Visual Culture Blog

Anouk Kruithof, ‘Wall of fading memory’, 2012

Tucked away at the back of Hewett Street in Shoreditch, B&N Gallery, which opened its doors in October last year, was the venue for Dutch artist Anouk Kruithof’s first solo exhibition in the UK. Kruithof, better known for her innovative photographic portraits and limited edition artist’s books, made full use of the new gallery space by installing artworks from various mediums: photographs, video art, photomontages, posters and colour copies. The source for this eclectic body of work is an archive of C type prints that Kruithof has collected since she began working as a photographic artist. The most visible work in the gallery is ‘Wall of fading memory’, an assemblage of cut outs to create a ‘wall’ of photographs diagonally stretching from one side of the gallery to the other. Despite the monumental connotations of the artwork’s title, this wall of prints is floating in mid-air and is permeated by empty spaces. Within this huge montage, these holes (for the lack of a better word) can be analyzed in a number of ways, yet to me they signify photography’s ongoing struggle to fully and accurately capture the real.

Film still from Homeland, Series 1, Episode 11

In trying to find an order within a potentially overwhelming amount of visual information, Kruithof assembled the prints according to colour thus somewhat recreating the spectrum of the rainbow that metaphorically stretches through the width of the gallery space. By deconstructing and then re-assembling visual information by colour, Kruithof engages in the very same activity (likely by sheer coincidence) as a CIA agent played by Claire Danes in the new TV series ‘Homeland’. Struggling to comprehend the timeline of a notorious terrorist cell, Danes’ character colour codes classified documents, news reports and photographs, only for her colleague to recognize an emerging pattern and put together the information on a pin wall. Described by the cultural critic Alberto Toscano as ‘cognitive mapping’, a similar desire to deconstruct, order and re-assemble information on a wall or a map can also be seen in other examples of popular culture such as the acclaimed TV series ‘The Wire’. Kruithof appears to tap into precisely these emerging practices, perhaps popularized by TV, yet also evident in every day life: trying to find an order in an age in which information is abundantly and overwhelmingly available.

Anouk Kruithof, ‘Never ending pile of a past’, 2011

Félix González-Torres, untitled, date unknown

Located near the entrance of the gallery is an artwork with the title ‘Never ending pile of a past’. In its original condition it consists of 10.000 colour copies, neatly stacked upon each other, which, in turn, depict a stack of photographic prints photographed from the side. This piece, much like Kruithof’s body of work as a whole, is deeply self-referential, ironic, even dryly humorous: a stack of copies depicting a photograph of a stack of photographs. With this work, Kruithof seeks to reach out from the narrow confines of the gallery world by making the work free of charge, allowing the viewer to become the collector and take a print away. Comparable to the iconoclastic photography projects by the late Félix González-Torres, Kruithof thus appears to challenge the notion of the photograph as unique and treasured artifact. In the context of the commercial gallery system, such a gesture is rarely found considering that the gallery partially depends on the artwork being of some value. With this exhibition Kruithof continues to establish herself as a provocatrice who challenges the viewer, the medium photography, and even the very format in which photography is consumed.

Anouk Kruithof: Becoming Blue is available as a book. Other recommendations can be found in our online bookshop.

Below is a list of photography undergraduate degree courses in the UK. The list consists of institutions that specifically award a Bachelor degree in photography or a photography related subject such as photojournalism. The list therefore excludes awards in photography such as HNC Higher National Certificate, HND Higher National Diploma, Cer Certificate, CertHE Certificate of Higher Education, Dip Diploma, DipHE Diploma of Higher Education or Fdg FdA Foundation Degrees. Bachelor awards in, for instance, Fine Art, Fashion Promotion and Media Arts, where the use of photography might be supported though it is not integral to the course are also excluded. Please sign up to this blog to be notified when I publish a list of Masters degree photography courses in the UK.

Explanation of the list format:

Place of study: the name of the institution at which photography is taught.
Awarded degree: the title of the degree with a link to the course homepage.
Course Leader: the name of the course leader is included if it is openly displayed on the course homepage.
Length of study: number of years in full time study mode.
Tuition fee: tuition fee per year in British Pounds. Please note that fees are likely to change and that the author makes NO GUARANTEE FOR VALIDITY.

Photography degree courses in the UK:

Anglia Ruskin University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£8,300 per year

Bath Spa University
BA (Hons) Photography and Digital Media
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Bedfordshire
BA (Hons) Photography and Video Art
3 years
£9,000 per year

Birmingham City University
BA (Hons) Media and Communication (Photography Media)
3 years
£8,200 per year

Blackpool and The Fylde College
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£6,000 per year

University of Bolton
BA (Hons) Photography
Programme Leader: Ian Glover
3 years
£7,200 per year

Arts University College Bournemouth
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Leader: Dave Hazel
BA (Hons) Commercial Photography
Course Leader: Conrad Tracy
3 years
£8,600 per year

Bournemouth University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£8,200 per year

University of Bradford
BA (Hons) Photography for Digital Media
3 years
£9,000 per year

Bradford College
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£6,700 per year

University of Brighton
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

Canterbury Christ Church University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£8,500 per year

