Horimoto's debut as a photographer
Just at the beginning of the new year I received a good news;The photos taken by me have been printed on the monthly journal "Her Story", January, 2010.The edition introduces a famous Japanese conductor, Mr. Toshio Yanagisawa, who was selected as one of "The 100 Japanese respected by the world" of Newsweek, 2009 Japanese edition.The photos appear on the page of "Republic of Kosovo", where Mr. Yanagisawa has been active as an orchestra conductor.The reason why he was selected as one of the 100 Japanese is that Mr. Yanagisawa has continued his effort to reconcile the two races in Kosovo through conducting Kosovo Philharmonic.The living conditions in Kosovo has been so hard for him. The guaranteed fee for his play is by far less than those Japanese musicians who are playing in Europe. The food he can take is all from the polluted soil. However, he has decided to stay in Kosovo, saying, "Japan is neutral in terms of race and politics. That's why I am needed by the people in Kosovo." When I visited Kosovo, I heard about Mr. Yanagisawa. In Kosovo I held "The International Exhibition for Peace/Kosovo" amicably with Albanians and Serbians, together. This is, I believe, because that I am a Japanese and my exhibition was intended to convey "the message of Universal Love". This also explains why I could have 12 exhibitions in a row. I feel honored that I could have an unexpected opportunity of connection with Mr. Yanagisawa thanks to the journal.And this is the first debute of my photos on a journal.The two photos shown below were taken when I visited three local schools during my last trip to Kosovo. I handed over to each of the schools the donation and the proceeds collected at "Charity Art Exhibition for the children under the civil war in Kosovo" hosted by the Zonta Club of Tokyo. Then, I showed the boys how to fold a paper crane for peace. The left one holds the paper cranes.(C) Emiko HORIMOTO(C) Emiko HORIMOTO The two colorful and peaceful pictures below are the paintings drawn by Kosovar children after the civil war.I exhibited the children's paintings at various places including Hyogo Prefecture Museum, Kobe, Gallery Hibiya, Tokyo, Girl Scouts of Japan, Tokyo, Tokyu Square, Tokyo, Tsurumaki Elementary School, Tokyo and Izumi Hospital, Okinawa. (C) Emiko HORIMOTOFrankly, many children in Kosovo have good art talent. I was quite impressed by their fantastic imagination.It may have something to do with the fact that they don't have many articles as Japanese children have. You can have a look at the arts and the children's paintings of Kosovo at this web site.Click "International Exhibition for Peace/Kosovo" among the categories of the left.Then, you can have an access to the diary, the latest one on the top. quoted from the monthly journal "Her Story", January, 2010 Translated by Dr. Ryusuke Nakamuraいつもご覧頂きありがとうございます。「堀本惠美子の日記」はブログ人気ランキングに登録しています。 お帰りの際にクリックよろしくお願いしますね。心よりお礼申し上げます。 ↓ ↓ 『堀本惠美子(ほりもとえみこ)のホームページ』(Emiko HORIMOTO Web)(Japanese, English,French)では今までの作品や展覧会、収蔵先などをご紹介しています。覗いてみていただければ幸いです。http://www.space-ao.com/ 堀本惠美子(ホリモトエミコ)作品収蔵先風景(Emiko HORIMOTO--Collection)http://www.space-ao.com/_jp/collection/collection.htm堀本惠美子 アートギャラリー (日本美術倶楽部)(Emiko HORIMOTO Art Gallery)(Japanese, English)(堀本惠美子の作品10点の紹介です)http://www.nihonbijutsu-club.com/horimoto/