Canon global

Iizawa:

Up to now, this is the largest number of works to have been entered.

Araki:

Yes, it is. In fact, when Robert Frank first entered the screening room, he stepped back in shock (luaughter). It’s overwhelming to see so many entries at once. My immediate response was to silently beg entrants not to send in boring photographs.

Iizawa:

Some entrants have entered a number of similar photographs using different styles, as if trying to win by sheer quantity. That approach is a waste of time. I wish such people would think carefully and decide on the single style that would present their work most effectively.

Nanjo:

And, exactly because photographs are a medium that anyone can create, it’s crucial to decide what message you want to communicate. There were too many entries with a vague message.

Iizawa:

Viewing the entries from that perspective, the same message seems to be expressed by many of the photographs. Many applicants seem to have simply taken snapshots from fragments of daily life, expecting those fragments to communicate some message without any perception of an ultimate theme. Such photographs are weak because they lack a more personal and convincing message.

Frank:

They made me keenly aware that the expressive medium of photography is in critical condition. Not only in Japan, but photography the world over is now trying to open doors to new worlds. But, it’s an unimaginably difficult process for photographers. They are each trying to free themselves from the influence of various people and find a uniquely personal path. In addition, they are involved in a bewildering search for how to best proceed at the narrow ravine between art and photography. It is very trying struggle which we have also experienced.

Nanjo:

I agree. The “New Cosmos of Photography” was started precisely as an opportunity to encourage photographers engaged in that struggle.

Frank:

Also, quite a large number of the entries were of nudes. I wonder why, although I recall there was a similar trend 10 years ago in the U.S. Furthermore, I also noticed works that make excessive use of tricks or gimmicks. When they treat a photograph as a piece of fragments, their work virtually become simply decorations, than photographs. I myself have a basic preference for radicalism in any medium, but I feel they have misinterpreted the meaning of radicalism. Anyway, criticizing is the one thing, to create something is the other. It’ s hard, I must say…

Nanjo:

I think photographers should first thoroughly consider the message to be expressed and then add an enhancing display method afterward.

Frank:

I feel a good approach for a photographer is to start by closing his eyes and listening to the voice of his heart. The obsession and intuition that he has never taken notice of lead him to photograph in the right way. And, then the photographer edits the photographs while personally critiquing them. Such an editing process should be the best teacher for that person. I am opposed to taking photographs with the forced intent of a pre-determined concept. With intelligence and knowledge, a photographer can easily take photographs that can be sold at high prices. But, I don’t want people to take photographs of that nature. First of all, one continuously takes a series of photographs. In the subsequent editing process, the concept will emerge. This is also the method I used to create “the Americans.”

Nanjo:

Though entrants have ingenuity and technical expertise, they rely too much on these aspects so their works appear to use photographs simply as a matter of form. For a photograph, the emphasis should be on its content.

Araki:

Photographs are an intuitive form of expression. I think that the approach of using photographs for another purpose has already come to an end.

Iizawa:

In contrast, artists are now noticing the power of photographs to totally capture everyday life. On the other hand, it seems that photographers have started to overlook that merit of photographs. Photographers are becoming confused in an attempt to incorporate an “artistic touch” into their work.

Araki:

Since I believe in the supremacy of love, I think the entrants don’t feel enough love. A person that cannot directly and naturally express his or her own perception of happiness will produce weak photographs.

Nanjo:

I don’t think that love is the only factor. However, many photographs indicate a misunderstanding of the meaning of self-expression. Even if you strip naked with great vigor, you are not exposing your inner self. I also think that an expression of self out of a desire for self-revelation cannot be sublimated through photographic works. A photograph that objectively reveals a person’s inner self is completely different from a photograph of that person.

Araki:

I told you so! It is love, after all that makes people reveal their inner selves. This time, there are about 300 works entered from France, and they were all consistently good. They included many photographs by mature people. I like the work of Jean-Claude BELEGOU, the applicant I selected, because it evokes the mood of the early years of photography. It represents the very instincts of photography. His work is superb. And, when viewing his work, the viewer’s gaze is ultimately drawn to the face.

Iizawa:

Many of the French applicants know something about how to present an image. Their entries have a fine finish that surpasses the student level.

Frank:

In my opinion, on the contrary, the French entries had a weaker impact than the entries from Japan. Recently, I sense a strong power from German photographers, particularly those from the former East Germany.

Araki:

The three selected winners this time are all interested in life or in live motion. The work of Katsumi Omori is particularly good because it captures evidence of life. At the same time, it’s not too abstract. I like his photograph because it was shot while the photographer himself was very actively moving. It resembles “Sweet Life” by Erskens. It’s been a long time since a new photographer as good as Omori has emerged.

Frank:

His work seems to emit sounds, as if I were watching a film. I can sense that he took the photo in a very spiritually free mood.

Araki:

But the photograph is just a little too skillful and too perfect. I myself never choose someone who does not enter photos taken in his or her own local area.

Frank:

Young Japanese often want to go to New York. I couldn’t understand why until I arrived in Tokyo. Rules can be sensed to an amazing extent throughout Tokyo, even when getting in a taxi or going shopping. The young Japanese who go to New York all want to escape from those rules.

Araki:

But those who go there lack discipline. It is precisely in a place where rules and regulations exist that one learns the meaning of freedom. They’re just being self-indulgent because, no matter what kind of rules exist, the important thing is to be able to gain freedom. I developed as a photographer through the deaths of my father, my mother, and my wife. People who indulge themselves in photography or art don’t make good photographers or artists. A photographer must be a solitary person. For example, when someone dies, when a woman is crying, or in a moment of great passion, a photographer must be able to hold the camera and take pictures. As a result, I face the problem of being called inhuman or cold-hearted. That’s the hard part.

Frank:

And the women who are your subjects, Mr. Araki, quickly get wise to your tricks and leave in a hurry…

Araki:

That’s probably why I take a photograph of each woman out of a lingering attachment…because a photograph expresses a desire to make that woman mine. But, the women all leave me. Anyway, the intrinsic nature of photographs is lingering attachment. The desire to preserve something in the form of a photograph is the basic instinct, or physiology of photography. I think that all photographers should begin from the physiology of photography without getting too cerebral about it. And Robert, please do not solely make films and say that you’ve quit photography. Let’s keep taking photographs. With that in mind, I’d like to give you this gift(while handing R.Frank a compact camera)