Back in June I posted a photo of a portfolio which I submitted to the Visual Arts Photobook Award 2013 call for entries.
A recap of the contest: This is one of the only ways to get a photobook published for free- and is open to anyone under 40 who currently lives in Japan, with a limit of 100 images per entry. The judges are photographers Daido Moriyama, Masato Seto, Shunji Dodo, Yoshihiko Ueda, and critic Kotaro Iizawa. Needless to say it is a legitimate deal- one with a first (and only) prize of a professionally published photobook created with professional designers and editors— and the program covers all printing and nationwide distribution.
Some examples of previous winners can be seen here at the bottom of the front page of the official website: www.vaphotoaward.com
I entered without any real expectation of winning- it is sponsored by an Art School and most previous winners have a connection to said educational facility.
Regardless, these kinds of challenges are well worth taking up if not just for the simple reason that putting together a complete set of pictures is in and of itself an accomplishment. My entry was a re-edit of Nebraska pictures which I exhibited last fall.
As for rejection of one’s artwork- it isn’t anything to take hard- you just shrug it off and keep doing what you need to do. No reason to get depressed or down about it. I was however appreciative that the rejection letter which arrived today included comments by two of the judges:
Daido Moriyama: “While daily American life is casually and positively pictured, within the gaps of these pictures I have a hunch that I can see something more."
Kotaro Iizawa: “Orthodox (正統派) snapshots."
The fact that either bothered to comment was appreciated since I didn’t expect anything other than a rote form letter. This sheet of paper will get filed in the back of the portfolio.
Sincere congratulations to the winner of this year’s contest, Visual Arts student Mayu Horita. I’m looking forward to seeing her photobook in the near future.