The Camera Club of New York

July 8 – August 14, 2010
Opening reception: Thursday, July 8, 6–9pm

First Place Winners:
Rachel Barrett
Erin O‘Keefe

Second Place Winners:
Juliane Eirich
Selena Salfen

CCNY is pleased to announce its upcoming exhibition of the winners of its 2010 National Photography Competition, juried by artist James Casebere. The four artists in the 2010 CCNY Juried Show– First Place Winners Rachel Barrett and Erin O‘Keefe, and Second Place Winners Juliane Eirich and Selena Salfen– offer contrasting and compelling visions. Rachel Barrett’s series Bolinas reflects on the interconnectedness of place, atmosphere and people in a specific “off-the-grid” community in coastal Northern California. Erin O‘Keefe’s photographs of still life and snapshot set-ups ponder tensions surrounding empty rooms, spaces in transition and the idealized versus the functioning artist’s studio. The Hale Kula series of photographs by Juliane Eirich highlights the reduction of an everyday but unique space (Hawaiian schoolhouses at night) to horizontal bands of color, while also exploring the relationship between the manmade and the natural. The photographs of Selena Salfen’s series Exposure In Vivo confront the effects that untreated war-related trauma have had on three generations of her family by depicting reconstructions of painful episodes in her relatives’ histories.

James Casebere says about the process of jurying this year’s competition:
“There was so much great work, it was difficult to make a decision. I really enjoyed spending the time looking and thinking about what each artist was doing. The two top choices represent very different uses of photography. In each case (and in many others) I was impressed by the intensity and clarity of concentration. There should be more grants available. It was an honor to participate. I hope I lived up to the task. I very much look forward to meeting some of the artists and seeing the exhibition.”

The 2010 juror, James Casebere, pioneered work with constructed photography. Working for the last thirty years, Casebere is the recipient of numerous fellowships and his photographs are in the collections of many museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Casebere was featured in the last Whitney Biennial.

CCNY also presents a special web-only exhibition of the ten Honorable Mentions selected by Casebere– Noah Addis, Patryce Bak, Marti Belcher, Christine Elfman, Sarah-Marie Land, Takako Oishi, Stephen Scheer, Satomi Shirai, Alejandra Ugarte Bedwell and Marydorsey Wanless.