CCNY | Announcing the 2012 Photography Competition Finalists & Annual Juried Exhibition | August 16 - September 8, 2012 | Closing Reception: Friday, September 7, 6-8 pm

CCNY is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition of the winners of the 2012 National Photography Competition, juried by Elisabeth Biondi, independent curator and former visuals editor at The New Yorker, and photographer Martine Fougeron. First Place Winner Rachel Bee Porter, Second Place Winner Berette Macaulay and Third Place Winners Linda Kuo and Vanessa Marsh present four distinct perspectives and together reflect myriad directions of contemporary photography.

Rachel Bee Porter’s series The Joy of Cooking comments on the frustrations of trying to attain the perfect lifestyle by showing smashed cakes on elaborately set tables. Neue Rootz, Berette Macaulay’s group portraits of her own multicultural family, address shifting ideas about community and family, while also connecting generations. The exotic animals in Linda Kuo’s Displaced photographs illuminate the harm inflicted on wild animal species housed in urban dwellings. Vanessa Marsh’s Constellation series comprises original photogram negatives from films as well as personal history, which are combined in multiple layers, merging memories and landscapes.

After viewing almost 300 entries, Elisabeth Biondi and Martine Fougeron made the following observations: “Gone are the days where ‘pure‘ photography ruled. During the judging we observed constructed still life, cut outs, collages, mini sculptures, digitally reframed photographs, in addition to more traditional photography. Portraiture, of course, was ever present – classical and contemporary; single and group portraits; color and black and white. We were delighted to smile at the wit in certain pictures. In fact, our winner Rachel Porter's The Joy of Cooking cakes, combined humor, sculptural assemblage, formal composition and a relevant political statement.”

The winners’ work, as well as that of twelve Honorable Mentions, will appear on CCNY’s website. The twelve are as follows: Noah David Bau, Sheri Lynn Behr, Alejandra Carles-Tolrá, Chuck and Chelsea (by Louise Kim and Michelle Yoon), Dareen Hussein, John Munshour, Jim Pearson, Alice Rodriguez, Jeremy Sachs-Michaels, Nicolas Silberfaden, Alic Trossman, and Jackie Weisberg. Please click here to see the full competition gallery.