Photography & New Media
Code: P0713-21
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P
INTENSIVES
Multi-week programs designed for artists of varying skill levels to immerse themselves in the studio practice of their choice while working alongside established faculty.
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IV
Level IV
Students have advanced skill and knowledge of painting and drawing. Students are highly motivated and self-directed, have a minimum of five years experience in their field and have multiple portfolios of their artwork. Portfolio review is required for admittance to some Level IV classes.
Portraiture and Figuration
Jul 19 - 23, 2021
9AM-5PM
Concept
Engage in critical group dialogue and critiques to hone the fundamental aspects of your work and deepen your understanding of contemporary art practice. In this master workshop for advanced photographers and painters, students produce work at their own pace, pausing in the mornings for discussion with the instructors and peers. Topics are wide-ranging in both depth and breadth, including technique, concept, approach and context. Students are expected to work independently and to set their own studio goals for the week. The course strongly encourages a broad interpretation of painting and photography for this workshop, and welcomes artists working in installation and incorporating three-dimensional elements into their paintings.
Please note: Instructors teach mornings only from 9AM – noon. Afternoons are dedicated to independent studio time.
Portfolio Review Required:
Thank you for your interest in our Level IV photography workshops at Anderson Ranch Arts Center. Since a portfolio review is required, the instructions on how to submit your portfolio are provided here.
In order to conduct the required portfolio review, we will need to see digital images of your work in one single PDF (as opposed to individual JPG attachments) sent directly to Anderson Ranch Studio Coordinator, Esther Nooner, via email at [email protected]. Please include 10 images of 10 works. Additionally, please include an image identification list that includes: title, media, dimensions and year. While not required, it is helpful to see an artist statement addressing the images you send. Lastly, please provide a phone number where you can be reached and a link to your website. These materials must be submitted as a single PDF (less than 10 MB) to be considered.
Please include “Advanced Portfolio Review” in the subject line of your email, as well as the title of the workshop for which you are applying. Submissions that do not follow the requested directions will not be reviewed. To be considered, Esther Nooner must receive portfolios by 5 PM MST Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. We will email you regarding your status on or before Friday, Feb. 19, 2021. If you are accepted, a deposit of $500 will be required within one week of notification of acceptance to hold your place. Housing will be assigned on a space-available basis upon enrollment.
Please note, if we receive your materials after Feb. 5, you will be considered on a space-available basis.
Thank you for your interest in our advanced photography workshops. Please feel free to contact Andrea Jenkins Wallace with any questions at [email protected]
Media & Techniques
This workshop is available to painters and photographers; any materials needed to make your work.
Workshop sponsored by:
Faculty
Catherine Opie
Summer Series Speaker
Catherine Opie (b. 1961) is one of the most important photographers of her generation. Her subjects have included early seminal portraits of the LGBTQ+ community, the architecture of Los Angeles’ freeway system, mansions in Beverly Hills, Midwestern icehouses, high school football players, California surfers, and abstract landscapes of National Parks, among others. She was a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow recipient and the Robert Mapplethorpe Resident in Photography at the American Academy in Rome for 2021. She has exhibited at international venues such as Guggenheim Museum in New York, The Photographer’s Gallery in London, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark. Opie was a professor of photography at UCLA for 25 years. She lives and works in Los Angeles.
Christina Quarles
Christina Quarles (b. 1985) is a Los Angeles-based artist, whose practice works to dismantle assumptions and ingrained beliefs surrounding identity and the human figure. Quarles received her Bachelor’s from Hampshire College in 2007. In 2016 she received her MFA in painting from Yale School of Art and attended The Skowhegan Residency that same year. Quarles’ work has been featured in numerous institutional exhibition including “Christina Quarles,” at The MCA Chicago (2021), “Collapsed Time” at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin (2023), “The Milk of Dreams,” at the 59th International Art Exhibition at La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Cecilia Alemani ,and in ‘manifesto of fragility,’ the main exhibition of the 16th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art, curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath.
