Conference, exhibition focus on documentary photographer

A free UofL conference Oct. 23 and a photography exhibition throughout October will examine the work of noted social documentarian Milton Rogovin as part of the Louisville Photo Biennial festival.

Rogovin, who died in 2011 at age 101, devoted his photography and travels to chronicling poor and working-class subjects – including Appalachian miners and New York steelworkers. Over 50 of his photos recently given to UofL’s Photographic Archives will be on display Oct. 1-31 in “We the People: Photographs by Milton Rogovin” at the Hite Art Institute’s galleries in Schneider Hall. The opening reception will be 7:30-9:30 p.m. Oct. 1.

Also in the galleries, the free Oct. 23 conference, “Milton Rogovin and the Photography of Conscience,” will begin with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and continue at 9 a.m. with a lecture by public historian Michael Frisch.

Frisch will discuss “Milton Rogovin: Social Documentary through the Mysteries of Portraiture.” Frisch, who worked with Rogovin on the 1993 book “Portraits in Steel,” is a University of Buffalo professor and senior research scholar emeritus and former president of both the Oral History Association and the American Studies Association.

The conference continues until noon with a panel of experts discussing Rogovin’s photography. Speakers will include Cincinnati photo historian Steven Plattner and UofL faculty members Christopher Fulton, Joy Carew, Chris Reitz and Catherine Fosl.

The Center for Arts and Culture Partnerships within UofL’s College of Arts and Sciences is organizing the conference. Other UofL sponsors are the Hite Art Institute, Liberal Studies Project, Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research and Jewish studies program.

For exhibition information, contact Chris Reitz, gallery director, at chris.reitz@louisville.edu. For conference information, contact Peter Morrin, center director, at 502-852-2361 or peter.morrin@louisville.edu