GEN AI AND THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE

Instructor: Yogan Müller | Tuition: $395 (Members) $465 (Non-Members) | Dates: Saturdays, November 2 - December 14 (skip November 30) | Time: 12 -2 PM ET | Class Size Max: 8

The exponential rise of Generative AI (Gen AI) is redefining image-making. Recent advancements in image generation technologies have profoundly altered the future of photographic practices while introducing exciting new tools for artistic expression.

In this 6-week online studio course, students critically engage with the aesthetics and mechanics of Gen AI and its impact on photography. They gain hands-on experience with popular image generators like Photoshop Generative Fill, DALL-E, and Midjourney. Throughout the course, they formulate, produce, and present a personal project showcasing their explorations of Gen AI.

Yogan Müller (he/him) is a photographer and educator whose work engages with the ecological crisis and its impact on landscapes and communities. Yogan works with photography, photogrammetry, drones, the book form, and artificial intelligence to respond to the Anthropocene/Capitalocene. Research, critical approaches to landscape, fieldwork, and design are central to his process. After the unexpected losses of his father in February 2022 and his step-father in June of that same year–both were born and grew up in Algeria, métisse identity, belonging, and fractured roots are themes that came to the fore.

In October 2019, he emigrated to the USA and joined the Counterforce Lab, a group of ecologically-minded artists and designers led by Rebeca Méndez at the UCLA Design Media Arts (DMA) Department. He started teaching at DMA in January 2020. Occasionally, Yogan has worked as a studio assistant for fine art photographer Mona Kuhn, and designer Rebeca Méndez in Los Angeles.

In November 2018, he graduated with a practice-based PhD in Photography from ENSAV La Cambre and Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. He explored how photography made us enter the picture of the Anthropocene and conducted fieldwork in SW Iceland.

Yogan has taught at the University of Bordeaux in France (2009-2010), UCLA Design Media Arts (2020–2024).