Helen Molesworth
Helen Molesworth is a writer, podcaster, and curator based in Los Angeles and Provincetown. In 2023, Phaidon published Open Questions, Thirty Years of Writing About Art, an anthology of her essays. Her podcasts include Death of an Artist, a 6-part podcast about the intertwined fates of Carl Andre and Ana Mendieta, and the inaugural season of Recording Artists with The Getty. She is also the host of DIALOGUES, a podcast that features interviews with artists, writers, fashion designers, and filmmakers hosted by the David Zwirner Gallery. Her major museum exhibitions include One Day at a Time: Manny Farber and Termite Art, Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933–1957, Dance/Draw, This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s, Part Object Part Sculpture, and Work Ethic. She has organized one-person exhibitions of Ruth Asawa, Moyra Davey, Noah Davis, Raoul De Keyser, Louise Lawler, Steve Locke, Anna Maria Maiolino, Josiah McElheny, Kerry James Marshall, Catherine Opie, Amy Sillman, and Luc Tuymans. She is the author of numerous catalogue essays, and her writing has appeared in Artforum, Art Journal, Documents, and October. The recipient of the 2011 Bard Center for Curatorial Studies Award for Curatorial Excellence, in 2021, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and in 2022, she was awarded The Clark Art Writing Prize. Photo by Catherine Opie.
Catherine Opie, Pig Pen
Join Waitlist for Portraiture and Figuration
Thank you for your interest in the waitlist. When space in a workshop or program becomes available, registration will open on the website. Everyone on the waitlist will be emailed to alert them of the opening. This ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to register for the workshop or program.
Photography & New Media
Photography has always been a vital part of Anderson Ranch, one in which students explore visual storytelling through a variety of contexts and concepts. The program has uniquely evolved to focus on both traditional photography and new media— making it one of the only workshop settings of its kind. Three floors of the Fischer Photography Center house state-of-the-art equipment, including three photography studios, two Mac labs, a traditional darkroom, and a lighting studio with strobe and continuous lighting for photography and video.
All Photography workshops are rooted in the same idea—powerful art requires rigorous inquiry of techniques and ideas. We focus on technical skills, content and critical dialog. Students have access to color-managed media labs equipped with 24-inch iMacs, flatbed and film scanners, Epson printers, and cutting-edge software including Adobe Creative Cloud. When appropriate, students utilize strobe and tungsten lighting equipment, seamless backdrops, green screen, audio and video recording equipment and Epson large-format printers.
The Ranch Photography and New Media team creates an inspiring environment, allowing artists of all levels to explore lens-based media and the journey of artistic discovery in the unparalleled setting of the Colorado Rockies.
Anderson Ranch is happy to extend a tuition discount* in one- and two-week adult photography and new media summer workshops** for members of SPE and the Center for Fine Art Photography at the student membership level or above. Please email reg@
Workshop Details
Workshop Supplies
For general information about studio access, shipping, and more, please visit our info page.
If you have any questions regarding your supplies for your workshop, please contact Esther Macy Nooner, [email protected].
Lodging & Meals
Housing is limited and includes shared and private lodging options. Reservations will be managed on a first-come, first-served basis. The earlier you reserve housing, the better your chance of receiving your preferred option. Please note: Workshop costs do not include accommodations.
NEW: Tuition includes a welcome dinner and lunches. In our effort to foster a stronger sense of community and accessibility at Anderson Ranch, we include the welcome dinner and all lunches as part of the tuition for summer workshop students. Our hope is that this adjustment will encourage all students to come together to share meals and engage in meaningful conversations. The Ranch Café Meal Plan, which is included with Room and Board fees, strives to provide healthy, creative meals that will nourish your artistic creativity. Learn more.
We have established a Business Safety Plan with added layers of precaution that prioritize the health and safety of our staff, students, faculty and guests while continuing to provide you with the Anderson Ranch experience that you know and enjoy.
Scholarships, College Credit & Discounts
Making Art Accessible
Applications for scholarship support are encouraged. Specific scholarships are funded by Ranch supporters, either through endowed funds or special gifts.
Many colleges and universities offer college credit for workshops taken at Anderson Ranch. Discounts are available for students and teachers.
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