Judy
Cooper 2nd Place Family
Gathering
"The
Irish Twins" 2004, digital print, 20"x20"
Mother
and Daughter, 2006, digital pigment print, 23"x23"
Granddaughters,
2006, digital pigment print, 23"x23"
Wearing
the Flag, 2004, digital pigment print, 42"x42
The
New York Twins, 2007, digital pigment print, 20"x22"
Twin-O-Rama,
2003, digital pigment print, 45"x45"
Judy
Cooper New
Orleans, Louisiana, USA
As
a human being and as an artist, what I find most interesting in this world is
the human condition itself. So in an effort to try to make some sense of it, I
have trained my camera on my fellow man.
Man is a social animal. We live
in groups. The first, most basic and most important group to which we will ever
belong is the family. The family is the very bedrock of civilization.
Photography, almost since its inception, has been intimately involved with documenting
and preserving the history of the family. Well before the 20th century, journeyman
photographers toured the highways and byways of America making family portraits.
Almost every family has one. These family portraits are always interesting. They
are a little slice of history. And if it is a history that relates to us, even
better. It is fun to try to identify all the people; to guess who is married to
whom, who are brothers and sisters; to look at the faces and see the relationships,
the similarities and differences.
Recently I have done a series of photographs
of twins. I find them intriguing from several points of view. On a purely visual
level, the use of repetition is a basic technique of composition and design as
well as being a common device of humor. I hope, therefore, that the image of identical
twins, especially when they are dressed alike, is visually enticing and amusing.
At the same time, it raises questions about perception itself.
The image
of identical twins resonates on a deeper human level by challenging our assumptions
of individual identity and uniqueness. And the special bond that twins seem to
have brings up questions about our relationships with others.
For some
years, I have worked with large-scale prints which make the subjects, if not life
size, at least on a par with the viewer. I am attempting to achieve a kind of
super realism to enhance the larger-than-life, mythic quality of these ordinary,
everyday kind of people. I hope the fact that the subjects are looking the viewer
straight in the eyes makes the viewer recognize his or her common humanity with
them. See Resume
FAMILY
GATHERINGS
1st Place (12 images)
Susan
Liebold, New York City, New York, USA
2nd Place (6 images)
Judy
Cooper, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
3rd Place
(3 images)
Sarah
Bones, Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA
FAMILY
GATHRINGS < Honorable Mention
Juror Choice
Family
Gathering Juror: Audrey Jonckheer
Worldwide
Pro Photographer Relations
Kodak
LANDSCAPES
1st
Place (12 images)
Sarah
Bones, Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA
2nd Place
(6 images)
Glennis Siverson,
Orlando, Florida, USA
3rd Place (3 images)
Cary
Loving, Richmond, Virginia, USA
LANDSCAPES <
Honorable Mention Juror Choice
Landscape
Juror: Sarah Leen
Senior
Photo Editor
National Geographic Society
SELF-PORTRAITS
1st
Place (12
images)
Laura
Bennett, Pearland, Texas, USA
2nd Place (6
images)
Catherine
E. Money, South Pasadena, California, USA
3rd Place
(3
images)
Diane
Silverman, Los Angeles, California, USA
SELF-PORTRAITS
<
Honorable
Mention
Juror Choice
Self-Portraits
Juror: Jean Ferro
Photo Artist / President
Women In Photography International
