New perspective may lead to fresh ideas

By Masashi Ueda

Judge

Perhaps because of the global situation or the recent prevalence of disasters, this year's Yomiuri International Cartoon Contest saw a drop in the number of entries.

Possibly this may have been caused by a shift away from cartoons as a platform for satire.

But although the number of entries has decreased in recent years, the quality has greatly improved since the contest made its debut in 1979.

When I examined the entries, one cartoon stood out because it was rather unusual. The cartoon, submitted by Vladimir Kazanevski of Ukraine, was selected for the Gold Prize in the Free Section.

In the cartoon, monkeys hang from trees by their hands, while a man hangs from a tree by his brain. The picture is a bit grotesque, and in the past would probably have not been chosen. But this year, it impressed a sufficient number of judges to win a prize.

Over the years, more and more cartoonists have entered works similar to those of previously successful cartoons, no doubt hoping to win through imitation. This is not a bad thing to do, but such entries do not appear original to the judges, even though many of them are well-executed.

That is why many of the judges were attracted to Kazanevski's cartoon. This may reflect our belief that the Yomiuri International Cartoon Contest is entering an era of change.

Cartoons are a free art form, so perhaps we as judges have been categorizing entries in a rather narrow-minded way that is not suitable for the contest.

We should not reject entries out of hand because this is one of the biggest cartoon contests in the world. We should give prizes to any work that makes people burst out laughing. If we try to judge from this kind of perspective, I think the contest will receive more cartoons that include free and fresh ideas.