Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 Winners!

Congratulations to this year's Critical Mass Top 50!
A great majority of you were my votes . I only lost a few. Congratulations!

in alphabetical order:


Jenn Ackerman
Jody Ake
Leslie Alsheimer
Jane Fulton Alt
Carl Bower
Andrea Camuto
Manuel Capurso
Alejandro Cartagena
Pelle Cass
Edmund Clark
Victor Cobo
Caleb Cole
Scott Dalton
Dorothee Deiss
Mitch Dobrowner
Jade Doskow
Ed Freeman
Lucia Ganieva
Judy Gelles
N W Gibbons
Toni Greaves
Alexander Gronsky
Jessica Todd Harper
Jessica Ingram
Samar Jodha
Mary Shannon Johnstone
Jimmy Lam
Laurie Lambrecht
David Leventi
Larry Louie
Benjamin Lowy
Simone Lueck
David Maisel
Sarah Malakoff
Rania Matar
Tim Matsui
Mark Menjivar
Brad Moore
Kate Orne
Ara Oshagan
Rachel Papo
Bradley Peters
Alexis Pike
Birthe Piontek
Ellen Rennard
Betsy Schneider
Peter Sibbald
Christopher Sims
David Taylor
Phillip Toledano
Will Steacy
Serkan Taycan

Now the JUROR list for the final cut of Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009

The Best Jury Ever: Critical Mass 2009

Ok folks now the fun begins, just look at this list of jurors...the best of the best!

