Introductory Seminar on Creative Photography

[presented by Platon Rivellis]

by Platon Rivellis

At the time when I was teaching in various schools of photography, in schools and universities, the registries found the titling of my course extremely difficult. And they were right, because any course about art varies from teacher to teacher in the same way that their personalities and styles vary. Even if the Ministry of Education had prescribed specific teaching material, the course would still be formed by the personality of the specific teacher.

When I started teaching photography I did not do so by using the experience of other teachers, since I was self-taught, like most photographers of my generation. I did not have a course to "copy" or a teacher to follow. I did not even start off because I wanted to be a teacher. I just had the desire to teach some of the people close to me what I had "discovered". When, after some time, I realised that teaching gave me great pleasure and that it seemed to have great results, I started thinking about creating my own photography course from scratch. After some minor modifications I ended up with the type of seminars taught at the "Circle" today. It's been twenty years since they started and my experience makes me think that I am on the right track. This, however, does not stop me from thinking about any changes that are necessary in this long track.

The "Circle" seminar was formed to suit its teacher. It addresses an audience whose defining trait is neither age, nor knowledge, nor the possibility of employment. Age is not important so long it is not extreme. The same stands for knowledge about photography. In the area of technical knowledge there are many differences, but as far as the art of photography is concerned everyone is more or less uninformed. I still have not seen that generation of students with a basic understanding of the history of creative photography. As far as employment is concerned, I do not think that my seminar will do any harm to an aspiring professional but, at the same time, I do not believe that this is what he desperately needs. I believe that we all are and should remain, in relation to our work in photography, eternal amateurs.

I assume, therefore, that the profile of the average student in my seminars corresponds to mine when I first started thinking about photography: A general interest in art, a basic technical knowledge, non-existent knowledge about the history of photography (I encountered Kertész's work after I had already organized my first darkroom), and ignorance about the possibility of a "future" in the world of photography. The years that have passed have shown me that the purpose of these seminars has been understood and that students come expecting exactly what they can get from them.

When I organise my class I follow my own learning process. Characteristic of this is the fact that in each of the brief classes I call "classes for oldies", I share with my old students my latest thoughts on art and photography. My class, therefore, is a "class in progress". Many of my students, when they sit in my classes years later, detect small changes in my beliefs or conclusions.

I call the first part of my seminar a "Basic" or "Introductory" seminar on Creative Photography. The title is deliberately vague. Creative Photography (for me) is the kind of photography that suits its creator. It starts from him and ends in him in an effort to connect with the world and the specific aesthetic medium. In a basic introductory seminar these fundamental "ground rules" are explained in order to help the photographer in the formation of his artistic pursuits.

The first part, which is essential, is the knowledge of basic technique. Photographic technique in itself is fairly simple and easy to learn. From there on the photographer can move on to more specialised methods on his own. 

The second part of the basic seminar deals with the world of Creative Photography, both present and past. There are three main reasons, in my opinion, for this retrospective. The first one has to do with the fact that no one can engage in an art if he does not first love one or more of its representatives. This is true for all aspiring artists, but somehow not true for photographers, or worse, their teachers. The second is the necessity for admiration, respect and influence in a creative dialogue with the past. Art is an infinite allusion and comparison. The artist is constantly placed in front of the world of art; the world from which he himself originates and to which he constantly refers. The third reason is the fact that everything about photography must be learned through samples of actual photographic work and not just through sterile theory. Every theoretical explanation of art must begin and end in actual art. Otherwise it is an explanation which is possibly quite interesting, scientific even, but not creative. Therefore, during the basic seminar, a first encounter with the work of the masters of photography is necessary.

This encounter can only be "introductory". The student has to work in his/her own time in order to move further. This is the reason for the importance of an extensive photographic library. Following the logic that I mentioned earlier where the seminar does no more than trace my own footsteps in photography, it would be inconsistent of me not to consider the library of primary importance, when my own knowledge is based on these very photography books.

The choice of photographers presented during the introductory seminar is based on the necessity of introducing the classic great photographers in parallel with the more average, but still worthy, creators who are closer to our "human" standards. Well-known names are also included, even if, for me, they do not fit into any of the aforementioned categories.  This is so that the students have a broader historical knowledge and more information on which to base their own judgment. There is also a great emphasis on contemporary photography and although this photography has not yet withstood the test of time, it is necessary to include it so that the student is familiar with the photographic world he has to work in.

In the past I have often wondered whether the presentation of the work of photographers should in fact be accompanied by any kind of commentary. However, early on I came to the conclusion that a presentation without any commentary whatsoever would give a false impression to the student of a freedom of opinion. This is not so, because lacking the necessary knowledge the student is not ready to form an opinion. Anyway, we have already seen that a creative seminar is shaped by its teacher, however private and personal his views are. It is obvious that there is more than one view on each subject, but during the short duration of a seminar what is interesting is the view of the teacher. In any case, it is reasonable to assume that the "free" opinion of the still "green" student is bound to be more open to easy and obvious works rather than the difficult and most important ones. It is there that the teacher's opinion works as a kind of primary "impulse". It is very common for my students to admit that it took them one or two years to approach (I avoid the term "understand") the work of some great but "hermetic" photographers.

