More and more content will be upload to thegrangeprize.com over the coming weeks, givine you a chance to get to know all four of the shortlisted artists – Americans Josh Brand and Leslie Hewitt, and Canadians Moyra Davey and Kristan Horton. Remember, voting opens September 22, the same day that The Grange Prize Exhibition 2010 opens at the AGO, celebrated by a free public talk at the Gallery with all four shortlisted artists. See you there!

“What I did with the camera was, in a sense, to snap off shots as I circled them, and encompassed them. And then each of those shots, they’re layered up. I guess they’re photographs. But they live somehwere between documentary photography, with this moving around, and formal aesthetic – an abstract formal aesthetic. They’re holding a line between these two possibilities of what they are.”

- Kristan Horton, nominee for The Grange Prize 2010

Who will you choose? Vote for your favourite online at thegrangeprize.com or inside the exhibition at the AGO beginning September 22!

Stay tuned to the blog for an introduction to Josh Brand, the other American shortlisted for the prize, coming soon! And we’ll have more from each of the four shortlisted artists as we approach the big day: Wednesday, September 22, the date that The Grange Prize Exhibition 2010 opens at the AGO, and voting begins! Plus, the AGO will be hosting a free talk that day with all four artists in-person! Save the date!

Stay tuned to thegrangeprize.com over the next few weeks, where we’ll be regularly posting new videos and content featuring all four of the shortlisted artists – Americans Josh Brand and Leslie Hewitt, and Canadians Moyra Davey and Kristan Horton -, giving you the chance to get to know each of them before choosing whose work will gain your vote on September 22, when voting opens at thegrangeprize.com!

In this video, Leslie Hewitt reflects on how considerations of scale and space affect her work, and reveals why she’s drawn to the informality of the snapshot. Take a look!

Stay tuned to thegrangeprize.com over the next few weeks, where we’ll be regularly posting new videos and content, giving you the chance to get to know each of the shortlisted artists before deciding whose work will gain your vote on September 22!

This week, we had a chance to sit down with The Grange Prize 2010 lead juror and AGO assistant curator of photography Sophie Hackett, who told us about the closed-door deliberations to determine this year’s shortlist, why the jury chose these four artists, and what we can expect from the AGO presentation of The Grange Prize Exhibition 2010.

The Grange Prize: So how did the jury choose the artists shortlisted for The Grange Prize 2010?

Sophie Hackett: Well, the process took place over two days in Chicago last March. We brought four curators together, including myself, and each of us brought forward five artists who had really made an impact in the past five years in the field of contemporary photography. The two Canadian selectors, myself and Kenneth Montague, brought forward Canadian artists, and the two American selectors, Dominic Molon and Karen Irvine, brought forward American artists. As we discussed the photographers, we paid a lot of attention to the chemistry of the shortlist. We wanted very much to put forward four artists whose work stood on a similar playing field, whose work stood up against the other artists’ work, and at the same time was distinct. I think, with this group, we really achieved that.

Did the deliberations stay convivial and friendly, or were there behind-the-scenes art brawls?

It was civilized, but there were definitely some strong feeling about the artists. I think it was actually the best possible balance that we could have had of people who know their stuff and people who really care about photography, and care about good photography. There were no knock-down, drag-out fights at all, but people were very frank. We spent probably three-quarters of the first day looking at submissions and getting familiar with all of the artists, and then the last two hours, there was a bit of a deadlock about who the final artists would be. It took some time to work that through.

What do you hope people will take with them when the see the shortlist?

Well, I hope people are intrigued. There are many things about the works that are a slow burn, that take a little while to sink in, although that’s not to say that there isn’t something that is immediately affective about all of the works. There are a number of different elements in each artist’s work that I’m hoping will pique people’s interest. Maybe they’ll want to learn more about what the artists think about, or they’ll see, for instance, that two of the artists make photographs that are really abstract, and maybe wonder why that’s happening now.

You’ve had a chance to meet all of the shortlisted artists now, and conduct interviews with them. Does developing a personal relationship with an artist shift your perception of their work?

Meeting the artists has really just further confirmed the merit of the shortlist in my mind. They’re extremely thoughtful, they’re incredibly articulate, they’re funny, they’re passionate about what they do. I am excited to know who will win and nervous at the same time, because I feel that they are all truly deserving of the prize. I’ve also met them in their homes and their studios, and it’s been fascinating to see the relationship of their practice to their daily lives. I felt like I was able to get closer to how they think about what they do, which was great.

As the curator of The Grange Prize Exhibition 2010 at the AGO, can you tell us a bit about what we’re going to see on September 22 when it opens?

