By Chris Clemens
The H. N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation Presents Desert Town Hall, the desert’s pre-eminent speaker series, welcomes award-winning photographer Platon on February 27. Platon will speak at Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa in Indian Wells at 6 p.m. in the Emerald Ballroom, sharing inspiring stories behind his acclaimed photography.
Platon has captured portraits for a range of international publications including Rolling Stone, New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, GQ and The Sunday Times Magazine. His special relationship with TIME magazine included producing over 20 covers. He notably photographed Russian Premier Vladimir Putin for TIME’s “Person of the Year” cover in 2007. This image was awarded first prize at the World Press Photo Contest.
In 2008 he signed a multi-year contract with The New Yorker. As the staff photographer, he produced a series of large-scale photo essays, two of which won ASME Awards in 2009 and 2010. Platon’s New Yorker portfolios have focused on many themes, including the U.S Military, portraits of world leaders and the Civil Rights Movement.
The following year, Platon teamed up with the Human Rights Watch to help them celebrate those who fight for equality and justice in countries suppressed by political forces. These projects have highlighted human rights defenders from Burma as well as the leaders of the Egyptian revolution. Following his coverage of Burma, Platon photographed Aung San Suu Kyi for the cover of TIME—days after her release from house arrest. In 2011, Platon was honored with a “Peabody Award” for collaboration on the topic of Russia’s Civil Society with The New Yorker magazine and Human Rights Watch.
The publication of Platon’s first monograph “Platon’s Republic” [Phaidon Press, 2004] coincided with international exhibitions in London at the ex-Saatchi Gallery as well as the Milk Gallery in New York. His second book, “Power” [Chronicle, 2011], features a collection of portraits of over 100 world leaders and includes portraits of Barack Obama, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Hugo Chavez, Tony Blair, Robert Mugabe and Muammar Qaddafi.
Platon’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums both domestically and abroad. He has exhibited in New York at the Matthew Marks Gallery and the Howard Greenberg Gallery, as well as internationally at the Colette Gallery in Paris, France. The New York Historical Society has exhibited a solo show of Platon’s Civil Rights photographs, which remain as part of the museum’s permanent collection. Other permanent collections holding Platon’s photography include The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts in Tampa, Florida and The Westlicht Museum for Photography in Vienna, Austria and the Scotland National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh.
Public speaking now plays a major role in Platon’s career as communicator and storyteller and is represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau. He has been invited to be a keynote speaker on leadership at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Chanel, Nike, Yale University, Oxford University, Wharton University, the National Portrait Gallery in London and International Center of Photography in NY. He has also appeared on a range of television media including “Charlie Rose” (PBS), “Morning Joe” (MSNBC), “Fareed Zakaria’s GPS” (CNN) and the “BBC World News.”
The final speaker in the Desert Town Hall lecture series, following Platon, is Charles Krauthammer on Wednesday, March 25. Krauthammer was named by The Financial Times as the most influential commentator in America, and he has been honored from every part of the political spectrum for his bold and original writing. He was the most requested speaker for 2015.
All events are held at the Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Indian Wells. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Serving as officers for 2014-15, the 23rd season of the celebrated series, are: Brian S. Harnik (Roemer & Harnik), President; Andy Clark (111 Wealth Management), President-Elect; Keith Goff (Rabobank), Treasurer; and Phillip K. Smith, Jr. (Sunrise Company), Secretary.
Members of the Board of Directors are: Jerry Fogelson (Fogelson Properties), Lois U. Horvitz (Founding President), Bill Powers (Immediate Past President), Tim Sullivan (Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa-retired), Tom Tabler (Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa), Judy Vossler (Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau), and Mark Winkler (The Desert Sun).
Desert Forum, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) educational corporation, produces Desert Town Hall. A portion of the ticket cost is tax-deductible.
This nationally recognized series has included world leaders and other notables such as: former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Director of the CIA Leon Panetta; journalists Lisa Ling and Laura Ling; political analyst Karl Rove; pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson. Past seasons have included President George W. Bush; Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, political analyst Liz Cheney; neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta; Newsweek and Daily Beast Editor Tina Brown; General Stanley McChrystal; former Florida Governor Jeb Bush; Time Editor Fareed Zakaria; author and New York Times columnist David Brooks; author Jeannette Walls; former US Senator and basketball great Bill Bradley; former US Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates; former Pakistan President Musharraf; slain Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto; Britain’s Tony Blair; retired Army General and former US Secretary of State Colin L. Powell; peace activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu; Nobel laureate in economics Paul Krugman; former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak; former CIA Director George Tenet; retired Army General Tommy Franks; Republican leader Rudy Giuliani; Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; UK leader Margaret Thatcher, diplomat Henry Kissinger; former President George H. W. Bush; Israeli leader and former PM Shimon Peres; retired Army General Norman Schwarzkopf; columnist and author William F. Buckley; former Kansas Senator and Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole; former UK Prime Minister John Major; former US Secretary of Defense William Cohen; PBS’s The McLaughlin Group; columnist and author George Will; filmmaker Ken Burns; longtime AP correspondent Helen Thomas; ocean explorers Bob Ballard and Jean-Michel Cousteau; political power couple David & Julie Eisenhower; and a host of others.
The lecture series is sponsored by a number of local companies, organizations and philanthropic individuals including presenting sponsor, the H. N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. Additional sponsors include The City of Indian Wells, The Desert Sun, Lois U. Horvitz, Rabobank, Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa, Roemer & Harnik LLP, Sunrise Company/Toscana Country Club, Valentine-Dougherty-Clark/111 Wealth Management Group at Morgan Stanley. New sponsors, Helene Galen and Madeline Redstone, are welcomed for 2015.
For additional information call (760) 610-2852, DesertTownHall.org.
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