The 2021 Arnold Newman Prize For New Directions in Photographic Portraiture Exhibition – Artist Reception

Join us in Winchester on October 7th at 7pm for a special event, celebrating the winner and finalists of the Arnold Newman Prize.

The Griffin’s Main Gallery is showcasing Newman Award winner Rashod Taylor and finalists GOLDEN, Christian K. Lee and Donavon Smallwood during the month of October. The exhibition runs through October 24th, 2021.

Maine Media Workshops + College Announces Rashod Taylor as Recipient of 2021 Arnold Newman Prize, One of the Nation’s Largest in the World of Photographic Portraiture

Examining Themes of Race, Culture, Family, and Legacy, Taylor’s Intimate Work Will Be on View at The Griffin Museum through October 24, 2021

The Arnold Newman Prize for New Directions in Photographic Portraiture is a $20,000 prize awarded annually by Maine Media Workshops + College to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photographic portraiture.

Taylor’s award-winning work entitled Little Black Boy–modeled in part after a family photo album–offers not only a window into his family story, but also into the Black American experience.

© Rashod Taylor, “Reflection of Me”

About the Winner: Rashod Taylor (b.1985) is an emerging contemporary photographer who uses the frameworks and methods allied with the history of fine art portraiture to contemplate his own family’s narrative within contemporary America. His photographs are deeply rooted to photographic traditions and break new ground. Taylor is attached to analog practice–the large format camera, the slowing down and honoring of the moment, and the attraction to rich the lush prints produced from his home darkroom–all such factors underline his sentimentality, thoughtfulness, and ally him to the history of family portraiture while adding to its legacy;its future. Taylor attended Murray State University and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Art with a specialization in Fine Art Photography. He has since exhibited and been published nationally and internationally.

Implied in the title, Taylor pays particular attention to the relationship between father and son in his series. “As I document my son, I am interested in examining his childhood and the world he navigates. At the same time, these images show my own unspoken anxiety and fragility as it pertains to the wellbeing of my son and fatherhood,” explains Taylor. “He can’t live a carefree childhood as he deserves; there is a weight that comes with his blackness, a weight that he is not ready to bear.”

2021 Finalists: The finalists this year include Donavon Smallwood with Languor,  Christian K. Lee with Armed Doesn’t Mean Dangerous, and GOLDEN with On Learning How to Live.

About the Award: The Prize is funded by the Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation and administered by Maine Media Workshops + College. The influential and revered photographer and educator, Arnold Newman, enjoyed a decades’ long association with Maine Media, where he taught numerous photographic workshops over the years. The Arnold and Augusta Newman Foundation has continued his legacy at the College, supporting scholarships, media production, a distinguished lecture series, and the prestigious Arnold Newman Prize in Photographic Portraiture–a cash prize of $20,000 accompanied by an exhibition awarded annually to a photographer whose work demonstrates a compelling new vision in photography.