Infinite gaze

Photography is not so much a technique as a visual practice involving a relation of adherence to a referent and not just a mimetic trace of the real. Photography is a term that refers to both a process and a result, in which the photographer’s action is complementary to and indissociable from the object that results from that action.

On the one hand, it is the process through which photographers consciously express their conceptual and technical choices, and on the other, a result that contains the author’s intentions and visual expression. The main objectives of the course are to encourage and develop personal, creative and individual approaches to photography, making optimal use of the specific characteristics of the medium, without neglecting the ability to convey a message and its potential to be received.

The reflective challenge of the student’s artistic project focuses on the authorial intentions of the students as actors in the world in which they operate: to this end, students must take into account external factors (sociological, political, meta-artistic, etc.) and, in an increasingly standardized and homogeneous society, must act as ambassadors for creativity. By the end of their studies, students will have acquired valuable know-how, but also and above all, the ability to engage in a process of reflection, apply a working method, and develop and carry out a project independently.

The course has three main objectives:

Learning the techniques

Students learn the techniques in the CASO and studio classes and through empirical learning and regular practice. The teaching of techniques should be approached from three angles: students should be aware of the range of techniques available; they should be trained in the basics and in the use of tools for the development of artistic projects; and they should become professionals in the medium, so that they can use it freely in all their projects.

Praxis

This teaching forms the backbone of the training programme, guiding students in their daily photographic activities through a project-oriented approach that combines action and reflection. Students are encouraged to practice photography on the basis of themes that they themselves or their teachers propose, and to conceptualize, produce and defend their projects in front of the group and during individual readings, within an environment that respects and promotes individuality. In the studio work, students engage in the search for a personal photographic style, fully aware of the current and historical context of photography, and are encouraged to take on new creative challenges that address visual experimentation with the image in the broadest sense and the final form of the work and its location in space.

Creating independently

The school is a stepping stone; the teaching team emphasizes the need for students to become increasingly independent and to pursue their artistic projects by developing a critical vision.

The aim of the studio is to help students transform their know-how (the fact of being trained in and able to perform an activity that they have practised) into knowledge – a way of understanding and perceiving, a system for explaining the relationship between their ideas and the outside world. A place where you become aware of what you are ‘doing’ and what is at stake; where you question the knowledge you have acquired. The studio classes are structured around encounters with different guest lecturers, each with their own specific experience: photographers, video-makers, visual artists, curators and managers of cultural institutions. Beyond this internal supervision at the studio, ‘confrontations’ are organized in a centripetal way – opening up to societal issues and actors in the art world (seminars, invited professionals, artists, photographers, gallery owners, museum directors, collectors, etc.); and in a centrifugal way – shifting the focus to other places and actors (production of exhibitions, internships, Erasmus exchanges, competitions, portfolio readings, art fairs, museums, artist studios, schools, etc.). Projects are regularly set up in collaboration with external institutions (European schools, museums or art centres, non-profit organizations, etc.).

Bachelor’s

The first year is a year of discovery and initiation. The rest of the Bachelor’s programme (1st cycle) is based on exploration and ‘confrontation’: exploration within the medium, according to the student’s personal orientation, strengthening their practical and theoretical knowledge in the process; ‘confrontation’ between their ideas and the application thereof, and ‘confrontation’ with historical and contemporary artistic production, particularly in the field of photography. The third year of the Bachelor’s programme (1st cycle) expands this learning in preparation for the specific challenges of the Master’s programme (2nd cycle).

Master’s

The Master’s programme (2nd cycle) provides the framework for the development of ideas, for the creative dimension and for the growing independence of the students: the focus is not only the photographic image, but also on striking a balance between the author’s intentions, the choices made, and the resulting image. In their artistic practice, beyond the photographic image, students must consider the final form of the work and its location in space, as well as interdisciplinary practices in contemporary art and its various media: the image object, installation, video and 3D. The presentation of the final work and certain exercises takes the form of a public exhibition and the production of a portfolio.

The course structure offers students a wide range of choices in constructing their individual programme (CASO, transdisciplinary workshops, master’s seminars and objectives, Erasmus, etc.). For example, the question of what happens ‘after school’ is addressed through a double seminar outside the studio that addresses the concept of copyright and the artist status. A research seminar is also available to students who wish to develop in-depth theoretical reflections for a possible postgraduate course. More detailed information is available in the ‘common courses’ tab. 

Additional training within the studio is also available, as are external internships. The course ends with the production of an ambitious and original personal project.

Pedagogical coordination
Hervé Charles

Pedagogical staff

Teachers
David De Beyter, Olivier Thieffry, Philippe Terrier-Hermann, Nikolay Nikolov

Assistants
Jean-Frédéric de Hasque, Emmanuelle Indekeu, Tanguy Poujol

Lecturers
Jean-Pierre Bauduin, Bruno Cordonnier, Christophe Dumoulin, Saskia Gevaert, Catherine Mayeur, Marie Papazoglou, Paolo Pellizzari, Kamand Razavi, Pierre-Olivier Rollin, Jean-Loup Wastrat