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Creative Photography

About the Program


Undergraduate
The University of Florida offers an innovative blend of provocative and experimental approaches to photography in the setting of a large, traditional, and diversified state research university. As one of the most established programs of graduate and undergraduate study of photography in the United States, we draw on substantial faculty strengths in photographic processes as well as an unusual faculty expertise in the broad field of visual inquiry, critical theory, relational art, video, sculpture and performance.

Students are encouraged to develop her or his personal artwork through a constructive dialogue that builds on the particular strengths of the student's interests, faculty research and the institution's resources. We particularly encourage work which engages the future trajectories of the image and related media practices, which develops out of an informed inquiry into the histories, theories, and practices of photography as it pervades and structures culture. 


Graduate
Graduate students are expected to conduct an individual program of research, informed through group critique, studio visits, and individual faculty supervision.  All students combine photographic media and concepts with other forms of inquiry, including time based, performative, thematic research and theoretical modeling.  Accordingly, we view our cooperative relationships, with other areas of the School of Art + Art History such as sculpture, painting, printmaking and performance, as well as those outside the area such as English, Film Studies, and Architecture, as significant resources, and believe in fostering the possibility of interdisciplinary exchange. The Program also stresses questions of industry, institution, dissemination, and participation of and with the media image. While students are encouraged to utilize traditional venues for the display of their work, we also strongly emphasize the importance of seeking out or creating alternative exhibitions in public spaces. We understand public space to be not only site specific, but also as a space of intervention. We also support collaborative partnerships between students, or partnerships a student may develop with an outside party or industry.


Facilities
Our program integrates all uses of photographic media with social, literary, and time based formats. Our production facilities include a wet lab for film based black and white and color production, a fully managed Macintosh computer environment with printing and projection capacities, and a fully equipped lighting studio for the production, performance and installation of student projects. Enrolled students can access a range equipment including multiple camera formats for still and video image capture, portable lighting, sound recording and amplification, as well as projection equipment used for live performances and installations. Our facilities are maintained by specialist lab technicians and all students are encouraged and challenged to explore their use of all of the facilities and what they offer.


We share a library with architecture which includes holdings of books, current art journals, newspapers, artists videos, and feature films. Students can access a range of on-line publications and artists' projects through the university's library subscriptions. The library is staffed by a specialist librarian who can assist student research and project development with the library's resources. The Harn Museum on the campus of the university is available to individual students and class groups and includes a dynamic collection of 20th century photography, contemporary video art, and related media of multiple cultures. The Harn Museum also has a curator specializing in Photography and features regular programs focused on the photographic image, its history, and its use in contemporary art. The School of Art and Art History hosts visiting speakers who present their research and artist practice and regularly meet with students for critiques, roundtable discussions, and luncheons.


Creative Photography blog: http://www.ufphoto.tumblr.com

Faculty and Program Contacts

Sergio Vega

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School of Art + Art History
Associate Professor
Area: Photography & Sculpture

veryvega@ufl.edu
T:(352) 273-3035 F:(352) 392-8453 P.O. Box 115801
Gainesville, Fl 32611-5801
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Alisson Bittiker

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School of Art + Art History
Teaching Lab Specialist
Area: Photography Teaching Lab Tech.

robot@ufl.edu
T:(352) 273-3034 F:(352) 392-8453
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Craig Smith

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View Research Biography
School of Art + Art History
Associate Professor
Area: Performance, Photography, Relational Art

c.smith@ufl.edu
T:(352) 273-3025 F:(352) 392-8453 PO Box 115801
Gainesville, FL 32611
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