Remember when?

Remember when Brian Ulrich was just early into all that fantastic Copia work? Back before his Guggenheim. Remember when Doug Dubois dug into the final stretch on his family work that resulted in his critically-acclaimed book that aperture published last year? Remember when Julie Blackmon wowed us all with that color work from her "Domestic Vacations" series? Back before her monograph was published by Radius Books and her representation list grew as long as my arm. Remember the first time you saw the work of Kelli Connell? Michal Chelbin? John Chervinsky? Todd Deutsch? Suzanne Opton? Chris Jordan? You remember... back before his appearance on the Colbert Report?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Chris Jordan
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Skate Expectations

Well, every single one of these photographers is among the 2005 Critical Mass Top 50. This stroll down memory lane is brought about because The Critical Mass 2009 Top 50 page is now up and running. This page, as well as the pages from all of the previous years are an absolutely fantastic teaching, and even better yet, learning tool as it compiles the actual submissions from the Top 50 ranked photographers from each year of Critical Mass. My God... there are a full five years of the Critical Mass Top 50 listed now. Five years! It almost feels like looking through a yearbook... only less embarrassing. Share it, use it, enjoy it.

Finally! The Critical Mass 2009 Book Award Winners!

A HUGE congratulations to:

Alejandro Cartagena and Birthe Piontek

top: Birthe Piontek | bottom: Alejandro Cartagena

Alejandro and Birthe are the recipients of photolucida's Critical Mass Book Awards for 2009!

Ultimately, Birthe's and Alejandro's projects rose to the top of the unique democratic process that is Critical Mass and join the ranks of the Critical Mass Book Award Winners. As is always the case with our Book Awards, we're super excited to help more people experience and celebrate this work by producing these books.

What's new this time though is that we're also especially excited to be partnering up with Daylight Books (the new book program of Daylight Magazine) to produce Alejandro's book.


Remember that everyone who participated in CM09, every photographer who entered and every juror, will receive copies of these books once they're produced. And hold on, before you start filling in the comments section with complaints of not having received the last batch of books, remember, it takes a while to publish a beautiful book of exceptional photography and our CM08 books aren't out into the world quite yet. Soon, though... very soon. We're in the final stretch right now and they should be coming in, and going back out to you, in March.

CONGRATS TO BIRTHE, ALEJANDRO, OUR OTHER BOOK AWARD FINALISTS, AND REALLY, ALL OF YOU WHO'VE PARTICIPATED IN CRITICAL MASS, FOR MAKING THIS UNIQUE PROGRAM SUCH A HUGE SUCCESS! LOOK FOR REGISTRATION FOR CRITICAL MASS 2010 TO OPEN THIS SUMMER!

How I'm planning to spend the afternoon of Saturday the 27th in Portland

11:30: Hit Newspace before the current show, Carnival, changes over (Susan Burnstine next month!)

© Meg Birnbaum

then maybe lunch at the food carts on Hawthorne

1:30: Down & Out at 23 Sandy in Portland, curated by Carol McCusker. This Saturday, Crista Dix from wallspace gallery will speak on "The State of Contemporary Photography Today" at 2.

© Jacqueline Walters

2:40: sneak out (sorry Crista, but there's a little driving and parking time to factor in) to hustle over to Blue Sky for a double header at 3 pm with Sam Lee speaking on "War and Vietnamese Photography," followed by a community discussion with Chris Rauschenberg and Stephanie Snyder.

© An My Le

followed by cocktails, right?

Guggenheim fever

© Livia Corona

Not sure which was more exciting... Super Bowl Sunday or the overlooked news just finding me that Livia Corona is among the current Guggenheim fellows with her project "Two Million Homes for Mexico" that she'd shared in Critical Mass 2008. Aah, that's not exactly true... Livia's news is definitely more exciting.

Congrats to Livia (and the New Orleans Saints)!

To put on your to-do list:

© Sirio Magnabosco, 1st prize 2007

1) submit work to the Cedefop Photomuseum Award sponsored by the Museum of Photography in Thessaloniki, Greece by April 11th. This year, the award's theme is:

Learning for Life, Working to Grow

"The Central idea of this year’s theme is bound up with the importance of lifelong learning as well as with work and its importance as a means of personal development and not just a way of life."

2) Look up the current exchange rate to determine how far the 5,000 Euro prize will go.

3) Put some of that imagined windfall aside to go toward your trip to Thessaloniki for the next Photobiennale.

Congratulations to

Alejandro Cartagena... he's a Finalist for Artwork International's Artist Career Development Grant!