2009 Winners
P. H. Tuan Annual
Wang Center Photo Contest

 Grand Prize - Chaomin Tang

This year P.H. Tuan, architect of the Wang Center, initiated monetary prizes for the annual AA E-Zine Wang Center Photo Contest. So rather that primarily campus media photographers entering as had happened in previous years - there were 58 entries from 19 photographers and the decision became incredibly difficult. P.H. asked his wife Gwynne, who attended the awards ceremony with him, to choose her top 10 and none of them matched his top 10. He said it made him realize how subjective winning is. But he was so excited by the quality of the photographs that next year he is planning an exhibit and reception with all the photographers and their entries.

How the judging was done:

All the entries were printing on matte photo paper in high quality. The entries were of assorted sizes so each print was made 10 inches on its longest side. Each photo was numbered and P.H. was given them with no idea whose photo was whose. He picked his top 10 because the decision was made to have 4 different winners and not to have any one person win more than one prize. 

On May 22nd the winners were announced at the [AA]2 Leadership Awards Ceremony.

Chaomin Tang won the $300 Grand Prize for his photo of the zigzag bridge and its reflection across the pond. P.H. said it reminded him of Suzhou. Suzhou is a "water city", known as the Venice of the East though it is actually hundreds of years older. It is where the classical Chinese garden originated. The odd shaped rocks in the Wang Center are from Lake Taihu, the lake next to Suzhou.

'Oliver' Hao Li won the $200 First Prize for his photo of a student studying in the skylight courtyard. P.H. said he liked the contrast of the squares and circles of blacks and whites with just a sudden splash of color in the girls scarf and the randomness of the white wires.

Stephanie Long won the $150 Second Prize for her photo of a reflection of herself sitting on the lit floor beneath the Tower to Heaven.

Dan Woulfin won the $100 Third Prize for her photo of two girls playing by the courtyard pool stairs and reflected in the pool.  

You can see all the entries in this photo album:
http://aasquared.org/gallery/PHTuanCBWangCenterPhotoContest09

Check out the new 2010 contest rules at
http://www.aaezine.org/TuanWangPhotoContest.