Society for Photographic Education
2006 National Conference Review

A New Pluralism: Photography's Future

43rd National Conference – March 23-26, 2006
Chicago, Illinois at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Tower

What could be better than having to wade through groups of folks sharing their artwork in the lobby, being “blown away” by featured speakers that chart new territories for us to journey through, trying to decide which presentation you want to see when you really want to see them all, folding your print raffle ticket in just the right way before you slip it into the box, dancing until you drop and then dancing some more, and going back home with so many new ideas swirling around in your head that you can’t sleep?

The great city of Chicago was the backdrop for the 43rd SPE National Conference titled, A New Pluralism: Photography’s Future. From March 23 to March 26 artists, scholars, students, educators, museum and gallery curators explored the cultural and conceptual evolution of the photographic image in relationship to new technologies through the events and activities of this year’s national conference.

This conference was a huge success, breaking the record for the largest attendance of any national conference in SPE history with 1,330 individuals. The conference programming included a keynote address, an honored educator, a featured speaker, two invited speakers, thirteen imagemaker presentations, fifteen lectures, eight panel discussions, five graduate student presentations and the Women’s Film Festival. Portfolio reviews supported 250 artists getting feedback on their work from 107 reviewers. The Academic Practicum Workshops drew 188 attendees. Attendance at the Adobe Seminar, Digital Color Management in Contemporary Photography Seminar, Publishing the Photographic Book Workshop and Calumet Digital Workflow for Imagemaker Workshop included 557 individuals. The Women’s Film Festival included three award-winning women filmmakers, Lisa Barcy, Daniéle Wilmouth and Mary Patten.

The keynote, honored educator, and featured and invited speakers “rocked the house.” Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, delivered the keynote address on Thursday, sponsored by Eastman Kodak Company. His talk “I Want to Teach the World to See: Amateur Photography, Participatory Culture and Media Convergence” was a grand slam. With a terrific sense of humor and surprising twists and turns, Henry Jenkins explored the ways in which we incorporate media into our own lives and how these new technologies are influencing imagemaking today. During the entire presentation the audience was either sitting at the edge of their seats not wanting to miss a single word or falling off their seats in fits of laughter. Henry Jenkins gave a fantastic keynote presentation as his critical and witty talk sparked an energetic and forward-looking tone for the conference.

Conference goers who arrived on Wednesday had a great opportunity to attend a presentation by a prominent artist working in digital media. John Paul Caponigro’s presentation, sponsored by Canon USA and Calumet Photographic, was popular and filled up quickly. The Honored Educator Carl Toth, Artist-in-Residence and Photography Department Head at Cranbrook Academy of Art, was sponsored by Sprint Systems of Photography. With an astounding record of creative accomplishments and a genuine commitment to teaching excellence Carl Toth was a terrific choice for this award. His talk “Visual Semantics in a Technological Age” echoed the conference theme and invited the audience to consider the role that technology can play in shaping creative work. Mary Jo Toles, a former student of Toth’s, gave a thoughtful and heartfelt introduction in which she reminded us that great teachers do make a mark on the future through the students they inspire. Following Toth’s talk, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago, hosted a reception at the museum that also featured a book signing by Toth.

Featured Speaker Barbara Stafford mesmerized the audience with her talk “Beyond the Atomistic Aperture: The Spiritual History of Apparatus,” sponsored by Calumet Photographic and the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago. Barbara Stafford is the William B. Ogden Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of Chicago; she is also a writer, historian, curator and the recipient of numerous awards. With fascinating images of optical devices and historical visual technologies from around the world, Stafford illuminated a strange and wonderful world obsessed with developing devices that could alter our visual, conceptual, spiritual and physical relationship to the world. Her depth of knowledge, passion for the subject, inventive considerations and exuberant presence on the stage made this talk an adventure for the audience and a showstopper. Kerry James Marshall, one of Chicago’s eminent artists, was an invited speaker to the conference. His presentation titled “The Last Picture Show” drew an enthusiastic, appreciative crowd.

General session programs on Friday and Saturday were jam-packed with excellent talks too. Imagemaker talks drew large crowds with such enthusiasm that many individuals were willing to stand in doorways or sit on floors. With presentations of creative work that explored such topics as psychometry, photography and performance, science and personal experience, epic photography and Vietnam veterans, just to name a few, it is no wonder that it was downright impossible to decide which imagemaker presentation to see. The conference programming included a top-notch line-up of lectures that explored a wide variety of diverse and thought-provoking topics. Lecturers shared their personal experiences and illuminated thoughtful critiques and theories surrounding contemporary and historical creative practice in photography, new media and culture. Lecture topics ranged from, photography and information, Daguerre’s diorama, genetic pluralism and self-promotion in the digital realm, to landscape, photography and topography.