Andy Adams, Editor/Publisher, Flak Photo
Jeanne Adams, Ansel Adams Galleries
Laura Addison, New Mexico Museum of Art
Kate Albers, Art Historian, University of Arizona
Paul Amador, Amador Gallery, NYC
Kathy Aron Dowell, Kathy Dowell Art + Service
Daniel Augschoell, Ahorn Magazine
Susan Baraz, Co-Chair, Lucie Awards
Jayne H. Baum, JHB Gallery, NYC
Lise Beaudry, Gallery 44, Toronto
Alexa Becker, Kehrer Verlag Publishers
Jen Bekman, Jen Bekman Gallery, NYC
Nathalie Belayche, Food for your Eyes, Paris
Linda Benedict-Jones, Carnegie Museum
Harvey Benge, Curator / Photographer
Chris Bennett, Newspace Center for Photography
Ellen Boerner, Independent Curator
Howard Bossen, Kresge Art Museum
Ellen Boughn, Stock Agency Strategist
David Bram, Fraction Magazine
Leslie K. Brown, Art Historian / Independent Curator
Elizabeth Brown, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle
Paul Buckley, Penguin Group, USA
Susan Burnstine, Black and White Photography Magazine
Crista Cammaroto, Artist / Educator
Alessandra Capodacqua, Studio Marangoni Foundation
Clinton Cargill, NYTimes Magazine
Jean Caslin, Caslin Gregory & Associates
Jim Casper, LensCulture
Darren Ching, Klompching Gallery/Photo District News Magazine
Brian Paul Clamp, ClampArt Gallery, NYC
Joerg Colberg, Conscientious
Alison Collins, Iris Gallery of Fine Art, Boston
Linda Connor, Photographer/Educator
Daniel Cooney, Daniel Cooney Fine Art, NYC
Sean Corcoran, Museum of the City of New York
Tony Decaneas, Panopticon Gallery, Boston
Rodrigo Corral, Rodrigo Corral Design
Lucy Davies, photography critic, Daily Telegraph
Luca Desienna, Gomma Online
Alexa Dilworth, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
Crista Dix, wall space Gallery, Seattle
Catherine Edelman, Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago
Natasha Egan, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago
Jon Feinstein, Humble Arts Foundation
Jim Fitts, Photographic Resource Center
Melanie Flood, Melanie Flood Projects
Roy Flukinger, Harry Ransom Center
Harris Fogel, Mednick Galleries, University of the Arts, Philadelphia
Taj Forer: Daylight Magazine
Hannah Frieser, Light Work
Andy Freeberg, Photographer / Previous CM Book Award Winner
Jason Fulford, Photographer / J & L Books
Aprile Gallant, Curator, Smith College Museum of Art
Helen K. Garber, Photographer / Consultant / Curator
Diana Gaston, Associate Curator, Fidelity Investments
Judi & Bernard Gerson, Galerie BMG
Christian Gerstheimer, El Paso Museum of Art
Anna Gianesini, FotoGrafia Festival Internazional, Rome
Hamidah Glasgow, Executive Director, The Center for Fine Art Photography
Fabian Goncalves Borrega, Art Museum of the Americas, Washington D.C.
Olivia Lahs-Gonzales, Sheldon Art Galleries, St. Louis
David Haberstich, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
Bruce Haley, photographer, Features Editor, ARTWORKS Magazine
Lisa Hatchadoorian, Nicolaysen Art Museum, Casper, WY
Gary Hesse, Independent Curator / Consultant
Tom Hinson, The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cherie Hiser, Photolucida Board
Lisa Hostetler, Milwaukee Art Museum
Jason Houston, Orion Magazine
Lisa Hunter, writer, The Intrepid Art Collector
Joanna Hurley, Radius Books
Konstantinos Ioannidis, Art Historian, Athens
Karen Irvine, Museum of Contemporary Photography
Michael Itkoff, Daylight Magazine
Cory Jacobs, Independent Editor / Curator
Ann Jastrab, Rayko Photo Center, San Francisco
Jen Jenkins, rep, Giant Artists
Brooks Jensen, Lenswork Publishing
Tom Jimison, Curator, Baldwin Photographic Gallery
Whitney Johnson, The New Yorker Magazine
Jessica Johnston, Assistant Curator, George Eastman House
Maya Jones White Sturgeon Art Gallery, Vancouver, WA
Russell Joslin, SHOTS Magazine
Ron Jude, Co-Founder, A-Jump Books
Mindaugas Kavaliasuskas, Kaunas Photo / F Galerija, Lithuania
Arlette Kayafas, Gallery Kayafas, Boston
Eric J. Keller, Soulcatcher Studio, Santa Fe
Anne Kelly, photo-eye Gallery, Santa Fe
Gerardo Montiel Klint, Photographer / Educator, Mexico City
Debra Klomp Ching, Klompching Gallery, NYC
Lisbeth Neergaard Kohloff, Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Golden, CO
Paul Kopeiken, Paul Kopeiken Gallery, Los Angeles
Thomas W. Kuhn, Educator / Critic, Dusseldorf
Marten Lange, Photographer / Publisher, Farewell Books
Zuzana Lapitkova, Central European House of Photography, Bratislava
Shane Lavalete, Photographer / Publisher, Lay Flat
Larissa Leclair, Freelance Writer / Curator
Sam Lee, Sam Lee Gallery, Los Angeles
Joanna Lehan, Writer, Freelance Book Editor
Jain Lemos, Photography & Publishing Consultant
Andy Levin, 1000 Eyes Magazine
Russell Levin, Levin Gallery, Monterey
Maren Levinson, rep, Red Eye Agency
Stu Levy, Portland Art Museum Photo Council, Photolucida Board
Stephanie Lewis, Educator
Jim Leisy, Portland Art Museum Photo Council, Photolucida Board
Kevin Longino, Kevin Longino Fine Photographs
Karsten Lund, Independent Curator
