Viewpoint’s 4th annual December juried exhibition is Twelve: Square, a selection of photographs exploring the particular challenges and properties of the square format.

“I considered the use of the frame to be of utmost importance when curating this year’s Viewpoint exhibition,” writes exhibit juror Byron Wolfe, eminent photographer and Professor of Communication Design at California State University, Chico. “I looked for pictures where the photographer’s compositional approach recognized the unique properties of the square.”

“There’s something special about squares,” Wolfe observes. “At first, their perfect symmetry and equally measured sides convey stability and equilibrium, but as soon as you start to fill them up with things, their balance becomes delicate and tenuous. Suddenly, composing within a square is more akin to a man carefully poised on high-tension wire. Nudging subject matter around the edges of a square has the potential to create tension or energy, and the use of internal space in the square can create emphasis or a settled stability.”

Out of 418 entries from over 100 photographers, Byron Wolfe chose 72 images to be exhibited in Twelve: Square. From these, he selected six images for special recognition.

• First Place -- Elizabeth Bond, King’s Crystal
• Second Place -- Stephanie Luke, Rip Some Curl
• Third Place -- Minerva Gama, Power
• Honorable Mention -- Tim Messick, Clouds Over Mono Craters
• Honorable Mention -- Donald Satterlee, Square House
• Honorable Mention -- Jason Kurokara, Variation

Elizabeth Bond, King’s Crystal

Stephanie Luke, Rip Some Curl

Minerva Gama, Power

Tim Messick, Clouds Over Mono Craters

Donald Satterlee, Square House

Jason Kurokara, Variation

A few more of the fine photographs included in this exhibit:

Alan Craig Barnard, Manzanita in Thicket

Sandy Follett, Full Moon Camper

Patrick Jewell, Iceberg Graveyard

David Robertson, Where's Lincecum?

Don Yee, Bird Fanciers, Hong Kong