These terrific presentations, provided conference attendees with opportunities to dive deep into the issues and ideas that shape the landscape of contemporary photography practice and photographic education. Panel presentations created a lively and engaging forum for discussion across a wide range of topics. Conference goers could choose to attend panel discussions on, digital imaging in photographic education, book publishing, El Llano Estacado, post-directorial photography, photography and new media, collaboration in photographic practice, photography and fashion, and the scanner as camera. Thoughtful presentations lead to great discussions that often continued out into the hallways, and into the dinner conversation.

Since the inception of the Academic Practicum Worshops (APW) at the 2005 national conference in Portland these workshops have become very popular. This year SPE offered six pre-conference workshops designed to provide opportunities to discuss career development and pedagogical concerns. Workshops and lectures in the career track included, “Educating the Next Generation of Photo Educators,” “Part Time Pay/Full Time Responsibility” and a dossier-building workshop. The presentations and lectures in the pedagogical track included, “Photographic Education Today,” “Chasing the Monkey: Digital Photography and the State Institution” and “Critique as a Method of Critical Engagement.” This year’s APW programming created an opportunity to develop strategies for addressing the important issues that face educators and education today.

Portfolio reviews were a great success. Altogether, 107 educators, curators, gallery directors, critics and artists gave 834 individual reviews lasting twenty minutes each. The review process ran very smoothly thanks to this year’s portfolio review co-coordinators Nate Larson and Travis Linville, portfolio review support Christine Shank, and all of the fine volunteers that helped to make it all possible. Gone are the days of the portfolio review, first come first serve line forming at 5:00 a.m. Now folks arrive ten minutes before their predetermined review time, well rested and excited to show their work. The buzz at the conference was that reviewers were very excited about the quality of the work they were seeing. One of the most exciting aspects of the national conference is an opportunity to share our creative work and hear challenging and honest critiques that inspire and inform the way we see, experience and interpret the world. The SPE portfolio reviews were generously supported by a grant from the ASMP Foundation.

The 2006 conference sponsors and exhibitors provided invaluable support for the national conference. Calumet Photographic sponsored Featured Speaker Barbara Stafford and the Digital Workflow for Imagemaker Workshop with Patti Russotti; Calumet Photographic and Canon USA, Inc. sponsored John Paul Caponigro; Sprint Systems of Photography sponsored Honored Educator Carl Toth; The MAC Group sponsored the Saturday Dance Party and the Digital Color Management in Contemporary Photography Seminar with Tom P. Ashe; Eastman Kodak Company sponsored Keynote Speaker Henry Jenkins; The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago sponsored Featured Speaker Barbara Stafford and the Friday night reception at the Museum of Contemporary Photography (MoCP); Adobe Systems Incorporated sponsored the Adobe Seminar; Freestyle Photographic Supplies sponsored the Crystal Apple Award; and HPI International provided our lanyards.

The Exhibits Fair drew conference attendees to booths and tables highlighting the leading manufacturers, publishers featuring new products, book signings and demonstrations. The Educator’s Fair included twelve educational institutions with information about their programs or projects. Eighty-two exhibitors participated in the Exhibits Fair. Sixty-two of them were companies that took part in past conferences, and twenty were new exhibitors. The Exhibits Fair ran Friday and Saturday and was constantly bustling with conference attendees. Through their support, commitment and enthusiasm for SPE, these companies, organizations and educational institutions helped to make this conference an outstanding event.

A public presentation of the student scholarship recipients was held prior to the honored educator address. This year’s Freestyle Crystal Apple Award was awarded to Curtis Mann, a graduate student from Columbia College Chicago. The newly established, Jeannie Pearce Award, was awarded to Wilfred “Jay” Gould, a graduate student at Savannah College of Art and Design. The recipients of the ten SPE student awards included, Christine Chin (graduate student, University of New Mexico), Jessica Cook (graduate student, University of North Texas), Jess T. Dugan (undergraduate student, Massachusetts College of Art), Wei Meng Foo (graduate student, Arizona State University), Morgan Konn (graduate student, San Jose State University), Zachary Mazur (graduate student, Washington State University), Lindsay Page (graduate student, School of the Art Institute of Chicago), Masumi Shibata (graduate student, University of New Mexico), Sarah Sudhoff (graduate student, Parsons School of Design), and Yvette Yeh (graduate student, Parsons School of Design). In recognition of their accomplishments, examples of their creative work were shown during the award ceremony, with artwork ranging from documentary style work to constructed imagery. The audience was wowed by the innovative talent of these emerging artists.

