We’d like to congratulate Tanja Gant for winning Overall First Place in the October 2023 PleinAir Salon, judged by John Manzari, with her charcoal drawing, “Canceled” (shown above).
“‘Canceled’ is a result of another impromptu photo shoot with a dear friend who was kind enough to pose for me and follow my prompts, which I’m sure she found a bit strange at times,” Tanja says.
“I don’t take a lot of photos but I usually end up with one that catches my attention and reveals a story, an opinion, or a feeling I didn’t even know I wanted to share. Such was the case with ‘Canceled’. To me, this ‘in your face’ image, which I’m sure many are familiar with, represents the omnipresent cancel culture. It’s a black-and-white world where you have to ask yourself, are you the one being canceled or are you doing the canceling, and who will do it first? Do we even have the patience to listen anymore?
“Because the image itself is powerful enough I opted for a simple monochrome composition where I omitted the color and all the unnecessary detail. I used basic Photoshop Elements functions to get a printable photograph which I then transferred onto paper using the grid system. I usually improvise the background to draw attention to the main subject, and along the way, I intentionally break a few rules.
“Submitting ‘Canceled’ to a PleinAir Salon competition was a long shot but I was hoping for a reaction to a statement that makes me question my own actions daily. I’m honored that the October PleinAir Salon judge, John Manzari, ‘heard’ my statement.”
Additional Works by Tanja Gant
About the PleinAir Salon
In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The competition rewards artists with $50,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir® Magazine.
Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The Annual Awards will be presented live at the next Plein Air Convention & Expo.
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
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This is bullshit to have a judge of Plein aire competition choose a blatantly political statement as the overall winner! Find a decent judge next time or make sure they leave their ‘societal views’ at home where they belong. Leave this venue to Plein aire works and not statements.
Hi Rick! The PleinAir Salon is named after PleinAir Magazine, and accepts studio works as well (we have specific plein air categories within the competition). I hope this helps clarify why something that was not a plein air work could be chosen as a winner, regardless of the context of the artwork.