This course will challenge the assumption that the photograph is only a document of the past, exploring a myriad of ways in which artists have staged the performance of still (and by extensions moving) imagery. Artworks by Jack Smith, Helio Oiticica, Dan Graham, and Nan Goldin will serve as touchstones as we focus on study on questions about the representation and display of the body, drawing on queer, feminist, trans and critical race art histories that explore how photography can be more than simply a way capturing the world, but of creating it.