This has been a thinking vacation. We’re here on our annual pilgrimage to Chautauqua, New York, and the Chautauqua Institution. It’s a place of learning and investigation, teaching and debate. And last week, as it happens, great introspection.
Each week here at Chautauqua is measured in by a different theme. Here’s the description of last week, week 5, the first week of our time here:
Picture This: Photography
In collaboration with Kodak and George Eastman House, this week will celebrate the history of photography, its contribution to and relationship with surrounding culture, its place in the art world, and its reflection of technological innovations that have reshaped the industry. We will meet photographers practicing their craft and SEE this nexus of art, science, culture, biography, and history.
So, that’s the set-up. As a photographer, obviously, I have some interest in this stuff so I was looking forward to getting schooled by these whomever they invited to take the stage.