Join Aperture and ARTBOOK | D.A.P. for a conversation with Marvin Heiferman, leading photography curator and editor of Photography Changes Everything, and special guests Lois Banner, historian and author of numerous biographies, including MM-Personal: From the Private Archive of Marilyn Monroe and the forthcoming Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox; Leo Braudy, author of many books of cultural history, including The Frenzy of Renown: Fame and Its History, and most recently The Hollywood Sign: Fantasy and Reality of an American Icon; and Charlotte Cotton, writer and curator.

The panelists will explore photography’s central role in shaping our lives, both public and private, rational and fantastic.

A reception and book signing will follow.

 Special thanks to Arcana Books on the Arts for being the evening’s bookseller.

 This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are required and will be accepted until venue capacity is reached at rsvp@dapinc.com.

Heiferman (editor, Photography Changes Everything, Aperture 2012), has focused on the influence of photographic images on culture and history in projects such as Fame After Photography at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (1999) and Image World: Art and Media Culture at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (1989). A contributing editor to Art in America, he serves on the faculty of both the International Center of Photography/Bard College and the School of Visual Art’s MFA programs in photography. He was creative consultant to the Smithsonian Photography Initiative from 2005 to 2011, during which time he conceptualized and curated click! photography changes everything.

Photography Changes Everything: A Conversation with Marvin Heiferman, with special guests Lois Banner, Leo Braudy, and Charlotte Cotton
Thursday, June 28, 2012, 7:00 pm
FREE, RSVP required (rsvp@dapinc.com)

ARTBOOK | Paper Chase showroom
Hollywood, California

Special thanks to the evening’s bookseller, Arcana Books on the Arts.

The Moon, Lunar Orbiter 1, NASA, 1966.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 –Thursday, March 3, 2011
9:00 am–6:00 pm

FREE

Theresa Lang Center
The New School
55 W 13th Street
New York, New York

The Photography Program in the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons the New School for Design, The Aperture Foundation, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, and The Shpilman Institute for Photography have joined forces to organize The Photographic Universe: A Conference, a unique two-day symposium that will bring together a range of leading practitioners, scientists, theoreticians, historians, and philosophers, drawing from the faculty at Parsons, professionals in the science and technology fields, as well as prominent experts from external institutions, to consider and reflect on current discussions in photography at a pivotal moment in its history.

The unique format of the conference will consist of one-on-one conversations between two individuals from disparate professional and research backgrounds. Each speaker will present a ten-minute presentation on the subject of photography, followed by twenty-minute dialogue responding to each other’s presentation. Each day will conclude with a Keynote lecture by a prominent expert in the field.

Wednesday, March 2 – Art & Philosophy

9:00 AM-10:00 AM
Coffee & Bagels

10:15 AM-11:15 AM
Charlotte Cotton with David Reinfurt

11:15 AM-12:15 PM
Andrea Geyer with Susie Linfield

1:45 PM-2:45 PM
Walter Benn Michaels with James Welling

2:45 PM-3:45 PM
Penelope Umbrico with Anne Collins Goodyear

3:45 PM-4:45 PM
Susan Meiselas with Chris Boot

Thursday, March 3 – Science & Technology

9:00 AM-10:00 AM
Coffee & Bagels

10:15 AM-10:15 AM
Richard Benson with Frank Cost

11:15 AM-12:15 PM
Simone Douglas with Michael T. Jones

1:45 PM-2:45 PM
Anthony Aziz with Douglas Lanman

2:45 PM-3:45 PM
Wafaa Bilal with Virgina Rutledge

3:45 PM-4:45 PM
Trevor Paglen with Julia Bryan Wilson

5:00PM-6:30PM
Closing reception

The Moon, Lunar Orbiter 1, NASA, 1966.

The Photography Program in the School of Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons the New School for Design, The Aperture Foundation, Vera List Center for Art and Politics, and The Shpilman Institute for Photography have joined forces to organize The Photographic Universe: A Conference, a unique two-day symposium that will bring together a range of leading practitioners, scientists, theo­reticians, historians, and philosophers, drawing from the faculty at Parsons, professionals in the science and technology fields, as well as prominent experts from external institutions, to consider and reflect on current discussions in photog­raphy at a pivotal moment in its history. This unprecedented conference will take place at Theresa Lang Center, New School located at 55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor in New York.

