Report on the Grand Prize Selection Open-Committee Meeting of New Cosmos of Photography 2007 (the 30th competition)
Grand Prize Selection Meeting
After the presentations of the finalists, the Grand Prize selection committee of judges met in another room. At the meeting, the judges exchanged opinions about not only the individuality of each candidate and the qualities of their works but also whether they are capable of being accepted by society in the future and have a truly professional attitude to work as an artist, as well as recent trends among entrants of New Cosmos of Photography. The question that the judges finally focused on was what the grand prize stood for in view of the concept of New Cosmos of Photography of pursuing the potential of new forms of photographic expression. The opinion that the judges had in common was that although each candidate were attractive in terms of individuality and ability, they lacked the decisive factor needed to win the grand prize. Therefore, it was concluded that there would be no grand prize winner this year, and co-grand prizes would be given to the three finalists who were the focus of the judges’ discussions to the last moment, and consequently it was decided that Megumi Kurosawa, Noriko Takuma, and Daisuke Nakashima were co-grand prize winners.
Comments of three Co-Grand Prize winners
Megumi Kurosawa said, “I’m very pleased, though I didn’t anticipate it.” Then she invited Nanako, the subject of her photos, onto the stage to say words of thanks and pleasure together in front of the judges and the audience. Making a fresh resolve, Noriko Takuma said, “I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.” Daisuke Nakashima said, “I’d like to take a lot of photos with this prize as my spiritual nourishment, and I will also try many bad things.”