The third part of the seminar has to do with the discussion of photographic or artistic problems in general. This discussion stimulates the spirit, directs the photographer and places him opposite the world, art and his medium.

During the short duration of an introductory seminar it is difficult to fit in any practical work. Despite that fact, I have always thought it necessary for my students to actually photograph during the seminars, even those students that are only interested in a theoretical approach to photography. As a creative medium photography has many peculiarities. The main one is the fact that its tool is not the camera, but our own eye and the only way to exercise this is through the viewfinder. Even more necessary is the actual taking of photographs, especially when one realizes that it is the only way to grasp what the great photographers are doing. Moreover, it is the only way for someone to exercise his critical eye. That is why there is always time dedicated to the criticism of photographs taken during the seminar.

I belong to the minority of teachers who do not assign specific projects or themes to their students. For the technical part this is because I believe that technical knowledge is acquired more naturally through practice - that is the taking of photographs. For the creative part, I believe that the student must once more discover the world gradually and must realize that what he or she photographs is a very important personal choice. This is the way that the "world" is going to become the "photographed world".

The duration of such a seminar could be unlimited since, with the exception of photographic technique, the remaining part of the course is nothing more than something that everyone would wish to do for the rest of his/her life. Any chosen duration is rather arbitrary and has to do more with practical rather than educational concerns. There is, however, enough time for one to get the general idea.

With the completion of the short seminar the student has accumulated a great number of new facts; facts which he might find difficult to "digest", even if he accepts them. This takes time and personal work. I no longer labour under the illusion that with the completion of the seminar I will have students with whom I can completely identified.
What is accomplished, however, is a realisation of the importance and of the difficulty of the photographic medium. Moreover, a minimum, but necessary, code of understanding has developed based on the variety of the photographic works reviewed and on the discussion of different kinds of creative problems. Unfortunately, another problem which has arisen is that students experience a difficulty in the production of photographic work. This is probably due to the "weight" of new knowledge and to the loss of photographic innocence.

The second seminar, entitled "Advanced Seminar on Photography and Critique" comes as a completely necessary supplement. To this day, I have not found a way to convince my students that this second seminar is indeed so essential that without it the effect of the first one is reduced by 50%. Everyone who has participated in this seminar, and I mean everyone, has looked for ways to explain its importance to others. I have thought about it, and I could consider this seminar as an integral part of the first one. However, on the one hand the participants in the advanced seminar have to be completely convinced and dedicated, and on the other hand it is a pity for the people who cannot "invest" more time for the advanced seminar to be deprived of the benefits of the introductory one.

The advanced seminar is based on the logic of representing, in a short period of time, the photographic process in the life of the photographer. The participants dedicate a number of days to photography (10 for the summer seminar in Syros), during which time they work exclusively on photography. For this reason the seminar takes place in a space away from home and its distractions, on a Cycladic island during the summer - the holiday season.

During the seminar the participants take photographs every day. Then, all the photographs are discussed critically by both the teacher and the other participants. The printing of photographs is not necessary since they are projected on to a screen through a scanner. With this continuous succession of photographic practice and criticism the photographer realises that the photographic process is more a method and a discipline rather than a moment of inspiration. This demystifies enthusiasm and disappointment, practises the photographer's critical eye during the criticism of the photographs taken, and offers him the opportunity to put into practice everything he has learnt so far.

The advanced seminar serves also as an opportunity for me to get to know my students better. It is also an opportunity for me to explain to the students that have renewed their trust in me the artistic basis behind my views and my photographic criteria. We analyse the work of great photographers like Julia Margaret Cameron, Carleton Watkins, André Kertész, Henri Cartier-Bresson, August Sander, Eugene Atget, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Josef Sudek and others; the analysis made during the basic seminar is not enough to explain my views fully. For this reason the evenings during the advanced seminar are dedicated to the projection of videotapes on artists whose work has influenced my thought. These projections are often occasions for analysis and discussion. They are also a way of filling in some gaps in the basic artistic education of young Greeks.

During these nightly projections, films which are usually unavailable to younger generations are shown and discussed. Films like: "Tokyo Story" by Yazujiro Ozu, "Ordet" by Carl Dreyer, "8 ½" by Federico Fellini, "Wild Strawberries" by Ingmar Bergman, "The Sacrifice" by Andrei Tarkovsky, "Death in Venice" by Luchino Visconti etc. Also shown are films on dance, like the "Café Muller" choreography by Pina Baush or "Events" by Merce Cunningham, on theatre, like an interview with and extracts from the work of Tadeusz Kantor, on painting, like an interview with André Malraux, on classical music and on other subjects.

At the end of this seminar everybody, including myself as the teacher, believes that we have lived a fragment of the kind of life we would like to live everyday. It is tiring, but also pleasurable because it is creative. Life may not be exactly thus, nor is it possible for creation to be continuous. Everyone, however, realises that after the seminar on critique they have a deeper awareness of the photographic medium and its process, and a solid theoretical grounding. From then on anyone can direct his/her own small personal seminars.

After these seminars the mature (both in age and in photographic experience) photographer does not need to do anything but work. He should search for his motivation and goals for himself. He also needs to maintain a constant awareness of photographic and general "culture". And finally, he needs the companionship of others, whose opinions he values, in order to discuss his work. "Photography Circle" tries to cover all these needs.