MAY 12 | ONLINE LECTURE: Magnificent Mentors: Luminaries of photographic education and their extraordinary students

A compliment. A constructive critique. Encouragement. Insight. These are the gifts of a mentor; a teacher extraordinaire who is generous with their time and knowledge, and is considerate of who you are and what you’re trying to say or accomplish. The photo history presentation Magnificent Mentors will showcase a handful of the more extraordinary photographers in the U.S. who fostered the careers of some of the most recognized photographers today, historic to contemporary. In the course of this beautifully illustrated lecture, certified photography appraiser & photo historian Jennifer Stoots will examine the philosophy and practice of several photo luminaries and the programs they orchestrated, as well as explore the paths of student success.

Magnificent Mentors will focus on the instructors and curriculum at the Clarence H. White School of Photography, Alexey Brodovitch’s “Design Laboratory,” The New York Photo League, and The New Bauhaus, along with brief overviews of the photo programs CalArts & CCA, PCNW, the San Francisco Institute of Fine Arts, UCLA, University of New Mexico and Yale University. Noteworthy alum will include: Eve Arnold, Richard Avedon, Uta Barth, Dawoud Bey, Jo Ann Callis, Lois Conner, Robert Frank, Hiro, Masood Kamandy, Dorothea Lange, An-My Lê, Da-ka-xeen Mehner, Patrick Nagatani, Catherine Opie, Irving Penn, Georgina Reskala, Doris Ulmann, Carrie Mae Weems, Hank Willis Thomas, Will Wilson, and Max Yavno, among many many others.

Image credit: From top left to bottom right: Consuelo Kanaga / Higher Pictures; Melinda Hurst Frye / © Melinda Hurst Frye, courtesy J. Rinehart Gallery; Richard Avedon / ICP; Imogen Cunningham / © Imogen Cunningham Trust; Da-ka-xeen Mehner / © Da-ka-xeen Mehner; and Lucia Moholy / The Metropolitan Museum of Art.