Report on the Grand Prize Selection Open-Committee Meeting of New Cosmos of Photography 2006 (the 29th competition)
Grand Prize Selection Meeting
After the presentations of the finalists, the Grand Prize selection committee of judges met in another room. Each judge explained the reason for his choice and the attractive qualities of the work again. Each judge voted for the top three works, and narrowed down the works to those with higher points for further discussions. Consequently, however, the names of all candidates came up in the discussion. It was a heated discussion, and even the ideals of New Cosmos of Photography was discussed. While confirming their basic stance of supporting artists who rise to the challenge of making persistent efforts to try different photographic expressions, the judges finally focused on not only the excellence of workmanship but also the potentialities to develop new forms of expression. The Grand Prize winner was decided unanimously.
Comments of Kozue Takagi and judges
A delighted Kozue Takagi, the Grand Prize winner, said, “I never thought I would win the Grand Prize. I’d like to say thank you to those who let me take their photos, and those who kindly cooperated with me in making my work.” Kotaro Iizawa, one of the judges, said, “Most of all, it is an interesting work. The concept is clear. It really stirs my imagination in different ways every time I look at it.” Boris Mikhailov, a guest judge, spoke very highly of the work, “I first thought they were ordinary portraits of twins. I was very impressed when I learned that they were a single person. It is really the kind of work photography should create.”
Daido Moriyama, who chose the work of Kozue Takagi as an excellent work, made the following comments in advance .
“This is a method that only photography can use. It would be meaningless if it were done as a painting. It wouldn’t be realized in a movie. She is consciously making good use of the potential of photography . Though she shows it beautifully, brightly, and skillfully, she doesn’t forget black humor either. This kind of method makes me feel that photography is scary. It has shown me the power and fun photography brings us.