University of Central Lancashire
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Chester
BA (Hons) Photography
Programme Leader: Dr Cian Quayle
3 years
£8,000 per year

Cleveland College of Art and Design
BA (Hons) Photography
Programme Leader: Jamie MacDonald
3 years
£8,000 per year

Colchester Institute
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£7,500 per year

London College of Communication, University of the Arts
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Director: Beverley Carruthers
BA (Hons) Photojournalism
Course Director: Nigel Tanburn
3 years
£9,000 per year

Coventry University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Cumbria
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£7,850 per year

De Montfort University
BA (Hons) Photography & Video
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Derby
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Leader: Heike Lowenstein
BA (Hons) Commercial Photography
Course Leader: information not available
3 years
£7,995 per year

University of East London
BA (Hons) Photography
Programme Leader: Ralph Hall
3 years
£9,000 per year

Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
BA (Hons) Photography
Head of Photography: David Williams
4 years
Scottish and EU students: £1,820 per year
Rest of UK: £9,000 per year

Edinburgh Napier University
BA (Hons) Photography & Film
4 years
Scottish and EU students: £1,820 per year
Rest of UK: £6,500 per year

University College Falmouth
BA (Hons) Photography
Award Leader: Steven Tynan
BA (Hons) Fashion Photography
Award Leader: information not available
BA (Hons) Press & Editorial Photography
Award Leader: Mal Stone
BA (Hons) Marine & Natural History Photography
Award Leader: Sue Boafo
3 years
£9,000 per year

London College of Fashion, University of the Arts
BA (Hons) Fashion Photography
Course Director: Edward Barber
3 years
£9,000 per year

University for the Creative Arts
BA (Hons) Photography
BA (Hons) Photography (Contemporary Practice)
3 years
£8,500 per year

University of Glamorgan
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
Welsh and EU students: £3,465 per year
Rest of UK: £9,000 per year

Glasgow School of Art
BA (Hons) Fine Art Photography
Head of Department: Professor Thomas Joshua Cooper
4 years
Scottish and EU students: £1,820 per year
Rest of UK: £9,000 per year

University of Gloucesterhire
BA (Hons) Fine Art – Photography
BA (Hons) Photography – Editorial and Advertising
BA (Hons) Photojournalism and Documentary Photography
3 years
£8,250 per year

University Centre Grimsby
BA (Hons) Commercial Photography
3 years
£5,950 per year

Hereford College of Arts
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£8,000 per year

University of Hertfordshire
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£7,800 per year

University of Huddersfield
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£7,950 per year

Kingston University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Leeds
BA (Hons) Cinema & Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

Leeds College of Art
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£8,250 per year

Leeds Metropolitan University
BSc (Hons) Photographic Journalism
3 years
£8,500 per year

University of Lincoln
BA (Hons) Contemporary Lens Media
3 years
£9,000 per year

London Metropolitan University
BA (Hons) Fine Art – Photography
3 years
£6,600 per year

London South Bank University
BA (Hons) Digital Photography
3 years
£8,450 per year

Manchester Metropolitan University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

Middlesex University
BA (Hons) Photography
Programme Leader: David Simmonds
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Northampton
BA (Hons) Photographic Practice
3 years
£8,500 per year

Northbrook College Sussex
BA (Hons) Fine Art: Photography
Full time Course Leader: David Blackaller
BA (Hons) Contemporary Photographic Arts Practice
Full time Course Leader: information not available
3 years
£7,000 per year

Northumbria University
BA (Hons) Contemporary Photographic Practice
3 years
£9,000 per year

Norwich University College of the Arts
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Leader: James Smith
3 years
£8,500 per year

Nottingham Trent University
BA (Hons) Photography / Photography in Europe
3 years
£8,500 per year

Open College of the Arts
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Leaders: Jose Navarro and Peter Haveland
6 years, part-time
£7,925 total fees

Plymouth College of Art
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

Plymouth University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Portsmouth
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£8,500 per year

Ravensbourne
BA (Hons) Digital Photography
3 years
£8,500 per year

Robert Gordon University Aberdeen
BA (Ord) Commercial Photography
1 year
Scottish and EU students: information not available
Rest of UK: £6,750 per year

Roehampton University
BA (Hon) Photography
3 years
£7,900 per year

University of Salford
BA (Hons) Photography
Programme Leader: Lawrence Giles
3 years
£8,500 per year

Sheffield Hallam University
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£8,500 per year

Southampton Solent University
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Leader: Guy Moreton
3 years
£7,800 per year

South Essex College
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£7,000 per year

Staffordshire University
BA (Hons) Photography
BA (Hons) Fine Art: Photography
BA (Hons) Photojournalism
3 years
£7,990 per year

St Helens College
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£5,850 per year

Stockport College
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£6,000 per year

University Campus Suffolk
BA (Hons) Photography
BA (Hons) Photographic and Digital Media
3 years
£8,000 per year

Univerversity of Sunderland
BA (Hons) Photography, Video and Digital Imaging
3 years
£7,800 per year

