Juror's Statement
To my mind, the title "Intimate Portraits” describes portraits that go beyond the surface and explore or reveal a deeper vision of the subject. This can be accomplished by showing an environmental context, capturing a telling expression, or, as in the case of the image that won the juror’s award, construction of a magical vision that does not exist outside the mind of the artist.
The quality of the photographs submitted was extremely high, and the image-makers followed many different paths. It took me three days to view all the material and select the photographs to be shown in the gallery exhibition and online, as well as the award recipients. Even though I was permitted to include over 70 photographs for exhibition, I was saddened many times by my exclusion of beautiful and dramatic work.
As a juror of many exhibits over the past years, what I value most in the submissions is when I can feel and see that a photographer has a strong and unique signature style, and that personal view is reflected in my decisions. When I teach advanced portrait classes, I stress to my students that finding their own voice in photography and having that voice clearly represented in the work they produce is extremely important.
It was a wonderful experience to view the very large number of portraits for this exhibition, and it was a pleasure working with PhotoPlace Gallery. I found them to be of the highest integrity and artistic vision.
- Joyce Tenneson
About the Juror
Internationally lauded as one of the leading photographers of her generation, Joyce Tenneson’s work has been published in books and major magazines, and exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide. Her portraits have appeared on covers for magazines such as: Time, Life, Newsweek, Premiere, Esquire and The New York Times Magazine.
Vicki Goldberg, critic and author, writes of Tenneson: “Tenneson possesses a unique vision which makes her photographs immediately recognizable. She creates enigmatic and sensuous images that are timeless and haunting."
Tenneson is the author of sixteen books including the best seller, Wise Women, which was featured in a six-part Today Show series. She is the recipient of many awards, including Fine Art Photographer of the Year in 2005 (Lucie Awards), and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Professional Photographers of America in 2012. In a poll conducted by American Photo Magazine, readers voted Tenneson among the ten most influential women in the history of photography. In the Fall of 2014, Fotografiska Museum, in Stockholm, Sweden, mounted a large retrospective of her work which was seen by approximately 30,000 people. Tenneson’s work has been exhibited in museums around the globe and is part of many private and public collections.
In addition to her photography exhibits and books, Tenneson has taught master photography classes in the U.S. and Europe for over 40 years.
Learn more about Joyce Tenneson on her website: http://www.tenneson.com.
Call for Entries
“A true portrait can never hide the inner life of its subject. It is interesting that in our culture we hide and cover the body, yet our faces are naked. Through a person’s face we can potentially see everything — the history and depth of that person’s life as well as their connection to an even deeper universal presence.”
—Joyce Tenneson
For this call for submissions, we seek portraits that go beneath the surface to reveal aspects of the subject that usually remain hidden. All capture methods and processes are welcome.
We are honored indeed that Joyce Tenneson will be the juror for Intimate Portraits. She will select 35 images for exhibition in our Middlebury, Vermont gallery and another 40 for our Online Gallery. All 75 images will be reproduced in the exhibition print catalog and recognized on social media.
The Juror’s Award and Director’s Award recipients will each be entitled to a portfolio review with Joyce Tenneson.
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