The 6th Exhibition of New Cosmos of Photography 1997
Report on the open-selection meetings
Public selection : Dec.5.1997(FRI)
On the first day, December 5th, an open-selection meeting was held at the venue of the sixth exhibition of “New Cosmos of Photography,” at P3, auditorium of Tochoji Temple in Yotsuya, Tokyo. At the meeting, the judges Nobuyoshi Araki, Daido Moriyama, Kotaro Iizawa, and Fumio Nanjo had discussions to choose the 1997 grand prize winner from among seven excellent work award winners in the 15th and 16th open contests. Each of those nominees gave a two to three-minute presentation, and attended a question-and-answer session with the judges. In the end, Shinichi Yajima won the grand prize, and this time, both Toru Ito and Kaori Yamamoto were awarded a special prize. In addition, Ayako Kashiwa, Satomi Shirai, and Kei Kondo won incentive prizes for their good works. All the people at the meeting focused their attention on selecting grand prize winner, and there was a tense atmosphere at the venue. It was a significant event.
Overall Evaluation
At the 6th open-selection meeting of “New Cosmos of Photography,” the winning works of the 15th and 16th contests were evaluated.
Overview of the 15th selection
Nobuyoshi Araki
Women photographers are doing a good job. They decide a theme, and take the role of acting or have others act for them. They enjoy creating the unusual in an ordinary situation. So they create. They have a good aesthetic sense in their expressions using a camera as a medium. They perceive the charm of photography as something they haven’t noticed before appearing through taking pictures. Probably, they can express their feelings and mood better with photography than writing. They understand why a camera attracts people. What is interesting is that these women photographers seem only to trust what’s visible. They don’t stick to the imagination of the illusion, and immediately take up a camera. In their color photos, an inexplicable loneliness and despair show through. A sense of loss, which is different from the despair of the end of the century, exists, and is erotic. Photography must be erotic. These women’s pictures reflect the era and their feelings. They show their obsession that they must act or have others act. That is what I like about their pictures.
Kotaro Iizawa
I urge the entrants to pay more attention to technical aspects of a means of expression called photography. In this competition especially, many people made color copies to cut costs. They should be more careful with printing techniques, the organization of pictures, and the editing of an album, etc. in order to craft an artwork. The overall impression is similar to past competitions---“I” and “everyday life” are the main themes. Some people seem to be trying to construct a more solid concept along these themes, and I think it will take a further step for them to come up with the next style.
Fumio Nanjo
Many of the pictures are gloomy. More than five people took pictures of dead animals. The tone is mostly monochrome, and many pictures are taken at night with very little light. When I see a picture taken in the bright sunlight, I feel relieved. I’m not saying that gloomy pictures are not necessarily nice and that they should take happier photos, but the whole trend seems to reflect the present era. Not a few girls have taken pictures of their own or their friends’ nude bodies and/or intimate coupling. Also there are many pictures using photocopies. When photocopies are used, the overall shine is gone, and the tone becomes more nostalgic. That effect also makes me conscious of the tendency to turn to darkness and the past. Perhaps we can expect to see something positive toward the 21st century. The exit of the tunnel must be close. Or does Japan stay like this forever?
Lee Ka-Shing
The documentary photos of some of the young photographers’ private lives are particularly interesting. A few years ago, I saw similar photos taken by a Japanese photographer, and they looked very fresh to me. Now, this competition is flooded with such photos. Everyone is doing it. For me, taking pictures is a creative process, and it has nothing to do with the pure action of taking pictures. In the pictures of the private lives that I saw a few years ago, I saw reflections of the photographer’s emotional process. When all the work of a photographer is crystallized, pshychological factors behind it as well as prior trials and errors show through it, and I consider such work to be a good work of art. If I can’t see these things behind it, I wonder what it is and why it was photographed. In this competition, there are many works that look like vacation shots. That’s the fact. And, of course, technique is necessary. What has been considered a technique is actually a thought process. When that process bears fruit and a work is created, such a work has something to tell. If the work doesn’t have a series of thoughts and trials, it is simply a copy. This is my candid opinion.
Overview of the 16th selection
Nobuyoshi Araki
The overall impression of the exhibited works it that there is no outstanding work. Some works, however, when closely examined, have highly individualistic or appealing qualities. Some works are personal and the photographers are very much absorbed in themselves in a good way. On the contrary, these works are self-excluding or self-expelling. Some photographers seem to find more pleasure or worthiness in expressing themselves rather than taking pictures of others to show their ideas or feelings. It probably means that they are aggressively reporting on themselves. It is difficult to face oneself just as one deals with other abjects, but it is definitely what is lacking in a photographer’s attitude today.
Kotaro Iizawa
In spite of the fact that the number of entries has increased, there are few really powerful works. It is not difficult to choose good ones, but none of them is remarkable. Unfortunately, young female photographers have a uniformly simplified attitude or approach to taking pictures of themselves. They should realize more objectively that the photographed self is re-edited as an image. As a whole, that editing process in many works is thoughtlessly and carelessly done. Especially in presenting an album, photographers are required to have enough tactics and power to keep the viewers attracted and interested until the very end. I hope they do not give up trying, and construct works in a compact and thought- through manner.
Fumio Nanjo
Compared with the last exhibition, the pictures are overall happier. Although a bright future is still to be seen, it gives us at least a “positive” perspective. Strong contrast is ubiquitous in monochrome pictures, where as many color ones depict nostalgic atmosphere. Personal motifs are popular, but the trend of going naked without has quietened down. There is a wider range of expressions now, for instance, storytelling. I would say that maturity is as important as youthfulness.
Daido Moriyama
I see both merits and demerits of what the New Cosmos of Photography contest has developed over years. The good points include that photographers can try out any new idea or method, and can still represent reality. Paradoxically, the merits are regarded as the relative demerits, because excessive uniformity in style tends to take place. There is a dull stereotype in thinking that color photocopies will make pictures interesting, or taking pictures of one’s everyday life with shots of nudes will be interesting. There is so much similarity among images and aesthetic feelings such as blurring the distinction is effective to make pictures look unusual. Photographers could be more crazy in their creative process—men more ready to take risks and women more mischievous. These young photographers are “cute” if I put it nicely, but that is why their pictures as a whole don’t have a strong impact on the viewer.