Celina Lunsford, Fotografie Forum International, Franfurt
Mary Ann Lynch, Not for Profit Photography
Allen Maertz, Blue Sky Gallery exhibition committee, Portland
Lee Marks, Lee Marks Fine Art, Shelbyville, IN
Nadja Masri, GEO Magazine
Michael Mazzeo, Michael Mazzeo Gallery, NYC
Mary McClean, Knopf Art Department, Random House
Melanie McWhorter, Books Division manager, photo-eye Books
Raymond Meeks, Photographer
Kate Menconeri, Independent Curator
William Messer, Independent Curator
Jennifer Miller, Independent Photo Editor
Kevin Miller, Southeast Museum of Photography
Evan Mirapaul, collector
Robert Morton, Editor / Book Packager
Laura Moya, Director, Photolucida
Mus-Mus
Claire Annette Mussard, Curator / Consultant, Switzerland
Ruben Natal-San Miguel, collector
Julianne Newton, Visual Communication Quarterly
Brady Nichols Sloane, Independent Curator
Claire O'Neill, NPR: The Picture Show
Deborah Paine, Mayor's Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Seattle
Joaquim Paiva, Collector
Paul Paletti, Paul Paletti Gallery, Louisville, KY
Ann Pallesen, Gallery Director, Photo Center Northwest, Seattle
Stephen Perloff, Photo Review
Chris Pichler, Nazraeli Press
Mark Pinsukanjana, Modernbook Gallery, Palo Alto, CA
Terry Pitts, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
Jan Potts & Elizabeth Corden, Corden Potts Gallery, San Francisco
Phillip Prodger, Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Christopher Rauschenberg, Blue Sky Gallery / Photolucida Board
Shawn Records, Photolucida Board
Mary Ann Redding, Curator, Palace of the Governors / New Mexico History Museum
Rixon Reed photo-eye Books and Prints
Richard Renaldi, photographer
Ema Ribeiro, Lab65 Gallery
Doug Rickard, Founder / Publisher, American Suburb X
Arianna Rinaldo, Freelance Photo Editor
Conor Risch, Photo District News Magazine
Stephanie Rogerson, Independent Curator
John Rohrbach, Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX
Miriam Romais, En Foco
Laura Russell, 23 Sandy Gallery, Photolucida Board
Dana Salvo, Co-owner, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
Marisa Sanchez, Assistant Curator, Seattle Art Museum
Tina Schelhorn, Galerie Lichtblick, Cologne
Jennifer Schlesinger, VERVE Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe
Martha Schneider, Schneider Gallery, Chicago
David Schoemer, Hassla Books
Randall Scott, Randall Scott Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Camille Seaman, Photographer / Previous CM Book Award Winner
Becky Senf, Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ
Ariel Shanberg, The Center for Photography at Woodstock, Woodstock, NY
Elizabeth Shank, Silverstein Photography, NYC
Carla Shapiro, Educator / Photographer
P. Elaine Sharpe, Independent Curator
Maarten Schilt, Mets & Schilt Publishers
Leya Simmons Oswald, Oswald Gallery, Jackson, WY
Mark Sink, Gallery Sink, Denver, CO
Karen Sinsheimer, Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Mike Slack, Ice Plant Books
George Slade, Independent Curator
Mark Sloan, William Halsey Gallery, College of Charleston
Aline Smithson, Independent Curator / Photo Editor, Lightleaks Magazine
Susan Spiritus, Susan Spiritus Gallery, Newport Beach, CA
Amy Stein, Photographer / Previous CM Book Award Winner
Joni Sternbach, Photographer / Previous CM Book Award Winner
Jennifer Stoots, Stoots Fine Photography
Alex Supertano, Independent Curator
Lisa Sutcliffe, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Mary Virginia Swanson, Consultant and Educator, M.V. Swanson & Associates
Martha Takayama, Tepper Takayama Fine Arts, Boston
J.D. Talasek, Curator and Director of Exhibitions, The National Academy of Sciences
Barbara Tannenbaum, Chief Curator, Akron Art Museum
Adriana Teresa, Visura Magazine
Paula Tognarelli, Griffin Museum for Photography, Winchester, MA
Laura Valenti, Newspace Center for Photography / Photolucida Board
Annie van Avery, Photographic Center Northwest
Herman van den Boom, Hexgalleries, Belgium
Michael Van Horn, Curator, The Joseph Monsen Collection
Nadia Vellam, Photo Editor, W Magazine
Marie Via, Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester
Anna Walker Skillman, Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta
Jennifer Ward, Exhibitions Coordinator, FotoFest
Kate Ware, New Mexico Museum of Art
April Watson, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
John Weber, The Tang Museum, Skidmore College
Carla Williams, Editor, Exposure
Rick Williams, Educator
Clint Willour, Executive Director / Curator, Galveston Arts Center
Rhonda Wilson, Seeing the Light, Rhubarb-rhubarb, Birmingham, England
Bryan Wolf, Photolucida Board
Laura Wyss, Wyss Photo Research
Laura Wzorek, Center, Santa Fe
Madeline Yale, HCP, Independent Curator
Carol Yarrow, Photographer
Wang Zheng, Curator, Pingyao & Lishui International Photo Festivals
Del Zogg, Works on Paper Study Center, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Manfred Zollner, fotoMAGAZIN

