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Griffin Museum Presents Third Annual Focus Awards by Bill Eidson The May 2008 ceremony honored contributions to the promotion of photography.

While any photographer would be delighted to receive an award from the Griffin Museum in Winchester, Massachusetts, its Focus Awards are bit different—they don’t actually recognize photographers.  Instead, according to executive director Paula Tognarelli, “The Griffin Museum Focus Awards recognize those who work diligently to bring the photographic arts to the public and promote photography as an art form.” 

“The awards were created in an effort to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of photography by way of writings, exhibitions, education and collections,” said Tognarelli.   “This year we paid special tribute to three outstanding individuals in the photography field. Deborah Willis received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Henry Horenstein received the Beacon Award and Jen Bekman received the Rising Star Award. In our second year we presented the Spotlight Award to Nikon. The Spotlight Award is given to an entity that consistently shines a light on photography and has created a far-reaching impact in the field. The awards event was a success and we are delighted to have been able to honor this year’s deserving awardees.”

The Master of Ceremonies for the 2008 Focus Awards was Brian Clamp director and owner of ClampArt in Chelsea, New York. Mr. Clamp received the first Rising Star award in 2006. In addition to Clamp’s support, one of the particularly enjoyable aspects of the evening was that each recipient was presented with his or her award by a luminary of their own choosing.

The Lifetime Achievement award went to Deborah Willis, curator, author, educator, historian, photographer, and chair of the department of photography and imaging at the Tisch School of Arts at NYU.  Ms. Willis was named a Guggenheim Fellow and an Alphonse Fletcher Fellow in 2005, and also was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2000.  As curator of the landmark Smithsonian exhibition, Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present, Ms. Willis presided over the largest exhibition ever conceived to explore the breadth and history of black photography in the U.S.

Presenting the award was actress Anna Maria Horsford.  Ms. Horsford is now seen daily by millions around the world as Thelma Frye on “Amen” and Dee Baxter on “The Wayans Brothers.”  In addition to her reoccurring role on the Emmy-winning television series THE SHIELD, her film roles include, GRIDIRON GANG, BROKEN BRIDGES, MINORITY REPORT, THE KLUMPS: NUTTY PROFESSOR II, KISS THE GIRLS, ALONG CAME A SPIDER, and many others.

Noted photographers, Jill Enfield (right), Lou Jones (middle) and Digital Photo Academy founder, Richard Rabinowitz (left) attended the gala event. Enfield judged a portfolio review session the following day

The 2008 recipient of the Rising Star was Jen Bekman, founder and owner of the Jen Bekman Gallery in New York.  After years of managing Web development teams at Netscape and Disney, Bekman applied her Internet skills and interest in photography into creating a vehicle that connected emerging photography talent with potential buyers on the web. Bekman also writes a blog called Personism and is the founder of the international photo competition, Hey, Hot Shot!  Her latest endeavor is 20×200, a place to buy editioned prints and photos at affordable prices. Bekman has been featured in many publications including The New York Times, Harper’s, Art in America, Foam, Businessweek, Dwell, Der Spiegel and Le Monde. In 2006, Bekman was named an Innovator of the Year by American Photo. Her writing has appeared in GOOD Magazine and photo-eye Booklist.

Omar Wasow presented the Rising Star award to Bekman. Wasow is a cyberspace pioneer, an NBC Internet analyst and founder of Blackplanet.com. Described by The New York Times as “Silicon Alley’s Philosopher-Prince,” Omar Wasow’s work as the Executive Director of BlackPlanet.com and the Internet Analyst for NBC has earned him a reputation as a leading commentator on the challenges and opportunities of new media and the new economy. Wasow's success as a credible and friendly guide to the Internet led Newsweek to name him one of the “fifty most influential people to watch in cyberspace,” and for People to call him the “Sexiest Internet Executive.”

The 2008 recipient of the Beacon Award was Henry Horenstein, photographer, author, and educator. Over the past 30 years, Horenstein’s textbooks on photography have been widely used by hundreds of thousands of photography students. Black & White Photography: a Basic Manual is currently in its third edition. His other photography textbooks include Beyond Basic Photography: A Technical Manual and Color Photography: A Working Manual. He is the author of many monographs including Honky Tonk, Humans, Creatures, Aquatics, Canine, and Racing Days. His newest book Close Relations was recently published by powerHouse Books. It is a collection of photographs he made as a student of Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in the early 1970s.  Henry Horenstein is currently a professor of photography at RISD.

Tom and Ray Magliozzi presented the award to Horenstein.  The Peabody Award-winning hosts of Car Talk on NPR, are better known as "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers.” Tom, 66, and Ray, 54, dispense car advice in the broad accents of the tough East Cambridge neighborhood where they grew up. Both are graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Car Talk is heard by more than 4.1 million listeners each week on 588 public radio stations. Click and Clack Talk Cars appears in 335 newspapers. The website, the Car Talk section of cars.com receives more than 400,000 unique visitors per week.

In addition to the awards given to three individuals, Nikon was presented with a Spotlight Award As Tognarelli explained, “The Spotlight Award is given to an entity that consistently shines a light on photography and has created a far-reaching impact in the field.” And according to Meredith Mulcahy, associate director of the museum, “Nikon is regarded by many photographers as the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology.  Nikon is globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and is famous for its award-winning consumer and professional photographic equipment. Nikon truly exemplifies a commitment to the field and dedication to the promotion of photography.”

Rick Friedman presented the Spotlight award to Ed Fasano, General Manager of Nikon SLR Systems Marketing and Joe Ventura, Corporate & Internet Communications Manager for Nikon. Friedman is the president of the Boston Press Photographers’ Association and an educator. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Friedman travels extensively for corporations, publications and Corbis. His work has appeared Time, Newsweek, U.S. News, The New York Times, People, Sports Illustrated, Stern, Discover, Spiegel, and many other publications around the world. He has published several books, including one about Hillary Clinton. He is currently working on South End Baseball, a book on an inner city baseball program in Boston. Mr. Friedman has won awards from the American Society of Media Photographers and from the National Press Photographers Association.

A Lively Group
The awards were presented at an evening reception at the Griffin Museum. Joining the recipients and their presenters was a lively group of friends and photo industry professionals. According to Richard Rabinowitz of Rainmaker Marketing Services, “What more could we ask than a beautiful setting, deserving candidates, and Tom and Ray to keep us laughing?”

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