Jurors’ comments and advices for young artists

［Carlson］ The process and the opportunity as I said before was a really quite special. The things we have shared looking at glass give us a real hope for the future. And there is such exploration, such invention, and such kind of romance with the material that we have chosen to work with.
I go back to use the reference to language one more time. And languages are many. We have a language of judging that draws consensus. But the work that was exhibited really doesn’t have consensus of in my sense. It’s about individuals interpreting and making decisions. And that prioritization is such an important focus on artists young and old. And I think maybe that what I take away is that the exploration is still an eye-opening experience for me and I think for all the jurors. So we have an opportunity to document this time and place and I hopefully return soon so that other artists will have a chance to participate. And the opportunities with glass and art, I think, are very rich, never easy, but rich in the spirit that is the quality that makes creative people unique.

［Harcuba］ This exhibition shows again the growing role of glass art in Japan. By this unique competition, Japan is becoming a leading position in the glass movement.
We can see the important role of education in glass art, the international activities of the schools with class program and we can also see the growing number of women in that field and their achievement.
Japan is also ahead creating artifacts crossing the boarders of what we call tradition in glassmaking into the realm of fine art. There is a lot of creativity, a lot of energy and excitement in exploring and finding new ways of creativity with that mysterious material.

［Christensen］ “The International Exhibition of Glass Kanazawa” is really a great thing in the glass world today. It has two reasons. One thing is that slowly over the many years those kinds of exhibitions have been made and developed. The modern glass art in Japan has developed in many aspects and many qualities. It has not depended on one or two artists whose names were recognized in 1970’s and who were well-educated and internationally connected, but also artists who have made Japan one of the foremost glass countries in the world. Therefore, it is interesting for other glass artists in other countries of the world to come and be involved in this discussion and have possibilities to see what’s going on.
The second reason is as follows. If you look around in the world, glass art has languages. The languages are so similar among different continents and different countries. They depend on each country the glass artist comes from. You cannot understand real languages but you can always see today’s slight differences in glass art. It is maybe interesting to compare the differences. This exchange of ideas, information and so on. It is a great task. I’m from Europe. I’m very happy and very thankful to the executive committee. I hope this glass competition and exhibition which has been so well established will continue to be developed.

［Yokoyama］ My first impression of the selected works is that this exhibition has drawn excellent works. It is true that some artists submitted the work which looks nearly the same as their previous works. I think it a big problem for this exhibition. It means the artist has not made improvement in their creation. I hope they will create better works by renovating and opening up themselves. I would like to say this to myself that the material glass has very special charming characteristics that other materials don’t have in the field of arts and crafts. Artists shouldn’t depend too much on materials and their techniques. I think it important to be aware of this particular point.
There are various categories such as craft, art, fine art and so on. I don’t think we should define glass art as fine art. Glass is glass, nothing else. Glass is one of many creating ways. I would like to say to my friends who are architects, “You create big architectures. I create my works out of fragile glass. It is also creation. It’s the same.” When the artists have such recognition and change their perspective, they might create different works. Important thing is that artists must make their works by focusing on their own sensitivity and individuality. I think the present trend of glass art needs such things. With sensitivity and individuality, modern glass art will be developing.

［Takeda］ Thank you for all the comments. Lastly, I would like to tell you something. Looking at the selected works, I felt they are excellent as a whole. Other than the prize winning pieces, there are profound pieces. Therefore, the exhibition will be invigorating. When I came across selected works for the first time at the Final Assessment, I was very much excited. Then I tried to calm down myself and started scoring and selecting the prize winning pieces.
One thing I would like to talk about prize winning pieces, it is quite difficult for each artist to consider how they will continue their own style and/or they change their originality. In selecting the prize winning pieces, we decided each piece with some exploration and invention even a step or a half step forward. Glass art is created by the wonderful material glass which has multi-perspective unlike drawings or sculptures. Each glass artist must expand the range of their expressions and must try something novel even one step forward in the field that only glass can express. It will help glass art grow and develop, which will contribute to the success of glass art so that more people will admire glass art. Professor Yokoyama mentioned no improvement from the perspective of a glass artist. It is a harsh comment. My belief is that creating something new is expressing one’s soul and spirit. I hope more glass artists will be able to express their soul and spirit freely.
One more exciting thing is that at such an international exhibition, we get to know what’s going on in unknown countries. Artistic works represent human’s characters. We can see the faces in unknown countries where they have their own culture, climate and history. Like the World Cup FIFA we can see a variety of works from many different countries at a time. It is wonderful for many counties to hold hands to hands on the same stage and enjoy themselves through the glass material.
I have interviewed many experienced glass artists and I have been impressed to hear them say “I would really like to enjoy glass.” So not only working out glass seriously, but also enjoying glass creation will make each glass artist expand their images and widen their creativity. If an artist is relaxed, it will be a good chance for them to expand art. Usually viewers enjoy glass works. I hope glass artists will also enjoy the process of creating works and exploring a new world.