Photolucida's 2009 Critical Mass 175 Finalists!

Congratulations to our 175 Finalists in Critical Mass 2009!
A lot of selected ones were my picks posted here!
Very excited and congratulations to you all!


Kyohei Abe
Jenn Ackerman
Jody Ake
Erica Allen
Leslie Alsheimer
Jane Fulton Alt
Andres Arenas
Mary Ellen Bartley
Jacqueline Bates
Sue Bednarz
Susan Bein
Gabriel Benaim
Hollis Bennett
Victoria Bjorklund
Jonathan Blaustein
Tami Bone
Carl Bower
Ellie Brown
Jesse Burke
Ryan Bush
Andrew Buurman
Andrea Camuto
Alison Carey
Tim Carpenter
Alejandro Cartagena
Pelle Cass
Anastasia Cazabon
Tony Chirinos
Barbara Ciurej & Lindsay Lochman
Edmund Clark
Victor Cobo
Caleb Cole
John D'Agostino
Scott Dalton
Jason DeMarte
Susan de Witt
Dorothee Deiss
Deanna Dikeman
Mitch Dobrowner
Jade Doskow
Estelle Dougier
Desiree Edkins
Jenny Ellerbe
Natalia Engelhardt
Douglas Ethridge
Mary Farmilant
Gloria Baker Feinstein
Elizabeth Fleming
Ed Freeman
David Friedman
Lucia Ganieva
Judy Gelles
Alan George
N W Gibbons
Kristin Giordano
Sarah Girner
Maury Gortemiller
Lee Grant
Toni Greaves
Torrie Groening
Charles Grogg
Alexander Gronsky
Deborah Hamon
Cheryl Hanna-Truscott
Jessica Todd Harper
Maxine Helfman
Lauren Henkin
Craig Hickman
Nicole Jean Hill
Steven Hirsch
Robert Holmgren
Jessica Ingram
Carol Isaak
Astrid Kruse Jensen
JoAnna Johnson
Stella Johnson
Mary Shannon Johnstone
Loli Kantor
Cyrus Karimipour
Dave Kennedy
Eileen Kennedy
Kerry Kolenut
Richard Kolker
Marc Koegel
Johannes Kroemer
Anthony Kurtz
Ikuru Kuwajima
Marvi Lacar
Jimmy Lam
Laurie Lambrecht
Christine Laptuta
David Leventi
Joyce P. Lopez
Larry Louie
Simone Lueck
Benjamin Lowy
Rita Maas
David Maisel
Sarah Malakoff
S. Billie Mandle
Rania Matar
Janet Matthews
Tim Matsui
Leah Macdonald
Joshua Meier
Mark Menjivar
Martin Miller
Kevin Miyazaki
Brad Moore
Rachelle Mozman
Peter Neill
Nancy Newberry
Bob O'Connor
Kate Orne
Ara Oshagan
Lindsay Page
Rachel Papo
Kelli Pennington
Cori Chandler-Pepelnjak
Bradley Peters
Alexis Pike
Alan M Pillar
Birthe Piontek
Janet Pritchard
Susana Raab
Lou Raizin
Justin James Reed
Susana Reisman
Ellen Rennard
Libby Rowe
Charles Rozier
Irina Rozovsky
Felipe Russo
Haley Jane Samuelson
François Schaer
Betsy Schneider
Zack Seckler
Lauren Semivan
Peter Sibbald
Charlie Simokaitis
Christopher Sims
Sarah Small
Tabitha Soren
Will Steacy
Parsley Steinweiss
Todd Stewart
Herb Stratford
Karen Strom
Andrea Stultiens
Sarah Sudhoff
Joe Sumner
Wei Leng Tay
Serkan Taycan
David Taylor
Lacey Terrell
Amy Thompson
Robert Toedter
Phillip Toledano
Arlo Valera & Hyeyoung Kim
Ian van Coller
Manuel Vazquez
Lori Vrba
Ellen Wallenstein
Jacqueline Walters
Shoshannah White
Chris Willis
Susan Worsham
Beth Yarnelle Edwards
Jonas Yip
Natalie Young
David Zimmerman
Ryan Zoghlin
Ion Zupcu

HOT, HOT AND DANGEROUS!

Photos by Ruben Natal-San Miguel





















I love being around during Summer in NYC!

Although it is hot, the city unveils its sensuality...people dress and act very sexy. However, since the Economy is the way it is now, one must be very careful when visiting parts of the city that people are not familiar with you. Over several years, my main destination had been Upper Manhattan Above 96Th Street.

