1st Place - David Simonton - Chapel Hill, NC

Merit Award - Julie Blackmon - "Easy-Set" Pool

Merit Award - Sarah Fisher - Rosie and Burnadette

Merit Award - Don Wolfe - 4-3-3

Honorable Mention - (Body of Work) - Aaron Anderson - I'm afraid of everything (except the dark)

Honorable Mention - William R. Bowerman - Celebration

Honorable Mention - Jonathan Moller - In the Center of Nebaj...2002

3rd Place - Benjamin Tiven - Span of the G.W. Bridge

2nd Place - Todd Bertolaet - Riley's Bait Shop

Photographers from seven states took top honors in PhotoSpiva 2004, the national fine arts photography competition sponsored by Spiva Center for the Arts in Joplin. Awards were announced Friday, April 9, at the center.

David Simonton of Raleigh, NC, received first place for Chapel Hill, NC, November 1995. Second place went to Todd Bertolaet of Tallahassee, FL, for Riley's Bait Shop, Carrabelle, FL 2003. Philadelphia, PA photographer Benjamin Tiven was awarded third place for Span of the G. W. Bridge.

Three photographers received Honorable Mention awards: Aaron Anderson (Brooklyn, NY) for his series I’m afraid of everything (except for the dark); William R. Bowerman (Lawrence, KS) for Celebration; and Jonathan Moller (Denver, CO) for In the Center of Nebaj - Guatemala, 2002.

Merit Awards went to Julie Blackmon (Springfield, MO) for Easy-Set Pool, Sarah Fisher (St. Joseph, MO) for "Rosie and Burnadette," and Don Wolfe (Overland Park, KS) for "4-3-3".

The Center established the annual event in 1977. "PhotoSpiva is now the oldest, continuously-running photography competition in the U.S," said Jo Mueller, Spiva's executive director. With $2,000 in cash awards, it's always been a very competitive event for both amateurs and professionals. This year was no exception.”

PhotoSpiva 2004 juror Therese Mulligan, Ph.D., coordinates the MFA Program in Imaging Arts - Photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY. Dr. Mulligan selected 98 photographs for the exhibit from among 550 entries.

"I had a great time judging the competition," she said. "I saw work by 117 photographers from 25 states, and selected images by 66 of them for the exhibit. You'll see everything from digital images to traditional black and white prints to hand-tinted photographs made with a pinhole camera. The exhibit is almost a snapshot of current issues and practices in contemporary photography."

PhotoSpiva 2004 is on display through May 16.

Spiva Center for the Arts is located at Third and Wall in downtown Joplin. Galleries are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. There is no charge for admission; contributions are welcome.

Financial assistance for PhotoSpiva 2004 was provided by the Freeman Johnson Trust, Friends of St. Avips, and the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency. The John Wise Home, 5th and Byers, provided juror's accommodations.


For more information, please call 417-623-0183.

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org

Jo Mueller, Director