Students expelled from the Vevey school of Photography

The administration has decided to "decontaminate" the Vevey school of it's "nefarious

elements", who went on strike to protest against changes in the program that led to the

decision of over 40 extremely reputable photographers and educators, amongst which A.D

Coleman, Duane Michals and Arno Minkkinen never to return. Arno has stated that what

happened at Vevey is the "educational crime of the century".

The alumni (and by this, i mean ALL the alumni minus two or three whose numbers

couldn't be found) have demanded that the school cease using our "names, our

reputations, or our work, to be in any way associated with the new system."

As a former student of the program, i am revolted at what happened, and can only hope

that both the word is spread, within the community, that, as far as those who know it best

are concerned, and if the program remains run by the same people, there is only one way

to state what happened to what was for 7 years one of the leading photography programs

in the world : Vevey is dead.

Maybe the school should teach:

"who, what, why, when and where?"

Do you have a news link or something?

I dont know the history and was just wondering.

Thanks!

Kieran Mullen

http://www.ou-t.ch (alumni / diploma shows)

http://www.fsphoto.ch (current students, up-to-the-minute news)

http://www.cepv.ch (school official website)

and an interview in french :

http://www.swissup.com/art_content.cfm?upid=FR3163

my blog, at http://www.boring.ch/matt has a couple of entries related to it, one of which is a translation of the interview that was linked above and is probably the more complete one. I mention the situation a couple of times over the past few months, but nothing major - most of the stuff that has been published about it is in french.

Kieran, this is about the best i've done at getting things down. I sent it out to an english-speaking journo earlier today, and i don't have the energy to rephrase it or edit it down much more.

The Vevey school is, to my knowledge, the longest-running photography school in Europe.

That school had a program called Formation Supérieure, or "Advanced Program".

This program was taught by alternating university-level classes in theoretical fields (art history, history of photography, computer science, as well as english and german...) with, every other week, week-long workshops taught by a "dream team" of incredible individuals, which included such people as A.D Coleman, Arno Minkkinen, Duane Michals, or the late Helmut Newton. The workshops would jump from someone renown for his ability in self-portraiture to someone like Antonin to Grazia Neri in the course of a few weeks. In the last year alone, students of the graduating class got 40 hours of face-time with Grazia Neri, 80 with Coleman, a full week with Michals, a week with Sophie Riestelhueber, another week with Bill Ewing, the curator of Musee de l'Elysee... The first year students had Arno Minkkinen, and Juan Fontcuberta, the second year had Antonin and Arno and Ann Mandelbaum. And the list goes on, and on, and on. These heavyweights were the norm, not the exception.

There are a few things that were so special about that program. One of them is that because the location is so removed, and quiet, it allows for an extremely high level of attention to be given to the student. The other is that the place was state-run, and funded. As a Swiss citizen, tuition cost a grand total of 720 Swiss francs a year, which is around 500 U$, maybe a bit more in these days of weak exchange rate on your side. Foreign students were of course welcome, and encouraged, and since most of the classes were taught in a language foreign to most of the people in the room, would not have any trouble adjusting.

Last year, that program was canned, remodeled, and sold to everyone as equivalent.

Of the 40 or so A-listers who made the core of the school's address book, a grand total of two have accepted to return after seeing the changes.

Arno Mikkinen has called the situation "the educational crime of the century".

The students sued the state.

An open letter to the school board, and staff, was sent by all (minus one who refused and a couple that couldn't be tracked down...) the alumni, forbidding the school from using their work, names or reputation in promoting the new program.

An extremely courageous group of students went on strike in early October, after months of negociations with the state, to protest the changes.

They were supported by the alumni in their demands. Coleman, Minkkinen, ICP's Robert Blake, Jacqueline Hassink and Sarah Moon were among those who took the time to also join in support.

Six of those students were expelled on Tuesday, after four months on strike, talking to the local media to try to get some awareness out, which got the (new..) dean of the school so miserable he called on the State to "decontaminate the school of the nefarious elements it still houses".

Perhaps the state cut their funding and they needed to readjust the program?

If the state cut the funding I would understand.

Its to bad but perhaps they should just move to a better school?

The students that are most likely got far more from the program that they paid.

Kieran Mullen

Kieran, little to do with funding, a lot to do with philosophy.

There simply is nothing else at that level that is both free, or almost, in the general area,

and can take them on. Scolarships in the EU is tough because some are only swiss, and

don't have european passport, and none of them can afford the cost of an american

education, which, given the level, would likely have to be somewhere in the graduate

sphere anyway, the diplomas to which they don't, and can't, have.

The students paid for the program by working for three years, 60 or 80 hours a week.What

those kids got from the state was a lot of blood, sweat and tears and not much in return -

the program they were in was canned halfway through.

The educational system here is still a meritocracy, as much as such a thing is possible, not

some weird plutocracy where any idiot with a few hundred grand to burn and a wealthy

family can buy himself an education, or at the very least get a chance to cut the line to it.

You don't buy Arno Minkkinen, you don't buy Duane Michals - these people are at a point

in their careers where make more by staying where they are and not investing the energy

into a bunch of pretentious kids than by getting on a plane.

"and none of them can afford the cost of an american education"

Sorry what? What European in their right mind would want an American Education? Many state funded "Free" education programs in Europe are far better than many of the paid US programs. It is a well know fact that the US is lagging behind the world in that area...

Kieran Mullen