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13th Annual Photographic Competition Exhibition

Juror: Rod Slemmons, Director, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College Chicago

On view: July 11 – August 28, 2008

This annual juried exhibition draws entries from across the country and around the world, and remains among the most popular shows in PCNW’s annual schedule. The competition is open to all photographers, all photographic processes, and all themes. The juror looks for work that represents a larger, cohesive body of work and selects a short series from each photographer chosen. Mr. Slemmons chooses three artists deemed Best of Show that receive Awards in the amount of $1,000, $750, and $500. Nearly 500 artists submit work resulting in over 2500 images from which to choose. The result is an exhibit full of surprises – fresh, exciting work by both established and emerging artists.

Juror: Rod Slemmons has been the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago since 2002 where he has curated several exhibitions and teaches undergraduate photo history and graduate theory seminars. Slemmons previously taught at the U.W. in Seattle for 12 years. He was the National Chair of the Society for Photographic Education from 1990 – 1994. Slemmons was the Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Seattle Art Museum for 14 years, producing 35 exhibitions and numerous catalogs.

Juror’s Statement
I am always tempted when working on a juried competition to try to curate a show out of the entries. It has never worked, either because the rational would be too complicated or because the entries are all over the place. But strangely there always is some hint of coherence, some common thread to the selections that doesn’t completely make it into consciousness. The main advantage, and a big one, for a museum person like myself is that I get to see totally new work, the beginning of new trends and genres, and even some really great work. It is never boring.

It is important to remember that I am one person with a set of tastes and expectations. Next year it undoubtedly will be somebody with a completely opposite set that would not approve of what I chose. This is not a democratic operation.

I would like to thank Ann and the rest of the crew at PCNW for inviting me-and especially for the opportunity to come back to our old haunts in Seattle where we lived for so many years.

-Rod Slemmons

Press:
Seattle PI
Seattle Times

Winners:
First Place: Sally Ketcham, WA
Second Place: Victoria Veenstra, MI
Third Place: Peter Prusinowski, PA

Honorable Mentions:
Evan Baden, MN
Rachel Papo, NY
Marie Sauvaitre, NY
Sara Sudhoff, TX

Lecture: Photography Without Borders: Medium, Media, Meditation.
Rod Slemmons, Director, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago
Friday, July 11, 7 pm, SAM, Plestcheeff Auditorium

Rod Slemmons, former Associate Curator of Prints and Photographs at the Seattle Art Museum will discuss his view of photography as an art making tool today from his perspective as Director of the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago. He will address the continuing shift from analog to digital imaging as well as very recent conceptual trends in the U.S. and abroad.