April 30, 2021 On April 20, Lyle Rexer of the School of Visual Arts virtually visited Lawrence University students and faculty to speak about the “de-skilling and re-skilling of photography.” Rexer’s topic, “Bad Pictures of Bad Subjects,” focused on the complexities of images that appear “bad” or mundane, as well as their effect on popular culture and the art world. He stated that he gravitated towards “all these places where nobody’s paying attention” in photography, especially in the age of social media, where there are few barriers to entry for photographers and viewers. There are complexities to images that appear simple or vernacular, primarily ignored by the art world, since they are viewed as offensive or threatening. His focus is paying more attention to the idiosyncrasies of these images and decoding the purpose behind them, even though they are often dismissed. These photos make viewers question what they know about art photography and art in general.