The exhibition is a great opportunity to see the works in the flesh, and while you can get a good sense of the work online, I think that the visitors will be surprised when they encounter them in person, particularly by the artists’ sense of scale. Josh Brand’s works are very small and jewel-like, Kristan Horton’s photographs are very large and overwhelming in a certain way, Leslie Hewitt’s works sit on the floor, Moyra Davey’s works are pinned to the wall. There is play of scale, of materials, of modes of presentation, and by extension a great variety of contemporary photographic practice. I would encourage people visiting or living in Toronto or Chicago this fall to go and the shows at the AGO or the MoCP, because you could have a very different response in person than you would online, and that may change your vote.

Thanks for taking the time the chat, Sophie.

My pleasure.

Josh Brand’s studio is tucked way up at the top of a four-floor walk-up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and is filled with books, plants, and stacks of bright yellow photo-paper boxes holding his experiments both current and past. In conversation with Sophie Hackett, the AGO’s Assistant Curator of Photography, Josh talked about where his ideas come from, how considerations of perception and memory influence his practice, and then walked us through his process in creating his unique photographic works.

The final stop on our whirlwind tour of the shortlisted artists’ studios was a visit with Leslie Hewitt in a studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she is completing a one-year residency at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Leslie talked with AGO Assistant Curator of Photography Sophie Hackett about her interest in personal snapshots, the politics of Civil Rights Era photojournalism, and what sculpture and the body have to do with the work she makes.

You’ll hear a lot more from Josh and Leslie over the summer as we post video excerpts from these conversations right here on The Grange Prize blog. And, of course, you can catch the longer videos later this fall inside The Grange Prize Exhibitions at the AGO and the MoCP, Chicago. Stay tuned!

This week we’ve had the incredible opportunity to visit the studios of each of the four shortlisted artists. First stop: Kristan Horton’s studio in Toronto’s west-end. Sophie Hackett, the AGO’s Assistant Curator of Photography, spoke to Kristan about why he chose to become an artist, why he works in photography, and Kristan talked us through his process in making his incredible ‘Orbits’ series, three of which are pictured hanging on the wall in the above image.

We’ll be posting excerpts from the interview on the blog later this month, so stay tuned. (Plus, we promise a special guest appearance from Kristan’s amazing cat, Hank., which you really don’t want to miss.)

Walking into Moyra Davey’s Washington Heights apartment is a little bit like walking into one of her photographs. Books and objects fill the shelves and surfaces, reflecting the importance of literature as an influence and objects as a subject in Davey’s practice. In conversation with Sophie Hackett, the AGO’s Assistant Curator of Photography, Davey discussed the numerous artists and writers who have influenced her practice, reflected on the transition in photographic technology, and, much to our delight, showed us her cameras, explaining when and how she’s used each one in creating her work.

You’ll see excerpts from this conversation posted throughout the summer right here on The Grange Prize blog, so stay tuned!

Joshua Brand, American. Untitled 2008. Unique chromogenic print. © 2010 Joshua Brand

Josh Brand, an American photographer based in Brooklyn, New York, who creates unique photographic objects, or photograms, through darkroom experimentation, often without the use of a camera or film, rendering subtle gestures and effects in works, and suggesting representational elements while remaining emphatically abstract. Full bio.

Moyra Davey, Canadian. Shure, 2003, chromogenic print. © 2010 Moyra Davey

Moyra Davey, a Canadian photographer, writer, and filmmaker living and working in New York City, whose intimate, poetic, and modestly scaled visual essays – documenting domestic objects, studio ephemera, and books – stand in contrast to the driving trends of contemporary photography. Full bio.

Leslie Hewitt, American. Riffs in Real Time (10 of 10), chromogenic print. © 2010 Leslie Hewitt

Leslie Hewitt, an American photographer living and working in Houston and New York City, who uses photography, sculpture, and site-specific installations to create photographic arrangements that address notions of time and space, culture and representation. Full bio.

Kristan Horton, Canadian, Orbit: Dorknob, 2009. chromogenic print © 2010 Kristan Horton

Kristan Horton, a Canadian photographer living and working in Toronto, whose multi-disciplinary works incorporate sculpture, drawing, photography, and video. His practice involves extensive research and inventive, experimental uses of digital technology, often utilizing humour and repetition in novel ways. Full bio.

This year, the jury focused on artists who challenge us to think about what a photograph can be. The four artists create works that engage science, sculpture, cinema, and literature, all the while addressing photography’s rich history. To read the full release, click here.

Mark your calendars now, as public voting begins September 22nd. In the meantime, keep checking thegrangeprize.com over the summer because we’ll be introducing you to each of the artists, telling you more about the prize, and continuing the conversation about photography today with photographers, critics, curators, thinkers, and you.

“The encounter with Six Nations is a lesson for the comprehension of the current situation of the First Nations’ descendants in Canada”

Cruz created a website showcasing his the photographs taken during this time. Click here to check it out!