A Flash of Fame
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Photographers make their living focusing on others, but at Monday’s Lucie Awards ceremony the spotlight was on the shutterbugs themselves. The second annual event, which is billed as the Oscars of photography, was held in New York for the first time, at the American Airlines Theater on 42nd Street. Last year’s inaugural ceremony was held in Beverly Hills.
The black-tie event recognized photographers in fashion, sports, and journalism. Those who facilitate photographers’ work, such as stylists and makeup artists, were also honored. Caroline Winberg was named Model of the Year, beating out big names such as Maggie Rizer, Eva Herzigova, and Kate Moss.
Early in the evening, Sylvia Plachy received the Women in Photography award. Ms. Plachy, who was a Village Voice photographer for 27 years, was laid off this August. “This is a good time for me to get an award,” she remarked wryly, “when I’m too old to cut it as an emerging photographer.” Ms. Plachy’s son, actor Adrien Brody, sent in a surprise video congratulations from the set of “King Kong.”
The managing editor of Time, Jim Kelly, quoted Susan Sontag’s “On Photography” in his introduction of photojournalist James Nachtwey. The introduction for Sports Illustrated photographer Walter Iooss, in contrast, included an up-to-the-minute Yankees score. Mr. Iooss began shooting for the magazine at age 17, and landed his first cover at 19.
Deborah Harry introduced a tribute to fashion photographer Francesco Scavullo, who died in January.
There was occasional tension in the difficult transitions between slide presentations of stark images of famine and war – such as crowd scenes by Brazilan photographer Sebastiao Salgado – and examples of lighter subjects – like a Helmut Newton shot of a nude woman posing on a yacht.
The awards were a welcome chance for photographers, whose profession has little opportunity for official honor outside of the Pulitzer Prize, to feel the glow of the spotlight.
“We have needed this level of recognition for a long time,” art photographer Arthur Leipzig said as he accepted his statuette. “For me, it’s a beautiful thing.”
Howard Greenberg Gallery, which is located on 57th Street, won the award for Photo Gallery of the Year. Sandra Phillips of San Francisco MoMA was named Photo Curator of the Year for her work on an exhibit of work by Diane Arbus. Gordon Parks received the lifetime achievement award. Other honorees included Lillian Bassman, Jim Marshall, and Cornell Capa.