USC Annenberg will host an exhibit of 185 award-winning images from the World Press Photo 08 contest from Jan. 12 to Feb. 5, 2009. The exhibit stunningly records history as it happened – the human toll of the wars in
The public is invited to an opening reception on Thursday, January 15, featuring four prize-winning photographers, including World Press Photo of the Year 2007 winner Tim Hetherington. RSVP online at annenberg.usc.edu/rsvp.
World Press Photo is the world’s largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest. USC Annenberg and the United Nations are the only
“This exhibit showcases the year’s greatest achievements in photojournalism while documenting the world’s major events and revealing the spectrum of human experience,” said Ernest J. Wilson III, dean of the
Partnering with World Press Photo gives Annenberg “an opportunity to share the year’s best press photography with the wider Los Angeles community, exposing powerful images to people who might not otherwise see them,” said Larry Gross, director of USC Annenberg’s School of Communication and an expert in visual communication.
This year’s competition, the 51st overall, attracted 5,019 photographers from 125 countries who submitted 80,536 images.
The World Press Photo of the Year prize, worth 10,000 euros, is awarded for “the single photograph that is not only the photojournalistic encapsulation of the year, but represents an issue, situation or event of great journalistic importance, and does so in a way that demonstrates an outstanding level of visual perception and creativity.” The international jury awarded prizes in 10 categories: people in the news, spot news, general news, contemporary issues, daily life, portraits, arts and entertainment, nature, sports features and sports action.
The jury selected Hetherington’s image of a weary American soldier in
"This image represents the exhaustion of a man - and the exhaustion of a nation," said jury chairman Gary Knight. "We're all connected to this. It's a picture of a man at the end of a line." Fellow juror MaryAnne Golon said, "There's a human quality to this picture. It says that conflict is the basis of this man's life."
Hetherington will be joined at USC Annenberg on Thursday, January 15, by contest category winners Erika Larsen, honored for a series on child hunters published in Field & Stream; David Liittschwager, honored for images of microscopic sea creatures published in National Geographic; and Justin Maxon, honored for an image of a homeless Vietnamese woman and her child. The reception from 6-7 p.m. will be followed by “Behind the Lens” discussion session, when the photographers will tell the story behind their prizewinning photos. RSVP online at annenberg.usc.edu/rsvp.
On Friday, January 16, Annenberg and the Los Angeles Times will sponsor a photojournalism seminar for high-school and college students in connection with the exhibit. Students will take advantage of a day full of workshops featuring the four award-winning photographers. Event details are online. RSVP online by Jan. 6 at annenberg.usc.edu.
“For all of us here at Annenberg, the chance to have this fine photojournalism in our midst is a treat,’’ said Geneva Overholser, director of USC Annenberg’s
Hours for the exhibit at USC Annenberg will be Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed on Monday, January 19. The exhibit will be at
World Press Photo receives support from the Dutch Postcode Lottery and is sponsored worldwide by Canon and TNT. World Press Photo-
