Dreams, Fantasies, and Illusions

Juror's Statement

It was with great interest that we took on the judging of PhotoPlace Gallery's contest Dreams, Fantasies and Illusions; it is, after all, the theme upon which our own work is largely based. We appreciated reviewing all work however found that those images that were technically most proficient, original, and mysterious made the most impact. It's a difficult theme in which to avoid cliches, but the best of the work submitted managed to steer clear. The advent of photoshop has made manipulation easier, as have all the apps available, but these are also easy traps. With mastery, photographers are able to use these tools to communicate, more than to create gimmicks. Some of the works were quite astonishingly beautiful; traditional photographers who have mastered the art of building seamless worlds represented many of these. Another few were able to transcend the easy tricks of Photoshop to make some amazing images we were happy to select. Humor, narrative drama, subtlety and mystery of shadows and movement and blur, archaic processes and somber moods all engaged us. The variety of approaches made it a fascinating jury process. It will be a thrilling show and it was a great honor. Dream on! 

- Nicholas Kahn & Richard Selesnick

About the Jurors

Richard Selesnick and Nicholas Kahn have been collaborating as Kahn & Selesnick since 1988 on a series of complex narrative photo-novellas and sculptural installations. Their work has evolved into a series of projects involving fictional attributions, narratives, and sculpture. This staged photography features 360 degree panoramas that create a cinematic sense of place and alter the sense of time through their placement of costumes, props, and choice of color. Their work has been shown in numerous solo exhibitions around the world and is in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC, just to name a few. They have published three monographs with Aperture Press. Both are represented by Bernstein and Andriulli. Or visit their inspired website: www.kahnselesnick.com. 

Call for Entries

Dreams. Fantasies. Illusions. While we usually think of the camera as a tool for recording the facts of the real world in front of our eyes with great exactitude, it can also be used to explore the wonders of the imagination. For this exhibition, we sought photographs of any kind that created dreamworlds, spun fantastic tales, or suggested imaginary illusions.