2025 SPE Annual Conference: Adaptations
Looking for a chapter event?
Past SPE Annual Conferences
exhibitions
Mid-Atlantic Chapter Conference Schedule
print this pageColin Edgington & Carla Shapiro
Saturday, October 19 - 10:00AM to 11:00AM
Kingsley Ballroom - South
COLIN EDGINGTON: It is understood that, like language, photography can produce works of art as well as works of utility, vernacular and ephemera. At it's most rudimentary base, according to Vilem Flusser, the photograph is made up of a complex set of symbols. In this way, images become less about being an automatic reflection of the physical world and become more fluid and malleable, capable of simultaneously revealing and concealing, while creating a resonance that cannot always be identified, but nonetheless is there asking to be chased. For me, the photograph exists as a site of imaginative contention, one that often shifts within the grey areas of ambivalence attributed to the medium (image/object, icon/index, art/technology, trace/flow and fact/fiction). This approach treats the photograph as both material and as discourse, where its practice can be explored in a way that overlaps or works in-between several modes of thought. My current body of work [umbrae], treats the complexity of the medium as a garden of forking paths by utilizing various aspects of photographic approaches (archive, diaristic, scientific, social and directorial) to build a questionable narrative. This narrative explores conceptual issues dealing with borders and boundaries, transience and place as well as the unknown in photography. This presentation will look at how artists have used photography to build on ideas, concepts and meaning. It will investigate the role of authorship, believability and context, the photograph as material, the blurring between art and utility, the epistemological function of photography, and the often unidentifiable energy that resonates within certain images.
CARLA SHAPIRO: As a photographer I have taken countless pictures, but for this body of work I have been purchasing the photographs of others. Combing through the seemingly endless archives of forgotten and unwanted family snapshots at flea markets, yard sales, and online, I find that certain images have an unexpected personal resonance-an emotional connection that draws me to them. The familiarity of universal themes elicits my own recollections and longings. The discovery of these particular old snapshots becomes the source of a deep exploration of the nature of memory and of image-making itself. I find the experience of searching for the images utterly pleasurable as I glimpse the lives of others. The snapshots that I ultimately choose impact me in a subtle, yet profound way, evoking feelings so real that it sometimes seems as if the picture could actually be of my siblings, my parents or me. I scan these photos and alter them digitally. The alterations seem to mirror the act of remembering itself- some elements remain crystal clear, others fade to an indeterminate blur. I enlarge the images and print them in platinum/palladium, a beautiful19th century technique that yields classic results. Finally, I add paper, fabric, and bric-a-brac to their surfaces to create a collaged effect. Throughout the process of working with these images, I experience memory, longing, and joy. The photos, while easily identifiable as remnants from another era, become timeless.speakers
Carla Shapiro
Colin Edgington
About
Join
Members
Annual Conference
- About the Conference
- Overview
- Speakers
- Schedule
- Registration
- Announcements & Deadlines
- Volunteer
- Sponsors
- Exhibit
- Anti-Harassment Policy
- Hotel & Travel
- Location + Travel
- Hotel
- Schedule of Events
- Schedule
News & Events
Chapters
Exposure Journal
About this piece
Comments about this piece
Dialogue and critique are important to the SPE mission.
Please join the conversation.