Salon des Refusés

Manet's Le déjeuner sur l'herbe

In 1863, after approximately 3000 paintings were rejected from the official Paris Salon, the main arbiter of the art world of the day, there was such an outcry from rejected artists that Emperor Napoleon III ordered a special exhibition to be held so that the public could have a chance to view the rejected works, which included paintings by Monet, Manet, Whistler, Cezanne, and Pissarro, among others.

James Abbott Mc Neill Whistler, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1862

If you're among the 426 people who are still feeling the sting of not being among the Critical Mass 2008 Finalists, take your favorite photo from your CM submission, the one that you've already looked at once or twice this morning and thought "How could they not see how awesome that is?" and send it to Liz Kuball for her Critical Mass Rejects show.

Liz Kuball, Viviana and Alyssa

The deadline's coming up on Thursday and Liz will post the show up on Friday. THANK YOU LIZ! Such initiative is downright inspiring (and a much better idea than Liz's previous post suggesting a road trip to Portland to TP my house). Believe me, there are many, many great photographers out there who didn't make the list. PUSH YOUR WORK OUT THERE ANYWAY!