SPD 50
11.20.14
posted by Robert Newman
For several years in the mid-1990s,
Steven Freeman was a ubiquitous presence at SPD events, photographing judg
ings, conferences, and other activities. His portraits of publication design judges appeared in a number of SPD annuals, as well as the Grids newsletter (back when the SPD newsletter was printed and mailed to members!). One of the highlights of Steven's work was when he photographed participants at SPD's
Mag2000 conference in Monterey, California, in early April 1996.
Organized by co-chairs Tom Bentkowski, design director of Life, and Roger Black of Roger Black, Inc., Mag2000 was an historic gathering of close to 300 art directors, designers, editors, and industry professionals. They gathered to hear an all-star collection of presentations from the likes of James Burke, Henry Wolf, Sam Antupit, Martha Stewart, Brendan Gill, Nigel Holmes, and an array of art directors including Gary Koepke, Fred Woodward, Will Hopkins, Mary K. Baumann, David Carson, and many more.
Mag2000 was an amazing gathering of talent. Roger Black said "This is the first conference I've ever been to where any one of the illustrious speakers at the podium could easily switch places with almost anyone in the audience."
Steven Freeman spent several days photographing participants in an improvised studio. The results include sparkling portraits of the cream of magazine art directors, circa 1996, including Roger Black, Fred Woodward, Janet Froelich, Ina Saltz, Diana LaGuardia, David Carson, Michael Grossman, Walter Bernard, and many more, plus a photo of Martha Stewart.
(Pictured above): Richard Baker, art director, Us.
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