a mentor. A good education of any kind opens the mind to possiblities rather than closes it to "what I like or don't like". Your time in grad school gives you an opportunity to experiment with your work and then let a group of other artists test your thesis/work.

However, many students go into too much debt. As a international student in the US, you are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to the cost of your education. You generally will pay a higher tuition (UC Irvine isn't free unless there is a special fellowship/grant/scholarship specifically for someone in your situation) and you will have less financial aid available to you (unless there is something in your own country). On top of this is the cost of doing all the photography. I shot and presented more work than I expected. Going back to the blog I quoted above, I had a blast. The challenge of doing work that was tougher than I expected was incredible and it was too easy to do more work because of it.

I would definitely consider and MFA, but remember that it isn't for everyone. As for the quality of work, you work needs to demonstrate something about you that will spark interest in the grad committee. If your work is excellent, but similar to work that is overrepresented at the school, you might be passed over for someone who is doing work that is fresh and exciting to the faculty. I got in to grad school partially because my portfolio was b/w documentary with a contemporary attitude. (Walker Evans spliced with Frank Gohlke).Some schools emphasize/expect technical quality based on traditional photography standards while others are only looking for context/expression. The only way to find out is to learn as much about the school and professors as possible. But you need to know your work-you will need a solid artist's statement and strong portfolio so that the reviewer will know you.

[jnantz]

you might also look into mass college of art and the school of the museum of fine arts ..
both are in boston

[jamesklowe]

thankyou everyone for your recommendations.

if we disregard money for a moment, i'm surprised noone else has mentioned anything about yale? rather. just from people who have finished their masters they are quite highly received. in my books anyway.

i'm checking out schools now but won't start til next year.

as for actually getting a masters- i know its not NECESSARY. but i would like to continue studying for the purpose of working under photographers who i admire and i guess creating better work through critiques and just the general vibe of an art school.

i think working within this post-mod art(school) era is more meaningful and by far more engaging and interesting than nice pictures of sky/trees/sea..

also.. do you have an example of these so called 'dead pan' photographers.
ims orry but i find this anti-artschool comment ridiculous

[andy]

be careful about studying under name brand photographers--some of them are great, but many of them don't care about teaching; they are photographers.
yale is nearly unquestioned in its superiority in the art realm.
there are plenty of good options, most of them mentioned, but the important thing is to look at the work of the professors, and the work of the students.
is it like what you want to do? and more importantly, does the student work emulate the professor's work? that could signal an overbearing teacher. it would be a lousy two years to constantly have someone telling you to make photographs like theirs.

the university of georgia in athens has an interesting program, and mark steinmetz lives in athens.

[Brian Ellis]

thankyou everyone for your recommendations.

if we disregard money for a moment, i'm surprised noone else has mentioned anything about yale? rather. just from people who have finished their masters they are quite highly received. in my books anyway.

i'm checking out schools now but won't start til next year.

as for actually getting a masters- i know its not NECESSARY. but i would like to continue studying for the purpose of working under photographers who i admire and i guess creating better work through critiques and just the general vibe of an art school.

i think working within this post-mod art(school) era is more meaningful and by far more engaging and interesting than nice pictures of sky/trees/sea..

also.. do you have an example of these so called 'dead pan' photographers.
ims orry but i find this anti-artschool comment ridiculous

Not that this means anything but I never hear Yale talked about as one of the great MFA programs for photography. The schools I hear about in that category are Rhode Island, Arizona, New Mexico, RIT, and a couple others that don't come immediately to mind but that don't include Yale. I'm not saying Yale isn't a great program, it may very well be, just that it isn't one that I think of when I think of the great MFA programs for photography in the U.S. While I don't have an MFA I did attend a school with an MFA program for a couple years and taught there for one year so I've kind of been around MFA programs without actually being in one.

[Richard M. Coda]

I have to agree with Brian.

Yes, Yale does have an MFA program... this is what it churns out.

It's up to you... is that the kind of work you want to do?

[Kirk Gittings]

FWIW, This is the US News and World Report rankings for fine art photography graduate schools. This is the only rankings that the schools I have been associated with take seriously, i.e. schools actually make faculty and program changes trying to raise their rankings. I have never been a full time faculty. So I have never been involved in the ranking process, but I know that it is taken very seriously:

Fine Arts Specialty Rankings: Photography
Ranked in 2008

1 Yale University
New Haven, CT

2 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, IL

3 Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI

Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY

5 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque , NM

6 California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, CA

7 San Francisco Art Institute
San Francisco, CA

School of Visual Arts
New York, NY

University of California--Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

10 Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ

California College of the Arts
San Francisco, CA

Cranbrook Academy of Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsa...ls/photography

[Jrewt]

I have to agree with Brian.

Yes, Yale does have an MFA program... this is what it churns out.

It's up to you... is that the kind of work you want to do?

Wait, was that link supposed to demonstrate bad photography? It's not. Why does project based photography make you so sour?? Not everyone wants to shoot a series of snapshots their whole life!!

[rdenney]

Wait, was that link supposed to demonstrate bad photography? It's not. Why does project based photography make you so sour?? Not everyone wants to shoot a series of snapshots their whole life!!

Seems to me the choice is clear. Go where you'll be appreciated, and where you'll appreciate what you will learn. That's seems like a useful takeaway from Mr. Coda's message.

It also seems to me that an MFA is a specialty degree, unlike a BFA, which should be a good, general education. And when evaluating graduate programs, it also seems to me that one should look at the teacher and the students. Do the students do work that you admire? Do the teachers? If you don't admire their work (for whatever reason), then it makes no sense to study with them, it seems to me.

I suspect someone interested in fashion photography would be more in line for one of the New York schools, such as Parsons, than someone wanting to do landscapes. And a master's candidate ought to already have an idea of what they want to do.

Someone wanting teaching credentials rather than doing credentials has a different formula to evaluate. But it still seems they should stay true to their own vision if for no other reason just to keep from going crazy.

Rick "not a fan of 'it's not art if it isn't innovative' thinking, but that's another matter" Denney