The field of photography is constantly changing. Technologies, theories, and what consti­tutes a ‘photographer’ or a ‘photograph’ are prone to unending developments. In the last decade, this rapid transformation has only accelerated due to pervasive digitization. Paradoxically, one might say that photography is now in a simi­lar place to where it was during the first few decades of its invention––a time when its emerging cultural significance quickly expanded due to innovative technological developments. Similarly, in the last two decades, we have seen an expanding definition of photography through the digital revolution, the Internet, and the accelerated stream of interest in new photographic processes and applications. Thus, it is impor­tant to reflect on this current moment – with the rapidly increasing permeation of photography throughout contemporary life – on what is the importance of photography as a specific medium or discipline from the perspective of a practitioner, user, pedagogue, technologist, historian, among others. Furthermore, how can we evaluate contemporary culture within the expanding photographic field while speculating the future of images? The Photographic Universe: A Conference will attempt to answer these questions through broad artistic, scientific, cultural, sociopolitical arcs to examine the implications of images in contemporary life.

The unique format of the conference will consist of one-on-one conversations between two individuals from disparate professional and research backgrounds. Each speaker will present a ten-minute presentation on the subject of photography, followed by twenty-minute dialogue responding to each other’s presentation.

Guest speakers include: Richard Benson, Walter Benn Michaels, Charlotte Cotton, Andrea Geyer, David Reinfurt, Trevor Paglen, Penelope Umbrico, James Welling , representatives from Adobe Systems and Google, among others.

Curator and co-founder of Humble Arts Foundation, Jon Feinstein recently gave Aperture’s interns a special tour of the exhibition 31 Women in Art Photography presented by Humble Arts and Affirmation Arts. Humble Arts Foundation is an organization devoted to emerging artists of all ages and backgrounds that are making interesting and innovative work. 31 Women in Art Photography, which was recently on view at Affirmation Arts until April 10th, was Humble Arts Foundation’s second annual exhibition of women’s work and in part addresses disparities between the number of women in the field of photography compared to the number of women photographers given opportunities to exhibit.

Feinstein co-curated the show with curator and editor of Aperture’s Words Without Pictures, Charlotte Cotton. The show features work by women photographers at different stages in their careers including Aperture published photographer Robin Schwartz as well as Sarah Palmer, Emily Shur, Ann Woo and more.

Click here to find out more about Aperture’s Work Scholar Program

Click here to view Charlotte Cotton’s Words Without Pictures

Click here to view Robin Shwartz’s Amelia’s World

Unknown, Untitled, n.d.; Collection SFMOMA, gift of Gordon Bennett

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art commemorates its 75th anniversary this year and, as part of the festivities, will host a symposium asking “is photography over?” on April 22 & 23.  Aperture-published writers on the panel include Aperture magazine contributing editor Vince Aletti and the author of the upcoming book Words Without Pictures, Charlotte Cotton. Artists on the panel include Trevor Paglen, featured in Aperture magazine 191, and Walead Beshty, featured in issue 192. You can read each participant’s answer to the question before the two-day summit where they will discuss the state of the medium.

Aperture with The New School, the Photography Department at Parsons and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics presents a panel discussion as part of the Confounding Expectations: Photography in Context series. Kicking off this fall season’s series is Words Without Pictures, which explores pressing issues in contemporary photography and celebrates the launch of the LACMA book project by the same name. Charlotte Cotton, curator and Head of the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, LACMA, will moderate a discussion with panelists Alex Klein, artist and Curatorial Fellow in the Wallis Annenberg Photography Department, LACMA; Matt Keegan, artist and editor of North Drive Press; David Reinfurt, graphic designer and co-founder of Dexter Sinister; and Denise Wolff, Aperture Editor. Other special guests include special guests Fia Backström, Johanna Burton, Melissa Catanese, Sarah Charlesworth, Moyra Davey, Darius Himes, John Lehr, Miranda Lichtenstein, Arthur Ou, Ed Panar and Laurel Ptak. Copies of the book will be available at a special price.

Words Without Pictures
Panel Discussion
Thursday, September 17, 2009  7:00 pm

FREE

The New School
Tishman Auditorium
66 West 12th Street
New York, New York

A visitor to the Aperture and D.A.P. booth at photo la this past weekend. Featured limited-edition prints from Takashi Homma, Thomas Allen, and Martin and Muñoz can be seen on the wall.

Bruce Davidson in conversation with Charlotte Cotton on Saturday, January 10, 2009 as part of the LACMA Artist Conversation Series.

Jim Goldberg signing copies of War Is Only Half the Story: The Aftermath Project at the Aperture booth on Sunday, January 11, following his lecture.