New Cosmos of Photography 2010 Tokyo Exhibition
Report on the open-committee meeting
Grand Prize selection open-committee meeting: Nov.19, 2010(Fri.)
The meeting, which was open to the public, of the selection committee that decides the Grand Prize winner of New Cosmos Photography 2010 (the 33rd competition) was held at a hall located on the first floor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography on Friday, November 19, 2010. Five Excellence Award finalists were Grand Prize nominees: Harumichi Saito, Karen Sato, Shibata Sumi, Koichi Takagi, and Ikumi Taniguchi. After presentations by all of the candidates and questions from the judges, the decision meeting was held and Karen Sato was selected as the Grand Prize winner.
Overall Evaluation
General comments on the 33rd competition
Katsumi Omori
We all experience a lot of things every day, like watching a film or going on a date, but I wanted to see something that is definitely greater than these experiences. I was hoping for photography that makes me think, “Wow, I didn’t know this kind of world existed.” To be honest, I didn’t see many works like that. You know the video-sharing website, YouTube? I felt like there were a lot of pieces that make you feel the same way as when watching YouTube videos. They are well edited, but they are undeniably using someone else’s format, and it feels like you’ve seen them somewhere before. People think too much about making it look good, or getting it to that just-right middle point. This particularly applied to the book submissions. The works I selected for the Excellence Awards were good because they communicated the feeling that they were taken one after another, without too much thought on arrangement. Instead of works that are commonplace, which is the trend in the world today, I want to see more pieces that are gorgeous.
Masafumi Sanai
When selecting the winners, I was hoping to find work that would make me want to look through the pages again, or to actually go back to the piece to see it again. There are, of course, some pieces that don't work anymore when I look at them again, so this is very difficult to say. I was looking for work that is intense or over-the-top, and my overall impression is that there were not many pieces like that. Many of the pieces were presented fairly tidily. It doesn't matter whether you make something really clean or something utterly unclean, but if it is only halfway there it won't be something that makes people want to look at it for a long time. I would ask that contestants decide what they are going to compete with, what they are going to aim for, and just go with that. I think it would be good if contestants almost intend to break us and deceive us with their work.
Noi Sawaragi
This is a photography contest, so of course there are only photographs here. But I sensed a variety in expression, even compared to art competitions that include paintings, sculptures and installations. I am under the impression that many of the contestants don't think they have to use photography, but rather choose photography as a way to realize what they truly want to do. In other words, photography is not the goal, but the tool they choose for their expression. I consider this a positive thing because I think this is where new movements come from. During the selection, I tried not to think and verbalize my thoughts, but instead to see and feel instinctively, and choose the piece that pulled at my visceral feelers. I thought this would let me find something that is not limited by current standards and frameworks. Conversely, I didn't feel any appeal from pieces that depend on the fact that they are photography. I believe aiming to widen the possibilities of art, instead of the possibilities of photography, will ultimately guide the future of photography.
Minoru Shimizu
After seeing all of the submitted pieces, I began to clearly see a sort of trend. To begin with, I think all of the photographs were skillfully taken. I put the photographs through three "sifting" processes for the selection. First, just because the Grand Prize winner of last year's competition was a collection of photographs taken of a lover, there were too many pieces that focused on one close individual. A display of assumptions doesn't work for me. Secondly, pieces with low contrast and haze, and that create a pastel color world—in other words, pieces that look like life insurance commercials—are too pedestrian. And finally, pieces that cut images from daily life with a digital camera and create fairly interesting compositions are not good either. This is not because daily life or digital photography is bad, but because everyone is focusing on the same things. For example, there are a lot of photos of laundry, or dead small animals on the street, or falling snow. This is proof that they are not seeing things with their own eyes. The pieces 5 New Cosmos of Photography 2010 vol.25 that remained after this process of elimination were the ones I selected from. There were some new techniques, too. With the advancement of digital technology, the line between moving and still pictures is becoming difficult to distinguish, and there were some pieces that seriously considered what kind of photography should be taken in this age.
Mika Ninagawa
It is difficult to define what is a "good" photograph. As a judge I had to reconsider what standard to use. But it is natural to apply your own opinions and tastes when looking at photography, so this time I selected pieces thoroughly based on my own personal point of view. After the selection, I reconfirmed the fact that I like honest and straightforward photographs. I like pieces that are "pretty," "skillfully taken," and that "communicate emotions directly." This may be an over-simplification, but I want to duly recognize these fundamental qualities. Compared to when I was submitting work in the contest myself, the photographs and arrangements are much better overall. I didn't feel like selecting pieces that were trying for the unconventional or looking for a new opening. I suppose people think they must do something new because the title of the competition is "New Cosmos of Photography." But taking new subjects or using new techniques doesn't necessarily lead to new art. Rather, I am attracted to truly genuine pieces. The Excellence Award winner is a perfect case in point. There is nothing new about the lives of high school girls, but the pieces are interesting because the photographer's genuinely attuned perspective penetrates the pieces.
