Juror Brian Kelly had this to say about the entries to The Nocturnes 2004 exhibit, the awards he gave, and the selection process itself:
"It is truly an honor to be invited to be the juror for this prestigious exhibition. I had no idea when I accepted Tim's invitation that I would have such a difficult task ahead of me! There were many, many entries that deserved recognition. However, I only had three awards to give out. In the end, exhibitions like this always tend to reveal the overall taste of the juror and cannot reflect the overall merits of all the individual photographs comprising the entire exhibition. I may have revealed more of myself to you by my choices than by what the three individual photographs reveal about those who created them. A daunting thought! So if you were not selected, take heart - and blame it on me!
"For those of you who might be curious as to my selection process. I spent parts of 2 days/evenings looking over the entries over and over again. The first several passes through the exhibition, I tried not to formulate an opinion immediately; only absorb what the photographs were saying to me. Later, I started to edit out obvious ones that I liked or disliked. So after a lot of fun and a some really tough choices, here is how it all boiled down:
Best of Show -
Michael Renders, Untitled #1
"This is the one that kept pulling me back over and over again! So
simple, ordinary & banal . . . fantastically composed and balanced. These
are the photographs that are the most difficult to pull off and hold the
interest of the viewer. For me, this image evokes one of my favorite photographers
in this style, William Eggleston. I loved the timelessness of this image.
I can't tell if it was shot today or 3 decades ago. I can just see this
image being the opening scene in a movie. The audience just waits for
a dusty vehicle to pull into the scene and off we go with storyline. Grab
some popcorn! Great job Michael!
Honorable Mention
- Vance Lessard, New Year's Eve
"This one
I nearly overlooked due to it's subtlely and darkness. Upon closer inspection,
this photograph had a hook that kept me intrigued. What are they doing?
Who are these people? Where is this? Reminds me of Gary Winogrand in a
way. Some of my favorite images are ones that don't literally describe
the event happening in front of the lens; rather they make me wonder what
is happening!
Honorable Mention
- Deb Rourke, Midnight Train
"A classic architectural night image. Well seen, well composed with
exceptional tonal range. This print is well executed; light and shadow
interact gracefully with the arches and the lines within the sidewalk.
I love the use of sepia tone in this case as well. Beautiful warmth!"
(Brian Kelly, Juror - The Nocturnes 2004)
Curator's Choice - it's a Three-Way Tie, this time around!
"I suppose it's a result of the large number of entries and the subsequent
higher level of quality, this time around, but the playfulness, humor,
irony, and spontaneity evident in these three individuals' work, merit
some notice - they represent such an important aspect of Night Photography.
That is something we were looking for in the original exhibit, The
Nocturnes, back in 1991, and continue to recognize today."
"The three Nocturnists selected for this recognition are:
Ethel Jimenez, Manhattan Boogie Woogie
Steve Mallory, People and their Shadows AND People
and their Shadows (view these two in rapid succession on the gallery
page, for the full animated 'effect')
Uri Korn, The Point - Congratulations to you all."
(Tim Baskerville, Curator/Founder - The Nocturnes)
As always, you can visit NightTalk,
the message board of The Nocturnes, and let us know what you thought of
this exhibit.
To see what we might have been looking for read the original Prospectus
for this show.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Best of Show
Untitled #1 by Michael Reinders ©2004
Honorable Mention
New Year's Eve by Vance Lessard ©2004
Honorable Mention
Midnight Train by Deb Rourke ©2004