I started early this summer but, had to stop and refocus into other parts of the city, due to the constant eruption of random violence and crime in the area. Almost nothing that happens, gets shown in the news.

I had always loved people's reaction towards water. I think it brings the inner child in all of us but, it also brings out the sensuality and vulnerability. I like street photography and even though, I collect the rather at times still studio photography. Studio photography is beautiful but, it can never capture the realness and the motion and the beauty of the moment. It can also look at times be a bit too intellectual mind fucked and not interesting. That goes without the ego of the photographer involved in it, which trust me, these days is a little bit overblown.

Being part of Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009 Jury Pre-Screening team, helped me re-valuate the photography work that, I had recently had been collecting and its photography sources. Trust me folks, there is going to be some changes in the way, I collect from now on. And to some photographers, here is a piece of advise ...before dealing with me or any collectors friends, dealers or institutions...check your EGO at the door!

Nothing is better that true talent with humble, gracious and appreciative manners.

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos By Ikuru Kuwajima entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009




Artist Statement

After the Soviet Union’s collapse, Cossacks in Crimea have been reviving their tradition, as many Cossacks all over the former Soviet Unions have been becoming active in the past decade. Cossacks in Crimea originated from Don and Kuban Cossacks. Cossack activities and tradition are suppressed during the Soviet era. Crimean Cossacks often have meetings with their traditional uniforms on and take part in Cossack activities, such as horse excursion and horse racing, as horsemanship is very important parts of Cossack tradition. Some Cossacks are restoring their traditional architecture in their houses, dacha (second homes) and communities, reaffirming their identity as Cossacks. Cossack cadets corps also opened recently and became the only Cossack cadets corps in Ukraine. The photographers show the series of the reviving tradition in Crimea.

YES!

Ikuru Kuwajima
Chiba-shi, Chiba-ken
Japan
iktx9nama@gmail.com
www.ikurukuwajima.com

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos by Deborah Hamon entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009





Artist Statement

My work explores the construction of identity of girls. I explore these ideas in both painting and photography. The two mediums are constantly informing the way I approach each image. The paintings exist as completed works, but they also provide the figures that populate my constructed photographs. I use Photoshop to combine background scenes with these figures to create a believable yet curious new reality. I am interested in this interplay between reality and fiction. I want the viewer to stop and question their initial assumptions about what they are seeing. I am drawn to things that may feel slightly awkward or quirky. I try and push towards something that is a little bit edgy yet still maintain a quiet subtlety in the work. I want to capture that moment when confidence and insecurity, whimsy and seriousness, innocence and knowledge can all exist.

I had seen this work in person before...

 Ok folks... To be honest, I kept going back and forth about this photo series. I am not a big fan of photoshop but, I must say, I could not ingore this work. After all there is a creative process involved, has merit and the result ...well I just keep going back to look at it over and over ...YES!

Deborah Hamon
Novato, CA
United States
deborah@deborahhamon.com
www.deborahhamon.com

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos by Ellie Brown entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009



Artist Statement

With this work, I pay homage to the late Bernd and Hilla Becher with my personal typologies. While living in Korea it was initially easy to look at every new and strange thing with wide tourist eyes and photograph it all. In the end, I lived in Ulsan, S.Korea for ten-months, I find there are certain visual repetitions that stick with me beyond my initial culture shocked photographer’s eyes. The photographs of Korean notebooks began with the discovery of a number of student notebooks and diaries thrown away at the end of the semester. The notebooks were filled with neat Korean writing, some English words, drawings and sometimes scribbles. The notebooks got rained on and the inks bled through leaving a formally beautiful mixture of all of these elements bleeding together. I feel that these notebooks are a metaphor for my time in Korea. The notebooks are beautiful and interesting to look at, sometimes humorous but mostly indecipherable. I cannot read the text in the books and again, like the notion that I can create an identity for the notebook’s former owner without any living proof. These trash objects are moving on an emotional level with certain earnestness and hopefulness of a student’s future that an object containing an individuals’ handwriting can only contain. I have photographed these objects in great numbers as a typology but also as proof that my life, confusion, culture shock and excitement in Korea existed.

YES!

