News: Winning and getting a prize is not the same
November 11, 2007, received from Andrey Logvin

Andrey Logvin, Universal declaration of Human Rights, Article 5: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Andrey Logvin, well known graphic designer from Moscow, sent me a link to a page of his blog Zhizn (Life). On this page, published in October 2007, he recounts, in russian and french, that he won a prize of 620 Euro, more than three years ago, at the 9. Triennial of Political Posters 2004 in Mons, Belgium, for the poster shown at left. He also explains that he never got the money, inspite of many letters, and even a telephone call by a french speaking graphic designer friend to the organizers. I don't want to be the judge in this matter, also I could not be impartial: My own personal experience with both the Mons organizers and with Andrey would make me too biased. The Triennial has a long tradition, and many important designers are proud to be among the previous prize winners, and it has served a useful purpose, especially during the Cold War. Draw your own conclusion. Personally, I admire Andrey Logvin for speaking out publicly, risking his image as a nice guy. I have previously heard from prize winners of other competitions that did not even get a catalogue, nor an answer to their emails, so what happened to him is not unusual. I hope his blog entry helps to improve the situation. Spasibo Andrey! The exhibition in Mons is said to open next week, I am not invited, as usual. If you are, you may want to ask what happened to Andrey's prize money. Let us know. Updates: 2007.11.12 email from Yossi Lemel, Tel Aviv: "I will fly to Mons tomorrow and will talk to the organizers" 2007.11.13 email from Andrey Logvin: "I'v got letter from secretariat of Mons biennale, and they informed me that I'll receive my prize soon!" 2008.12.08 email from Andrey Logvin: Hi, Rene! I've just received money from Mons – thanks you a lot!