Photography B.F.A. Curriculum

The mission of the Photography department, at The Art Institute of Boston, is to educate our students within an internationally recognized program that is committed to a balance of traditional photographic practice and cutting edge contemporary media within an intimate and evolving learning environment. The department emphasizes and encourages artistic and professional instruction, conceptual and perceptual awareness, critical thinking within contemporary and historical context, the collaborative nature of contemporary art and the technical and aesthetic knowledge necessary for a life and career in the photographic arts.

Photography Foundation

Our department has a unique and specialized Photography Foundation where you are Photography major from the very beginning of your studies towards a degree.

We are presently in the development stages of a new resident MFA program in Photography and are hoping to have it approved and ready to go in the fall of 2011. It is our intention to create a program that is built upon photographic history, and the fluid integration of contemporary media with traditional, and alternative, photographic practice... where traditional media will have new life in the hands of 21st century artists, who will be defining the future of the photography. The following points are the core of our prospectus:
-- Photography is a constantly evolving medium, formidable and compelling as an influential force, and a true nexus of art, society, and culture. Photography, in its present incarnation, is not a single entity. It is a broadly defined, democratically accessible, activity, completely interwoven in the social, cultural, and artistic fabric of society. As an art form it is ubiquitous in contemporary culture, brought on by the ever-increasing availability of digital imaging tools and technologies.
-- The understanding of contemporary issues in art (and the making of art which involves photography) is enhanced, and informed, by knowledge of the historical concerns of photography, as well as by direct studio experience with alternative and historical photographic processes.
-- The program will involve an intense focus on studio practice and critique, with the opportunity to integrate both hand-made and digital imagery. Building on our current faculty expertise in these areas, we intend to create a flexible curriculum that will be attractive to artists who are pursuing their own individual vision using photographic means, and where traditional media will have new life in the hands of 21st century artists.
-- We see an opportunity to take a leadership position with these artists, and an ability to take advantage of a moment when historical and traditional photographic practices can not only inform, but be synonymous with innovative contemporary and critical thinking.

AIB Photography Faculty 2008 - 2010

Core Faculty:
Christopher James – Chair
Bonnie Robinson
Jane Tuckerman
Cig Harvey
Matthew Nash

Lab & Studio Manager:
Josh Winer

Adjuncts Faculty:
Christine Collins
Deborah Davidson
Josh Winer
Frank Gohlke
John Goodman
Rick Hornick
James Hull
Stella Johnson
Matthew Gamber
Margot Kelley
Ken Richardson
John Lueders-Booth
Katherine McVety
Darren Miller
Angela Mittiga
Arno Minkkenen
Lazaro Montano
Dana Mueller
Andrea Raynor
Neil Rennie
Ben Sloat
Andrew Warren
Sarah Malakoff
Amanda Nelson