Featured Speakers
Purdue is reaching a milestone of 100 years of providing careers services to students. We are inviting you to celebrate the work we all do in helping students find fulfilling paths in their lives.
During our two days together we will share some thoughts and wisdom from some of the luminaries in the field who have inspired those of us lucky enough to work with them. For those of you yet to meet them, this is your opportunity.
Since we are unable to meet in Illinois, we have an additional speaker who will bring Illinois to us through his photography. Famed photographer, Larry Kanfer, will remind all of us how to seek out the Magnificence of the Everyday during his time with us.
Larry Kanfer is a Midwest-based photographic artist. After receiving his degree in architecture from the University of Illinois in 1979, he opened his first photography gallery and turned his passion into a career. Larry's training in architecture taught him to view his surroundings analytically and artistically. He has used those skills to create photographs that speak to viewers on an emotional level through their composition and content. The Associated Press described his ability to "endow the ordinary landscape with an almost magical sense of beauty."
Most well known for his PrairiescapesTM, he has brought acclaim to the Midwest with his original artwork and calendars celebrating the subtle beauty of the American Heartland. Other collections include Cityscapes, International, and more recently has extended his collection with Crystal Resin, a mixed media artwork style. Eight critically accaimed collections of his images have been published including Prairiescapes (sold out), On this Island, Chicagoscapes, A Prairie State of Mind and Barns of Illinois with a ninth book in progress capturing human gathering places. His artwork is featured in galleries, museums and private and corporate collections internationally.
Lifting out of his two-dimensional artwork, Larry has been extending his artistic endeavors to community engagement. He started the Veterans Day One-On-One celebration in 2011, which continues today. He sits on various community boards, hosts workshops, and gives guest lectures and travel groups.
We encourage you to view Larry's amazing collections at his website (and the books and calendars make great gifts) or visit his studio the next time you visit Champaign, Illinois.
"In all of my photography, I like to look at things with an outsider's eyes. If you look at a familiar place from a new angle or at a different time of day, it creates a completely different environment than you knew existed. I try to celebrate the subtle details of human existence and daily routines that are often overlooked by highlighting these accidental discoveries in my surroundings." -Larry Kanfer