Punctum:

20th Annual Juried Exhibition

Juror: Julia Dolan, Portland Art Museum

On view: November 12 – December 20, 2015

Lecture: Thursday, December 10, 6:30 pm at SAM

Artist and Awards Reception: Thursday, December 10, 8:00pm at PCNW

This annual exhibition is one of the most anticipated shows in our gallery program. This year the theme is punctum and is juried by Julia Dolan, the Minor White Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum. A wide range of visually rich images were selected shared from artists across the world. 30 artists were selected for Punctum: 20th Annual Photography Exhibition. There were 1311 images submitted with 213 photographers in the running. The Artist and Awards Reception will be at PCNW on Thursday, December 10, 8:00 – 9:30 pm, following Julia Dolan’s lecture at Seattle Art Museum.

Photo credits:
Steven Duede, Evanescence II, 2014. Joe Rudko, Pitcher, 2015. Jennifer Bacon, Untitled, 2015. Jack Johnston, Itek Print 1977, 1977. Erin Elyse Burns, Sweat Topography II, 2014. Elise Kirk, Sidewalk, Road Watching, 2014. Meike J. Paniza, Sparks, 2015. Alyssa Minahan, No. 6, 2014

Juror

Julia Dolan is the Minor White Curator of Photography at the Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR, where she oversees the research, documentation and exhibition of the permanent collection of more than 7,000 photographs. She has worked with the photography collections at institutions including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA; the Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA; the Fogg Art Museum; Cambridge, MA; and the Palmer Museum of Art, University Park, PA. She has curated and co-curated numerous photography exhibitions including Richard Mosse: The Enclave (2014), Blue Sky: The Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts at 40 (2014), The Question of Hope: Robert Adams in Western Oregon (2013), and One Woman’s Legacy: Selections from the Fae Heath Batten Photography Bequest at the Portland Art Museum, as well as Spectacle (2009), and Transcending the Literal: Photographs by Ansel Adams from the Collection (2008) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Recent publications include Blue Sky: The Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts at 40 (2014) and The Question of Hope: Robert Adams in Western Oregon (2013).

Results

This year 30 artists were selected for Punctum: 20th Annual Photography Exhibition. There were 1311 images submitted with 213 photographers in the running. The show will run November 7 to December 19, 2015. The Artist and Awards Reception at Photo Center are Thursday, December 10, 8:30 – 9:30 pm, following Julia Dolan’s lecture at Seattle Art Museum.

Exhibiting Artists: Julie Anand (Phoenix, AZ), Talya Arbisser (Houston, TX), Matthew Arnold (New York, NY), Jennifer Bacon (Seattle, WA), Terri Bright (Greenville, SC), Erin Elyse Burns (Seattle, WA), Patricia Christakos (Cazenovia, NY), Kate Cusick (Janesville, WI), Brooks Dierdorff (Medford, OR), Steven Duede (Belmont, MA), Suzanne Engelberg (Tiburon, CA), Odette England (Hahdorf, South Australia), Shawna Hanel (Boise, ID), Canbra Hodsdon (Boston, MA), Rui Hu (New York, NY), Thomas Hyde (Elma, WA), Chris Ireland (Stephenville, TX), Jack Johnston (Seattle, WA), Elise Kirk (Providence, RI), Kalaija Mallery (Portland, OR), Richard Marshall (Seattle, WA), Alyssa Minahan (Chesnut Hill, MA), Matt Nighswander (Brooklyn, NY), Meike Paniza (Anchorage, AK), Marnae Rathke (Salt Lake City, UT), Ilisa Rissman (Brooklyn, NY), Joe Rudko (Seattle, WA), Nicolo Sertorio (Oakland, CA), Charlie Simokaitis (Chicago, IL), Constance Thalken (Decatur, GA)

Lecture: The Punch of Punctum: Locating Meaning in Photography and the Problem with Objectivity
Julia Dolan, Portland Art Museum
Location: Seattle Art Museum, Nordstrom Lecture Hall
Thursday, December 10 at 6:30 PM
Tickets: $10, $5 PCNW Members, SAM Members, and Punctum exhibiting artists. Purchase Tickets.

Join Julia Dolan, Ph.D. for a discussion of meaning in photography. Using examples from PCNW’s Punctum and SAM’s upcoming New Topographics exhibition, Dr. Dolan will explore Roland Barthes’ concept of the punctum—or poignant detail—of a photograph, and question the possibility of locating punctum in the seemingly objective photographs made by New Topographics artists. The Artist and Awards Reception for Punctum will follow at PCNW.

Awards

First, second, and third place awards will be chosen by Julia Dolan and announced at the Artist and Awards Reception on Thursday, December 10 at 8:00 pm. Blurb is our generous Award Sponsor this year. First place award will receive a $500 certificate for Blurb services, second place will receive $300, and third place will receive $200. After viewing the exhibition, visitors will also have the opportunity to vote for the piece they believe best reflects the characteristics of punctum. The winner of the People’s Choice award will receive a free individual membership to PCNW.

Winners

1st: Meike Paniza (Anchorage, AK)
2nd: Elise Kirk (Providence, RI)
3rd: Alyssa Minahan, No. 6 (Chesnut Hill, MA)
People’s Choice: Jack Johnston (Seattle, WA)