- Title: JAPAN: Japan awards global artists for Praemium Imperiale art prize.
- Date: 23rd October 2012
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 23, 2012) (REUTERS) LAUREATES AND ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS OF THE 24TH PRAEMIUM IMPERIALE ENTERING FOR INTO AWARDING CEREMONY CHINESE PAINTER CAI GUO-QIANG TAKING SEAT IN THE CEREMONY "PRAEMIUM IMPERIALE - IN HONOR OF PRINCE TAKAMATSU 2012" SIGN AMERICAN COMPOSER PHILIP GLASS TAKING SEAT JAPANESE BALLERINA YOKO MORISHITA TAKING SEAT JAPANESE PRINCE HITACHI AND PRINCESS HANAKO SEATED ON STAGE MEMBER OF EXTERNAL ADVISORS COMMITTEE YASUHIRO NAKASONE STANDING AT PODIUM CAMERAMAN FILMING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) MEMBER OF EXTERNAL ADVISORS COMMITTEE FOR THE PRAEMIUM IMPERIALE YASUHIRO NAKASONE SAYING: "Such strong bond and friendship between Cai and the people of Iwaki which go beyond the national border is truly what the Praemium Imperiale aims as a goal; a deeper mutual understanding through art." CEREMONY IN PROGRESS MEMBER OF EXTERNAL ADVISORS COMMITTEE WILLIAM LUERS STANDING AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) MEMBER OF EXTERNAL ADVISORS COMMITTEE FOR THE PRAEMIUM IMPERIALE WILLIAM LUERS SAYING: "In no small part, because of the breadth of his artistic collaborations, Philip Glass has delivered the groundbreaking musical language that has changed the way we hear and understand music today." HITACHI STANDING UP TO BESTOW MEDALS TO LAUREATES CAI RECEIVING MEDAL VARIOUS OF ITALIAN SCULPTOR CECCO BONANOTTE RECEIVING MEDAL VARIOUS OF GLASS RECEIVING MEDAL VARIOUS OF MORISHITA RECEIVING MEDAL DANISH ARCHITECT TROELS TROELSEN RECEIVING MEDAL ON BEHALF OF HIS COLLEAGUE HENNING LARSEN GLASS STANDING AT PODIUM (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMERICAN COMPOSER AND PRAEMIUM IMPERIALE LAUREATE PHILIP GLASS SAYING: "I find it an overwhelming honor to be in this company; this is truly a remarkable group of people. And I want to salute the Japan Art Association for the great foresight of establishing an award like this for culture." GLASS TALKING TOWARD HITACHI AUDIENCE STANDING UP AS LAUREATES LEAVING CEREMONY
- Embargoed: 7th November 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Arts
- Reuters ID: LVATQ66GHL3I9XTP7O54YMDT32K
- Story Text: Japan awards global artists for their contributions to the arts and culture, including Chinese painter Cai Guo-Qiang, American composer Philip Glass, Italian sculptor Cecco Bonanotte, Danish architecture Henning Larsen and Japanese ballerina Yoko Morishita.
Renowned artists from America, Europe and Asia gathered in Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday (October 23) to receive the prestigious Praemium Imperiale Award, the top Japanese "Nobel Prize of Arts".
The Japan Art Association awarded five artists, including Chinese painter Cai Guo-Qiang, Italian sculptor Cecco Bonanotte, Danish architect Henning Larsen, American composer Philip Glass and Japanese ballerina Yoko Morishita, who were selected from a pool of global artists in the field of painting, sculpture, architecture, music and theatre/film.
Carrying prizes of 15 million yen (approximately $188,000) each, the awards recognize lifetime achievement in the arts in categories not covered by the Nobel Prizes.
Cai, famous with his dynamic gunpowder-based drawings and performances, was selected to be the first Chinese national to receive the prize in its 24-year history.
Born in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China, Cai has strong connection with Iwaki City in northern Japan, where the local residents supported him even before he gained international reputation. He's been supporting back the people of Iwaki after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated the city.
Member of the external advisors committee and former Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said Cai and the people in Iwaki demonstrated the goal of the Praemium Imperiale.
"Such strong bond and friendship between Cai and the people of Iwaki which go beyond the national border is truly what the Praemium Imperiale aims as a goal; a deeper mutual understanding through art," Nakasone said.
Cai is also remembered by Japanese people with his 2008 performance "Black Fireworks: Project for Hiroshima," in which he re-created a mushroom cloud near the Atomic Bomb Dome, Hiroshima City with hundreds of gun powder explosions in the sky.
Philip Glass, the Golden Globe winning music director with the 1999 film, The Truman Show, and the composer of the groundbreaking opera "Einstein on the Beach," received the prize in music.
External committee member William H. Luers said Glass opened a new chapter of music through collaborations with artists in different art fields.
"In no small part, because of the breadth of his artistic collaborations, Philip Glass has delivered the groundbreaking musical language that has changed the way we hear and understand music today," Luers said.
Representing all five laureates, Glass expressed his gratitude.
"I find it an overwhelming honor to be in this company; this is truly a remarkable group of people. And I want to salute the Japan Art Association for the great foresight of establishing an award like this for culture."
Among the laureates were Cecco Bonanotte, one of the most prominent sculptors in Italy, who also visits the country on a regular basis to work in his Tokyo studio.
Henning Larsen, a renown contemporary Scandinavian architects acclaimed as the "Master of Light" with his light-filled architecture style, became the first Danish artist to receive the Praemium Imperiale. His colleague Troels Troelsen received the award on behalf of him who couldn't attend the ceremony.
"Pearl of the Orient" Yoko Morishita, the first Japanese ballet dancer to flourish on the international scene, also received the prize in film/theater.
One of Morishita's memorable performances were for Britain's Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee in 1977.
Laureates were selected from a pool of global artists by the Japan Arts Association and an external advisors committee, which includes William Luers (US), Lamberto Dini (Italy), Fran�is Pinault (France), Christopher Patten (UK), Klaus-Dieter Lehmann (Germany) and Yasuhiro Nakasone (Japan).
The Praemium Imperiale was created in 1988 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Japan Art Association and to honor the late Prince Takamatsu, who served as the association's honorary patron for 58 years.
Jacques Chirac, David Rockefeller, Helmut Schmidt, and Richard von Weizs�ker consist of the Honorary Advisors group. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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