Swansea Metropolitan University
BA (Hons) Photography in the Arts
Programme Director: Hamish Gane
BA (Hons) Photojournalism
Programme Director: Paul Duerinckx
3 years
Welsh and EU students: £3,465 per year
Rest of UK: £8,750 per year

University of Ulster
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Director: Peter Neill
3 years
Northern Irish and EU students: £3,465 per year
Rest of UK: £6,000 per year

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of Wales, Newport
BA (Hons) Photographic Art
BA (Hons) Documentary Photography
BA (Hons) Photography for Fashion & Advertising
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of West of England, Bristol
BA (Hons) Photography
Programme Leader: Jim Campbell
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of West London
BA (Hons) Photography and Digital Imaging
3 years
£7,670 per year

University of Westminster
BA (Hons) Photography
BSc (Hons) Photography and Digital Imaging Technologies
BSc (Hons) Clinical Photography
3 years
£9,000 per year

University of the West of Scotland
BA (Hons) Photography
3 years
Scottish and EU tuition fee: information not available
Rest of UK: Year 1 and 2 £5,000 per year / year 3 £10,000 per year

University of Wolverhampton
BA (Hons) Photography
Course Leader: Su Fahy
3 years
£8,500 per year

Disclaimer: NO GUARANTEE FOR VALIDITY
Please contact me at marcus.bohr(at)rca.ac.uk for any errors in the list above.

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Catherine Opie, Katy, 1996

Catherine Opie’s photographs of the lesbian, gay and transgender community, recently on display at the Stephen Friedman Gallery, are meant to challenge the viewer: at the very least they put into question stereotypes about gender, identity and sexuality. Yet inasmuch as the comparably small black and white prints from the ‘Girlfriend’ series exhibited in the front room of the gallery appear to challenge preconceived ideas about gender, Opie also taps into a lineage, or a heritage of images from a surprising number of sources.

Catherine Opie, Pig Pen (Crown of Thorns), 1995 and Albrecht Durer, The dead Christ with the crown of thorns

Amongst photographs that show Opie’s friends in various stages of undress, there is one image, titled ‘Pig Pen (Crown of Thorns), 1995′, of a young woman whose head is punctuated by, what looks like syringes while small drops of blood pour down her face. The portrait has a startling resemblance to a representation of Jesus Christ, blood streaming down his face from the Crown of Thorns. Opie’s photograph is a brutal contemporary reference to Christ’s suffering. Unlike religious iconography however, in which Christ’s suffering is inflicted by others, the pain endured by Opie’s subject is self-inflicted.

Catherine Opie, Julie (Play Piercing), 1994

The desire for self-harm is also evident in ‘Julie (Play Piercing), 1994′ in which a young woman tilts her head back as her face is punctuated by needles. Rather than looking in despair, Opie’s subject appears to enjoy the pain, the head tilted back even signifies a level of ecstasy. In other words, pain is pleasure and vice versa. Other photographs, too, seek to challenge any preconceived ideas about (sexual) pleasure, pain, aggression, lust and desire.

Catherine Opie, Angela (Crotch Grab), 1992 and cover for Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers, 1971

‘Angela (Crotch Grab) 1992′ for instance is a smart visual allegory on the clichéd image of male sexuality: here it is not a man, but a woman, who is grabbing into a tight pair of jeans, evoking the classic Rolling Stones album cover for ‘Sticky Fingers’. While the subject’s legs are slightly apart and her hand aggressively reaches down her jeans, the viewer would be forgiven to assume that the level of aggression more closely represents a male form of sexual dominance. This is, I assume, precisely Opie’s point: she plays a visual game with the viewer, tricks him or her to revert to assumed forms of representations, while flipping these assumptions upside down. Much like pain turns into pleasure, equally, man turns into woman in Opie’s photographs.

Catherine Opie, SUnset #6, 2011 and Hiroshi Sugimoto, Caribbean Sea, Jamaica, 1980

A more recent body of work, titled ‘Twelve Miles to the Horizon: Sunrises and Sunsets’ and on display at the back of the gallery, is physically, conceptually and even aesthetically somewhat removed from the provocative images Opie is best-known for. Commissioned by the shipping company Hanjin, Opie photographed sunrises and sunsets while at sea on a cargo ship traveling from South Korea to California. Misleadingly referred to in the press release as ‘landscape photography’ (despite the lack of ‘land’ itself), Opie followed a precise methodology: all photographs on display are in vertical format, in colour and with the horizon line in the centre of the image. While Hiroshi Sugimoto’s well-known series of photographs ‘Seascapes’ might share an aesthetic proximity with this body of work, I believe Opie’s ‘Twelve Miles to the Horizon’ is conceptually closer located to Allan Sekula’s epic project ‘Fish Story’. Like Sekula’s seminal work, Opie’s project can be read as a critical investigation into consumption, global commerce and trade. Neatly placed at the top and bottom end of the gallery space, only two photographs actually show a part of the ship itself. This has the effect that the rectangular gallery space alludes to the structure of the ship, while the viewer is invited to gaze at the horizon line as universal signifier for the sublime.

Catherine Opie: American Photographer is available as a book. Other recommendations can be found in our online bookshop.