In response to a growing interest within architectural theory and practice in ideas about site, temporality and indeterminacy, and natural and environmental processes, the Architectural League's 2004-2005 lecture series presents architects, landscape architects, artists and others to probe how these ideas are being developed in contemporary practice. The spring lecture series engages this theme by focusing on the making and representation of the contemporary landscape. A number of programs, including the series "Contemporary Photography and the Definition of Place," will focus on how we see and convey images of place topographically, historically, and culturally. Other lectures will explore the remaking of sites and the reinvention of cultural landmarks. League lectures begin at 6:30 p.m. and are open to the public. Reservations are for members only. Except where noted, admission is free for members, $10 for guests and non-members. Members may make reservations for themselves and one guest at 212.980.3767. AIA members and New York State registered architects can receive Continuing Education Units by attending League programs and registering for credit. Winter/Spring 2005 lectures have been made possible by a generous contribution from Elise Jaffe + Jeffrey Brown. Contemporary Photography and the Definition of Place Stephen Shore and Thomas Struth Moderators Mitch Epstein and Vicki Goldberg Friday, April 8, 2005 6:30 p.m. Stephen Shore's photographic series "Uncommon Places" explored the American vernacular landscape in the 1970s and early 1980s and became an influential body of work for many young photographers. In the 1990s, Shore began focusing on black and white photography and traveled abroad to photograph archaeological excavations and small villages in Israel and Italy. A common thread that loosely connects his work, according to the artist, is "the observation of culture." Shore became the first living photographer to have a one-man exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1971 and has since exhibited in many venues around the world. Photographer Thomas Struth's work ranges from American and European streetscapes to South American and Asian jungle landscapes to contemporary museum interiors, drawing on cultural conditions in various locales. Among Struth's recent exhibitions is a 2003 retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, during which the artist's large-scale video portraits were also projected on the walls of the Metropolitan Museum's Great Hall. Contemporary Photography and the Definition of Place Joel Sternfeld and Sally Mann Moderators Mitch Epstein and Vicki Goldberg Thursday, April 21, 2005 6:30 p.m. New York-born photographer Joel Sternfeld uses photography to explore the meaning of place and site by observing and capturing the everyday landscape. Among his published works are American Prospects, On This Site, Stranger Passing, and Walking the High Line. Sternfeld is the recipient of two Guggenheim fellowships and a Prix de Rome. He has exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Fotomuseum in Winterhur, Switzerland. Though most well-known for her portraits, Virginia-born Sally Mann also photographs large-scale landscapes in the rural South. Whether they are photographs of her three children playing in the backyard or of vast sprawling views of the Shenandoah Valley, an overwhelming sense of place is inherent in Mann's work. Mann is a recipient of numerous awards including three National Endowment for the Arts grants and a Guggenheim fellowship, and her photographs are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.