Ellie Brown
Philadelphia, PA
United States
ellie@elliebrown.com
www.elliebrown.com

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos by Diego Ballestrasse entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009





Artist Statement

My work approaches the idea of the architecture as a scene and space of social production. I am interested in questioning the the scenographic possibilities of the architectural spaces and their relation with the image’s industry. Set Project: Most of these photos were taken in Barcelona, on the coastal industrial suburbs bordering the city centre. Most of these pictures are at the same time a product of a same experience: the discovery that at a very precise moment of the day the mediterranean light radically transforms the perception of space and architecture. From here on, my interest has been to amplify the theatrical and cinematographic potency of the scene and at the same time raise the question as to whether the photographs have been taken in a raw and direct manner, or whether they have been pre-produced and lit as a film set. This ambivalent condition, which often projects the objects on the picture themselves to the protagonist character, is actually a clear resolution: on all the direct records these are documents without any pre-production whatsoever. Diego Ballestrasse Av. Drassanes 29, 4º 3º. 08001 Barcelona (+34) 687 194 301 mail@diegoballestrasse.com

Yes!

Diego Ballestrasse
Barcelona, Barcelona
Spain
diegoballestrasse@gmail.com
www.diegoballestrasse.com

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos by Alberto Guglielmi entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009




Artist Statement

Alberto has been taking pictures since childhood, the camera next to him in every adventure and passion he shared in his life. He was a professional windsurfer and snowboarder before achieving a master in Economics and undertaking a successful career in Management Consulting in Rome, London, and NY. His management work lead him towards creative environments, so he left the tie in the closet and decided to go back to his photography roots. With many beautiful pictures in his portfolio already, transitioning to professional photography was an easy step. He started with a portrait exhibition in NY, and currently works on both commercial assignments and for numerous international magazines. Alberto’s specialization is shooting humans. Lifestyle and portraits, combined with a great passion for action and a love for light. He currently lives and works in New York. Among his clients Lavazza, Campari, Discovery Channel, Style Magazine, Outside Magazine. “I am just simply in love with photography”MAZMA Photo.

YES! Love the first one the best!

Alberto Guglielmi
Accord, NY
United States
alberto@mazma.com
www.mazma.com

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos by S. Billie Mandle entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009




Artist Statement

These photographs were made in confessionals, the small rooms found in Catholic churches where people confess their sins. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all have theologies of repentance, a sequence of interdependent acknowledgments and responses that must be undergone before the penitent can be reconciled to God. In all of these religions penance must be enacted; it is performed physically as well as mentally and spiritually. I chose to photograph confessionals because they are a physical manifestation of an abstract theology; they give form and structure to the interiority of penance. The walls and kneelers embody the thoughts and prayers of the penitents, and the penitents in turn leave their mark on the architecture. I am interested in how the photographs, as physical objects, might speak to what is intangible and ineffable about these spaces. The act of photographing the confessional has become a ritual for me: I use a large format camera and available light, lifting the curtain of the confessionals and looking into the darkness, just as I lift the dark cloth of the camera. I was raised Catholic and these rooms and the traditions they hold are a familiar part of my upbringing. However, in making these images I approach the confessionals as metaphorical spaces – structures that suggest the ways people reckon with the complexities of faith and forgiveness.

S. Billie Mandle
Brooklyn, Ny
United States
billie.mandle@gmail.com
www.billiemandle.com

ARTmostfierce's Photolucida Critical Mass 2009 picks

Photos by Simone Lueck entries for Photolucida's Critical Mass 2009




Artist Statement

I live in LA and I like it here. I like that the palm trees were all planted at the same time. I like that Gloria Swanson played herself in Sunset Boulevard. I like that she had it, and then she lost it, and she didn’t know the difference. I like that she buried her dead chimp in a satin lined casket. Making pictures in LA is good. It’s like sifting through an old trunk filled with worn out fan letters and a bright blonde lock of hair from 1953. I am fascinated with the performance that exists and is played out in the ceremonies and rituals practiced every day. In 2009, I have been making pictures of people posing as glamorous movie stars. The series, The Once and Future Queens, includes pictures of individuals who answered an internet advertisement soliciting older woman to pose as glamorous movie stars. The pictures are collaborations: Each participant is asked to provide her own makeup, hair and wardrobe and to select a desired location for the shoot. The project came from my fascination with glamour, a remnant of Old Hollywood.

Simone Lueck
Los Angeles, CA
United States
s@simonelueck.com
www.simonelueck.com