Scotiabank Photography Award reveals 2014 finalists
The finalists for the 2014 Scotiabank Photography Award have been announced and Mark Ruwedel, MFA 83, is in the elite group of three.
The other two artists nominated for the prize, which is Canada's largest annual peer reviewed award honouring the work of contemporary Canadian photographers, are Rodney Graham and Donald Weber. The winner of the Scotiabank Photography Award receives a cash prize of $50,000, a book of their work to be published and a major solo exhibition at the Ryerson Image Centre, as part of next year's Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. The two shortlisted artists receive prizes of $5,000 each.
Ruwedel's photographic interests are found in the contemporary landscape and the nature/culture dynamic, photographing in both black-and-white and colour. With several bodies of work now published in print, his latest book, Pictures of Hell, will be released this fall. Ruwedel first became interested in photography while studying painting at Kutztown State College, Pennsylvania and later moved to Montreal to pursue graduate studies in photography at Concordia University.
Mark Ruwedel, Terre des Hommes #10, 1987-89.
Image courtesy of the Scotiabank Photography Award website.
Edward Burtynsky, chair of the Scotiabank Photography Award jury and internationally renowned Canadian photo artist, said: "These artists have unique and distinctive bodies of work that show true excellence in Canadian contemporary photography. I want to thank the jury for their careful selection of these gifted finalists."
The shortlist was selected from a list of nominees from across Canada proposed by an eminent panel of nominators. Nominators include curators, photographers, artists, gallery directors, art writers, professors and critics from across the country. This year's jury members are Robert Bean (Independent Artist and Writer, Professor of Photography, NSCAD University), Catherine Bédard (Deputy-Director of the Canadian Cultural Centre and Art Historian) and Ann Thomas (Curator, Photographs Collection, National Gallery of Canada).
The winner will be announced on announced April 29, 2014.