The Print Raffle drew an excited crowd to the Exhibits Fair on Saturday. With generous print and product donations the raffle raised just over $10,500. Print donations included: 21st Publishers of Fine Art Photography Books (Cy DeCosse & Michal Macku prints), Steve Bliss, Joy Christiansen, Barbara DeGenevieve, Carlos Diaz, Ellen Garvens, Elijah Gowin, Richard Gray, Susan kae Grant, Todd Hido, Michael Kenna, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago (Judy Natal print), Elaine O’Neil, Bart Parker, Sandy Sorlien, David Taylor, Maggie Taylor, Carl Toth, Melanie Walker, Todd Walker and John Willis. The Silent Auction, with product, book and workshop donations, raised $5,444.75. Thank you to all donors who helped make the raffle and silent auction a huge success and a fun event to attend!

Following the raffle drawing, SPE celebrated the accomplishments of outstanding artist, Jawshing Arthur Liou by awarding the 2006 Garry B Fritz Imagemaker Award before the featured speaker presentation. The award given to an imagemaker, who is presenting at SPE for the first time and who received the highest ranking through the peer review process. The award was established in 2004 in honor and in memory of Garry B Fritz, an SPE member with a long-time interest in photography. It was funded by a gift through the Oregon Community Foundation.

Overall, the 2006 national conference was a great success. With a record number of conference participants and fantastic programming there is no doubt that this conference is one that will be talked about for some time to come. Great conferences like this are not possible without committed individuals that are willing to roll up their sleeves and make it all happen. Special thanks goes to this year’s conference co-chairs, Carlos Diaz and Richard Gray. Their vision and enthusiastic commitment to putting this conference together was astounding. The 2005 national board of directors, Terri Warpinski (chair), David Taylor (vice chair), Therese Mulligan (treasurer), Cass Fey (secretary), Steven J. Bliss, Shauna Church, Rebecca Cummins, Carlos Diaz, Diana Gaston, Richard Gray, Elizabeth Greenberg, Angela Kelly, Mark Klett, Lawrence McFarland, Valerie Mendoza and Sandy Sorlien, has provided great leadership for the organization and an exciting new direction. And we all know that the conference could not have run smoothly without the contributions of the 160 volunteers that worked tirelessly behind the scenes. Thanks to everyone who made Chicago such a great conference and we’ll see you all in Miami next March!

The next national conference will take place at the Radisson Miami Hotel on Biscayne Boulevard in downtown Miami, FL, March 15-18, 2007. The theme is Look Out: Photography and the Worlds of Contemporary Art. Please join us!

Joann Brennan
National Board Member

Special Offer: Conference DVD of main speakers
DVDs of the presentations by Henry Jenkins (keynote address), Carl Toth (honored educator), Barbara Stafford (featured speaker), John Paul Caponigro (invited speaker), Kerry James Marshall (invited speaker) and Jawshing Arthur Liou (Garry B. Fritz Award recipient) at the national conference in Chicago, IL are now available to SPE members and conference attendees. The price for shipping and handling is $10 per DVD. The DVDs will be released for educational purposes only. Contents of the DVDs may not be copied, distributed or broadcast in any form. Please see restrictions on the SPE website. A link is available from www.spenational.org or go directly to http://www.spenational.org/conference/conf2006/dvd2006.html. Contact the SPE national office to place your order (speoffice@spenational.org or 216/622-2733). Please indicate which DVD you are purchasing.

General 2006 Conference Information
Conference Participants

Printable 2006 Conference Schedule (40k text)
Presentation Abstracts and Speaker Bios

Conference Registration Form and Portfolio Guidelines.
Preregistration info for John Paul Caponigro has been posted.
Conference News (from SPE Members' Newsletter)
Women's Caucus Film Festival Programming
Conference Program Guide cover artists
Conference hotel and transportation details
2006 Scholarship Recipients
Museum + Gallery List and Restaurant Listing

(photo: copyright Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau)