June 09, 2012 through July 07, 2012

Plastic Fantastic Show III

First Place Award
Matthew Cetta’s first place image Ammonia from his series Photogenic Alchemy is a visual and technical delight. What may have been just an average image of the Brooklyn Bridge becomes something truly fabulous through his use of a microwave and alternative chemical treatments. He asked himself the most important question, “What if?” and created something truly fabulous.

Second Place Award
Second place winner, S. Gayle Stevens is a modern day alchemist who bends, breaks and redesigns the rules. She is one of the most imaginative practitioners in alternative photography and last year’s first place winner. Once again, she has offered us another unforgettable and haunting image with Emergence of Darkness.

Third Place Award
Erin Malone ‘s Something Still Remains Undone is a quiet, majestic and affecting image, elevated to magnificence via the photogravure process.

Honorable Mention
It’s not an easy task to create an effectively seductive image with a toy camera. But Daniel Grant’s knocked it out of the ballpark with his image, The Couch. As part of his series My Affair With Diana, The Couch leaves as much to the imagination as it reveals, making this a truly mysterious, alluring image.

Juror’s Statement

I am forever inspired and enthused by the ingenuity of artists who break the rules and make something undeniably their own by using the most basic of tools. Due to the technical limitations of toy camera photography, many photographers become content by merely recreating dreamy effects and a complementary mood. But artists who take it one step further, such as Matthew Cetta, S. Gayle Stevens, Erin Malone and Daniel Grant stand out from the crowd and should be applauded for creating wonderfully unique imagery with these simplistic, optically challenged cameras.
Being asked to juror the Plastic Fantastic contest for the second year in a row was a great honor. Thank you to Michael and Chelsea for entrusting me with this great privilege. I congratulate all of the selected exhibitors and applaud everyone who submitted.
-Susan Burnstine June 2012

Exhibiting Photographers:

Rich BergemanCrista BlackwoodBonnie BorthwickNancy BreslinAngela CasagrandeMatthew Cetta • Chris Clark
Kendall Davis • Amy FichterSara FieldsBob Gervais • Brian Gliniak • Larry Gloth • Emma Grace • Daniel GrantJosh Hobson Arunas Kulikauskas • Ashley Kauschinger • Michael Korol • Kent KrughLena KällbergKy LewisJessie LukeErin Malone
Jeff MitchellGary MoyerHolly NorthropHeather OelklausDiane PetersonDaniel PolidoriDeon ReynoldsJim Rohan
Maggie SkibaLen SpeierStefanie LePape • Gavin Stenhouse • S Gayle StevensCody SwansonStacie TurnerPeter Wiklund

LightBox appreciates photographic images made with plastic “toy” cameras and established this show to celebrate the gallery’s anniversary every year! LightBox is very honored to have Susan Burnstine as juror once again for the Plastic Fantastic Show.
Congrats to the photographers accepted into the Plastic Fantastic Show III and Thank You to all the photographers who submitted images, we appreciate all of your support and interest. Thank you Susan for curating, this truly is a Fantastic show!

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