"Constantine Manos is the 2003 winner of the Leica Medal of Excellence, the annual photography award presented by Leica Camera AG of Solms, Germany. The winner was chosen from a field of 250 entries worldwide, and the decision of the judges was unanimous. The award was given for a series of ten related images made between 1999 and 2002 and was based primarily on the basis of aesthetic impact. The series was judged as a whole. Included with the award is a 5,000 Euro cash prize.
Manos' ten winning images represent recent color work from his ongoing project titled AMERICAN COLOR. The photographs will be exhibited at the Leica Gallery in New York, with the opening and award presentation set for September 2003. The exhibition will then travel to Leica galleries in Prague, Vienna, Tokyo, and Germany. Previous winners of the Leica Medal of Excellence include Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lee Friedlander, Elliott Erwitt, Mary Ellen Mark, Ernst Haas, Eugene Richards, Susan Meiselas, and Alex Webb.
Judges for the competition were Jennifer Blessing (President), Project Curator, The Guggenheim Museum, New York City; Hans-Michael Koetzle, Editor-in-chief, Leica World Magazine; Rose and Jay Deutsch, On-Site Directors, Leica Gallery, New York City; Gero Furchheim, Director, Corporate Communications, Leica Camera AG/Leica Gallery, Solms, Germany; Peter Coeln, Director, Leica Gallery/Westlight, Vienna; Jana Bomerova, Leica Gallery, Prague; and Kazuhisa Yoneyama, Marketing Manager, Leica Gallery, Tokyo.
