American icon photographer Steve Schapiro speaks in Toronto April 7, 2006

April 7 at the Kodak Lecture Series, Ryerson University.

"Look at his celebrity portraits of Jack and Jackie Kennedy, of Chuck Berry and Ray Charles, of Magritte doubling his own image, and Warhol mimicking the pose of his own self-portraits. Shapiro takes their pictures, but he also captures the cool opacity of creatures who understood that history had become pictures and that pictures became history? these icons still stand out as defining figures forty years later"
- Dave Hickey, from the introduction to American Edge

Robert F. Kennedy campaigning, October 1964

The Kodak Lecture Series is pleased to announce that American photographer Steve Schapiro will present a talk about his work on Friday, April 7, at 7:30 pm at Ryerson University in Toronto. We regret to announce that Flip Schulke's April 7 lecture has been cancelled.

Born in 1936, Steve Schapiro documented many of the pivotal events and prominent figures of the turbulent 1960s-the Selma bus boycott, Bobby Kennedy's Presidential campaign, James Baldwin's tour of the American South, the street scene of Haight Ashbury, Mohammed Ali's rise to fame, and the superstars of Andy Warhol's Factory. In August 2000 he published the book American Edge, a collection of his black and white photographs from the 1960s which many have likened to Robert Frank's The Americans.

In the 1970s and 1980s he continued his documentary work but also worked on Hollywood movie posters for such films as Midnight Cowboy and The Godfather. Today, Schapiro is active in developing on-line portfolios about topics such as Vietnam vets, drug trafficking in American , and racism in the prison system, for American Radio Works, a division of Minneapolis Public Radio.

His photographs have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, "Visa Pour L'Image" Festival in Perpignan, France, and are included in the Smithsonian Museum's collection. He is represented by Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles.

Steve Schapiro's work is represented in Ryerson's Black Star Historical Black & White Photography Collection, an internationally-renowned collection of almost 300,000 black and white photographs produced between 1930 and 1980 by some of North America's most influential photographers. This remarkable visual legacy of the 20th century was donated to Ryerson University in 2005. Founded in New York in 1935, The Black Star photographic agency has played a key role in the emergence of photojournalism as we know it today. For more information on the Black Star collection: http://www.ryerson.ca/collection

Right: Nico and Andy Warhol, 1963

The Kodak Lecture Series celebrates its 30th season with an extraordinary lineup that includes Mariko Mori (October 7) David Rokeby (December 2), Fiona Tan (January 27), and Chris Buck (March 10) all highly regarded artists who speak about their lives, times and artistic endeavours. Steve Schapiro (April 7) is the final speaker of the 2005-06 season.

Sponsored by Kodak Canada and hosted by The School of Image Arts at Ryerson University, the Kodak Lecture Series is one of the most popular general audience art events to take place in the city, providing students, art specialists and the public alike with the opportunity to see and hear about some of the world's most innovative art practices. 2005 marks the 20th anniversary of support from Kodak Canada, which is proud to lend its name to this series of provocative and educational lectures on a range of imaging practices.

WHAT: Kodak Lecture Series: Steve Schapiro

WHEN: 7:30 pm, Friday, April 7, 2006

WHERE: Centre for Computing and Engineering, Lecture Theatre 103, 245 Church Street (just north of Dundas Street East at Gould Street)

COST: FREE. Arrive early for guaranteed seating.

Web: Lectures are webcast live as well as archived at www.ryersonlectures.ca/

For more information, the public may contact: Kathleen Pirrie Adams, Kodak Lecture Series Coordinator at 416.979-5000 ext 6873 or visit www.ryersonlectures.ca.