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Symposium: Laurence Salzmann, A Life With Others

This symposium celebrates the donation of the Laurence and Ayşe Gürsan-Salzmann Collection to the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, explores the major themes of Laurence Salzmann’s remarkable and ongoing fifty-year career, and accompanies the exhibition Laurence Salzmann: A Life with Others, on display in the Goldstein Gallery in the Kislak Center from August 28 to December 4, 2023.

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October 10, 2023, 10:00am - 7:00pm
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Kislak Center Class of 1978 Orrery Pavilion, 6th Floor, Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center
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Open to the Public
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Black and white photograph of Leslie Field, Stephen Field, Ethel Pugh with their son Harry.

Schedule

Tuesday, October 10, 2023

10:00 – 10:05 am: Greetings and Introduction

Sean Quimby, Associate University Librarian & Director of the Jay I. Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Director of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, University of Pennsylvania

10:10 – 11:30 am: Session I

The Laurence and Ayşe Gürsan-Salzmann Collection: Curating a Legacy at the Penn Libraries

Session Chair: Sean Quimby

Speakers:

  • Arthur Kiron, Schottenstein-Jesselson Curator of Judaica Collections; Penn Libraries, on the library context of photographic collections
  • Brittany Merriam, Director of Exhibitions, Penn Libraries, on catalogue and exhibition design and production
  • Jason Francisco, Professor of Film and Media, Emory University; Photographer, Artist, Essayist, Curator, on curating the catalogue and exhibition
  • Holly Mengel, Head of Archives and Manuscripts Processing, Penn Libraries, Archivist, on physically processing the Salzmann print collection, producing the Finding Aid, and physical access
  • Doug Emery, Penn Libraries Cultural Heritage Digital Content Programmer, on building the digital repository, creating the website, and digital access
  • W. Keith McManus, Photo and Sound Engineer, Independent Artist, Philadelphia, PA, on preservation of the Salzmann Collection

Q&A

Noon – 1:30 pm: Session II

Salzmann Documentary Photography

Session chair: Jason Francisco

Speakers:

  • Stephen Perloff, founder and editor of The Photo Review, and editor of The Photograph Collector, discussing Laurence’s early documentary projects (Single Room Occupancy, 1969; Luis’ Family; City Over (Philadelphia)
  • Donald E. Camp, American artist, photographer, and professor emeritus of photography at Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA discussing “Face to Face: Encounters Between Jews and Black” project
  • Mihaela Farcas, University of Pennsylvania (emeritus) discussing “Last Jews of Radauti,” Mioritza, and other Romanian Stories
  • Ayşe Gürsan-Salzmann, Consulting Scholar in the Mediterranean Section of the Penn Museum and the Deputy Director of the Gordion Archaeological Project, discussing “Jews of Turkey” and the  “Last Jews of Radauti”

Q&A
 

2:30 – 4:00 pm: Session III

Salzmann Non-Documentary Photography

Session chair: Jason Francisco

Speakers:

  • Yolanda Carbajal Zuniga, Peruvian Archaeologist and Poet, discussing Misk’i Kachi / Sweet Salt People
    Note: this presentation will be delivered in Spanish with a simultaneous interpretation in English. To access the English interpretation during the session, please bring a cell phone or iPad with earpods or headphones.
  • Enrique Sacerio-Garí, Dorothy Nepper Marshall Professor Emeritus of Hispanic and Hispanic-American Studies, Bryn Mawr College, discussing Imagining Cutumba (Cuba and the Ketumba Ballet)
  • Flash Rosenberg, Guggenheim Fellow in the Creative Arts, artist, writer, photographer, performer. discussing “Vents and Baths”
  • Miles Orvell, Professor of English & American Studies, Temple University, discussing Laurence Salzmann’s abstract photography

Q&A
 

4:15 – 5:30 pm: Session IV

Laurence Salzmann, a Life with Others

Session chair: Arthur Kiron

Speakers:

  • Jason Francisco, Emory University
  • Laurence Salzmann
  • Ayşe Gürsan-Salzmann
  • Han Salzmann, Philadelphia, PA

Q&A
 

5:30 – 7:00 pm: Buffet Reception and Tour of Exhibition

Featured image: Photograph by Laurence Salzmann. Leslie Field, Stephen Field, their son Harry, and Ethel Pugh.

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