The 13th Exhibition of New Cosmos of Photography 2004
Report on the open-selection meetings
Public selection : Dec.1.2004 (WED)
The selected works reflect feelings that are difficult to explain in words and surpass anything simple.
“New Cosmos of Photography,” a photo contest that Inc. started to discover, nurture and support young photographers, held “New Cosmos of Photography Exhibition 2004” from Nov. to Dec. 2004 at Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. At the exhibition were displayed about 200 award winning works of the 27th contest, that is, excellent and fine works selected from a total of 1,087 entrants and their 30,502 pictures. At the same venue, a solo exhibition of Yasuhiko Uchihara, a grand prize winner 2003, was also held.
On Wednesday, December 1st, an open selection meeting was held to select the grand prize winner 2004. Five finalists gave their presentations while the judges were intent on looking. A heated discussion followed. “I can feel the power of photography reflected in the close relationship between the photographer and the subject. Put in words, that is love,” said Nobuyoshi Araki on Koji Takiguchi’s work, while guest judge Kevin Westenberg commented, “It is an excellent work combining all realities into her concept” for the work of Motoyo Kawamura. A new system of “Semi Grand Prize” was set up to award two people this time. Takiguchi and Kawamura were presented five hundred thousand yen prize each, and entitled to hold a duo exhibition supported by Canon. Three fine work award winners; Kenichi Amano, Go Itami, and Masumi Kawamura, were chosen for Encouragement Awards and were presented IXY DIGITAL L.
Overall Evaluation
At the 13th open-selection meeting of “New Cosmos of Photography”, the winning works of the 27th contests were evaluated.
Overview of the 27th selection
Nobuyoshi Araki
This time I have an impression that the number of portraits has substantially decreased. I think it reflects today’s young people’s lack of communication. They try to sidestep the encounter or confrontation with others, and so, they often seek refuge in taking a picture of other subjects than humans, such as a cat and cityscape. I am slightly regretful that there are so many works of horrible scenes with no dialogue with people, and works reflecting sufferings of the society. Therefore, for excellent and fine works, I've chosen works dealing with humans, which make us feel relieved, happy and affectionate.
Kotaro Iizawa
Generally speaking, the number of entries becomes steady, and I feel that they are losing the momentum to some extent. The expressive power has been escalated, but there are many who are still unable to grasp objectively how the photographed subject will be viewed. I want them not to be hooked on self-satisfaction but to show a positive attitude to communicate with others. At the same time, I expect to see works that are so desperately powerful as to bewilder viewers.
Fumio Nanjo
This time I noticed that works of private-photos have decreased, while works with widened themes and styles have increased. One small feature this time is that works showing a city as an image stand out. Why is it a city now? It probably reflects an aspect of the times. At present, the environment, background of humans, and their inorganic stage are arising as the subject in one’s awareness.
Daido Moriyama
These three years I have worked as a judge and expected to find an outstanding image among the entries, but unfortunately I’ve found none this time again. There are many works that pretend to be radical, but it seems difficult for them to go beyond it. They can be classified into several patterns and repeat playing image games. Every time I select candidates from such a mass of entries, I regret a little because I fear I might have failed to notice quiet but excellent works while works that have visually powerful effects are likely to draw more attention. It is fun to see glaring images battle, but there is a fear that they will deteriorate into some kind of pattern. From now on, I would like to see works that have the virtue of photography in a truly basic meaning.
Kevin Westenberg
It was a surprise to me to see so many pictures dealing with his or her stories, private affairs and daily life. And cats are everywhere. I wonder if it has happened under the influence of Mr. Araki. Ninety-five percent of Japan’s population consists of Japanese nationalities, and I think that they still have a strong sense of identity. As far as this photo contest is concerned, I think that the pure, innocent part still remains. Unfortunately, in the urban areas in Europe and America where I used to live, families are falling apart and people tend to have cynical views on everything. In Japan, on the other hand, there still exists innocence that is now lost in the West. From such a vast quantity of entries, I can feel the expectations and enthusiasm of entrants towards this contest. My hope is that they will continue to try hard with a thorough understanding of what is important.
Miwa Yanagi
This is my first time to work as a judge of this contest. After studying the entries, my impression is that while the entrants' techniques and quality level are high, their desires are not strong, and their temperatures are low. On the other hand, the number of entries was so great that I was impressed by their enthusiasm for creative expressions. I found this contradiction interesting. Also I felt that the distance between the photographer and the subject was divided into two extremes; too distant or too close and choking. This might be linked to one of the special features of photography. It might be difficult to measure the distance physically when taking pictures. Or, this distance issue might be unavoidable because of the fact that a lens is considered equal to the human eye. Or perhaps they are trying to express the individuality of their views in such ways. Talking more simply, they adjust the focus with a sense of playing games, and their emotions are flat. It is as if they were having a hot meal at table, while watching blankly a live TV broadcast of the war going on in a faraway country. To me, my own physical senses are important. I feel at ease with things that are within reach with my body, hands and arms. Therefore, my overall impression is that I had a frightening impression as a whole. Probably that is how our time is.
