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SPE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference: October 16, 1999
Living in the Sprawl Zone
Photographers promote, record and
critique
the transformation of the American
landscape.
The theme of this year's Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, suburban sprawl, is very much on the national pulse. Presidential hopefuls are discussing it--describing it as a significant problem for our environment and our cultural identity (or, alternately, as a false issue, something of concern only for the elite). Major media have been headlining it. Environmentalists, urban planners, industry leaders, state and county governments, and growing numbers of "regular" citizens have become increasingly concerned.
Photographers have played many roles in relationship to the phenomenon. Some have willingly participated in the commercial glorification of the suburbs, the romanticization of car culture, the demonization of the cities. Others have contributed less consciously to the overall cultural milieu that has been propelling sprawl. Still others, in both journalistic and art contexts, have brought forth critical, or at least analytical, visions. Photographers in the U.S. West have taken the lead in establishing critical practices (Robert Adams and Richard Misrach come immediately to mind, but many others, such as Phel Steinmetz and Laurie Brown have done significant work on the subject.) Perhaps they have led because sprawl is so apparent and so undisguiseably ugly in the spare Western landscape. But encounters with hideous examples of sprawl are becoming impossible to avoid even in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Keynote Speaker
James Howard Kunstler is a visual artist (a landscape painter) and writer (of eight novels) who decided to take on the topic of sprawl in his first non-fiction book, the 1994 The Geography of Nowhere. The visual sensibility and straightforward critical style of the book made it a landmark work in the sprawl debate, and Kunstler followed it up with his 1996 Home from Nowhere. We are very pleased to have him as a participant in the conference and its keynote speaker.
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Conference Site
The conference will take place at Salisbury State University, with the primary day of programming on Saturday, October 16th (and optional workshops, competitions and tourist activities on Sunday the 17th). Salisbury, on the DelMarVa Penninsula, near the Maryland Shore and in a rich agricultural area, is a classic small American city experiencing the sprawl phenomenon. Indeed, the planned presence of James Kunstler has attracted attention from Salisbury officials and anti-sprawl activists, and there will be a local media event (radio or television) bringing Mid-Atlantic Board Chair Alan Rutberg together with Kris Hughes, Director of Planning and Zoning for Salisbury City and Wicomico County, and Michael Day, a photo conservationist and the director of the Chipman Cultural Center and others. We are hopeful that, overall, this conference will attract participants from a wider audience than usual. (See Web Links box, below, for Kunstler's, Salisbury's & other sites.)
Conference Schedule
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Conference Fees, etc.
Please see the Registration Information box below for complete details.
Lodging
Discount lodging is available for Friday and/or Saturday nights at the Comfort Inn. The rate is $59.95 per night (plus 10% tax) for either single or double occupancy. The motel is about ten minutes from the conference site. Call them directly to make reservations (410-543-4666). Identify yourself as attending the SPE Conference at Salisbury State University to get the special rate.
Directions to the Conference
From the West: Take the Bay Bridge. Follow Route 50 southeast into Salisbury. Take a right immediately after the bridge onto Mill Street (fifth light in Salisbury). Continue straight through the two intersections. Do not bear right or left. This street becomes Camden Avenue. In about one mile, turn left (north) onto West College Avenue. The campus will be on your right. At Route 13, turn right, and then right into the parking lot. Fulton Hall is just south of the lot, next to the tennis courts.
From the North: Take Route 13 from south of Wilmington. Follow it south into Salisbury. Follow Business Route 13 (rather than the bypass) to the city and proceed four miles to the campus which is located on the right. Just past West College Avenue, turn right into the parking lot. Fulton Hall is just south of the lot, next to the tennis courts.
Most of the conference presentations, as well as sign-in, will be in Fulton Hall, with the panels in Fulton 111.
Approximate Driving Times
Salisbury, MD, is approximately 30 miles west of Ocean City, MD; 1 1/2 hours southeast of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge; 2 hours from Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE; 2 1/2 hours from Philadelphia.
1999 SPE Mid-Atlantic Region
Board . . . Mid-Atlantic Region: The Mid-Atlantic Region of SPE will hold its annual
business meeting in Salisbury on October 16, during the
Regional Conference. The meeting will be begin at 1 pm.
Those coming are welcome to bring their lunch. The primary order of business will be the election of
three Board members to serve two-year terms (expiring
October, 2001). The terms of Gabe Martinez, Alan Rutberg,
Priscilla Smith are expiring; they are eligible to seek
re-election. Other agenda items will include a discussion of ideas
for expanding and energizing the Region, plans for making
Regional communication entirely on-line, and proposals
for the October, 2000, Regional Conference. SPE Mid-Atlantic Regional
Conference Living in the Sprawl Zone Saturday, Oct. 16, 1999 Salisbury State University, Salisbury,
Maryland Registration Fees (including buffet dinner at Saturday
reception) __ $55 Regular __ $45 SPE Member __ $25 Student If you need to register at the conference, please try to
arrive no later than 9 am Keynote-only tickets will be available just before the
keynote presentation.
3233 O'Donnell Street/Baltimore MD 21224
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340 Gates Street/Philadelphia PA 19128
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Media Arts Dept./Drexel Univ./Phila. PA 19104
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1609 Godwin Drive/Newark DE 19702
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1213 Bolton Street/Baltimore MD 21217
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92 George Road/Lenhartsville PA 19534
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6705 Cresheim Road/Philadelphia PA 19119
CONFERENCE
WEB LINKS
(be sure to check out his "eyesore of the month")
March 2000 Cincinnati conference:
Annual Business Meeting
at Salisbury conference:
Three Board Seats to be Elected
(Sunday, Oct. 17 optional)
so that you will have time to be processed before the Sat.
morning panels begin.