Transylvania Library and College Present Photojournalist Platon

Gifted storyteller and world-renowned portrait photographer Platon will be the spring 2015 J.R. McDowell Speaker, sponsored by the Transylvania County Library Foundation in partnership with Brevard College.

“Powerful Portraits: An Intimate Look at Humanity and Leadership” will be held on Thursday evening, March 12th beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Ingram Auditorium in the Dunham Music Building on the Brevard College campus. General admission tickets for the event are $10 and will go on sale Tuesday, February 17th at the Transylvania County Library. Tickets may be purchased with cash or check only.

Platon’s work has graced the pages of a wide range of international publications including The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Esquire, The New Yorker, GQ, Rolling Stone, and The Sunday Times. His work for Time magazine produced over twenty Time covers. In 2007, he photographed Russian Premier Vladimir Putin for Time’s “Person of the Year” cover. Platon also photographed Aung San Suu Kyi for the cover of Time – days after her release from house arrest. In addition to his photojournalism work, his images have been exhibited in galleries and museums both domestically and abroad.

For the March 12th program, Platon will share both his images and his experiences photographing an eclectic mix of subjects from world leaders to celebrities to activists. His presentation will include highlights from his book, Power, chronicling over a hundred Heads of State including George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Nick Clegg, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mahmoud Abbas, Hugo Chavez, Robert Mugabe and Silvio Berlusconi. He will share the stories from his photo essays on the U.S. military, civil rights movement, his work with Human Rights Watch which includes the leaders of the Egyptian revolution, and, most recently, photographing Edward Snowden in Moscow for his exclusive interview with Wired magazine. Visit www.platonphoto.com for more of his award-winning images.

The J. R. McDowell speaker series, named for Transylvania County Library Foundation Board member emeritus J. R. McDowell, is designed to present a wide array of viewpoints on challenging and thought-provoking topics. The Library Foundation also enhances the Library and the community through five additional areas of support including funds for the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room; underwriting special events for children; exploring new technologies in library services; providing continuing education and career enhancement for library staff with the Elizabeth R. Kapp Tyson Professional Development Fund; and memorial gifts and collections.

For additional information or tickets, contact the Transylvania County Library at 828-884-3151.