45th National Conference – March 13-16, 2008
Denver, CO
I attended this year’s national conference and represented the west region of SPE. I am the new co-chair for SPE West, along with Erika Gentry. As Chair, I was expected to attend several board meetings on the Thursday prior to the conference. In the meetings we primarily discussed the bi-laws, particularly pertaining to when/how a new regional board member begins his/her duty, and how to elect/vote for a new regional board member. Also discussed were matters of our budget and the annual regional conferences.
This year’s national conference theme was Agents of Change: Art and Advocacy. I heard several speakers/artists give lectures on this topic. One hot theme throughout was on China, especially the Three Gorges – Yangtze River. There were five photographers who spent time in China documenting this huge feet and each had a different intention and approach. I’ve been following the work of both Linda Butler and Steve Benson. The exhibition, Three Gorges that their work was party of, reveals both the damages wrought by this enormous undertaking and the differing viewpoints of photographers inside and outside the cultural milieu affected.
The Featured Speaker was Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. He spoke of his interest in our civilization’s relationship to nature and focused on his large format documentary work on China’s factories in relation to our global mass consumerism. His work has had international critical attention.
The Keynote Speaker was Susan L. Burke. She is a human rights lawyer who represents Iraqi torture victims. She spoke about the power of photographic images to shape and change our world views. The now-iconic images of Abu Ghraib were specifically addressed.
In addition to the speakers, I attended a Teaching Panels; Incorporating Digital Photography Best Practices Into Your Curriculum. And my photographs were part of Mary Ann Lynch’s presentation; One by One: Photographers Seeking Social Change.
In addition to all the presentations, time was spent networking with my colleagues. There’s never enough time to exchange teaching ideas, photography tips and how the medium is changing.