Rick Rickman (left), Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, who will judge the March 7 AAI Eye of the Artist art show. Photo courtesy Les Walker

Rick Rickman (left), Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, who will judge the March 7 AAI Eye of the Artist art show.
Photo courtesy Les Walker

Rick Rickman, author, documentarian and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, will judge the upcoming Art Alliance of Idyllwild Eye of the Artist art show and fundraising auction on Saturday, March 7.

Rickman won the Pulitzer for team coverage of the 1984 Olympics held in Los Angeles. Working for the Orange County Register, Rickman shared the award with fellow OCR photographers Brian Smith and Hal Stoelzle.

Eye event organizers Kirsten Ingbretsen and Les Walker snagged Rickman as judge for the event. Walker, himself an award-winning photographer, has long known
Rickman and worked with him frequently in the past. “It’s the first time a Pulitzer winner has judged an AAI event,” said Walker.

Rickman’s work has been featured on the covers of both Time and Newsweek. His project and documentary work have appeared in publications including National Geographic, Life, Sports Illustrated and Smithsonian.

Rickman said he started late as a photographer because he was on his way to dental school to become a dentist before he caught the photography bug. “I became a photographer because I couldn’t draw and I always wanted to find a way to express myself visually. I love telling stories and this was a great medium to do that.”

one of Rick Rickman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photos from the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles. Photo courtesy Rick Rickman
one of Rick Rickman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photos from the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles.
Photo courtesy Rick Rickman

He spent the first 12 years as a photographer at the Colorado Springs Sun, Des Moines Register and the OCR before launching his own photography, documentary and publication career. One of his passions is photographing and telling the stories of senior athletes and adventurers who push their limits to defy conventional wisdom of what it means to age. His book, “The Wonder Years: Portraits of Athletes Who Never Slow Down,” was coauthored with Donna Wares (Chronicle Books, 2009) with a forward by Olympian gold medalist figure skater Peggy Fleming.

Asked what he would be evaluating as he judges AAI entrants, Rickman said, “I’m a big fan of aesthetic value. When you see a piece, does it make you feel something? You read words but you feel pictures [and fine art]. That’s what I’ll be looking for.”

Eye of the Artist 2015 starts at 6 p.m. and continues until 9 at the Caine Learning Center, 54385 Upper Pine Crest in Idyllwild. There is no admission fee, and there are opportunity drawings and a silent auction that afford attendees the chance to take home fine art by AAI member artists. The Eye of the Artist is one of AAI’s longest running and most iconic events. For more information visit www.artinidyllwild.org.