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There are thousands of artists in Japan as well as worldwide:
some have already found a place to express themselves, and others haven’t.It is, however, extremely difficult for artists, especially outside of Tokyo or other major cities in Japan, even to find a place for their works to be exhibited. So, we have decided to publish The Portfolio, a participatory art book created by the artists themselves who each purchase a page of it.
Our main objectives are
to provide as many artists as possible with the opportunity to participate in this project through an easy application procedure
, andto make sure that their works will be exposed to as large an audience as possible
.The lack of opportunities for artists is not the only problem in the art scene of Japan today. It is the closed atmosphere that has been keeping the public from enjoying creative art works in their daily lives. We need to solve the situation.
What can be done, then?
In order to increase the number of artists and art appreciators to the maximum possible for The Portfolio, our top concern was the price setting. The average price for an art book today is 3,500 yen, which may be too expensive for most readers. Also if we were to compensate for all the costs only by the publishing fees from the artists, it would be so much of a burden for them that they would not be able to contribute. Considering all of this, it seemed extremely difficult to maintain the quality of the book while keeping the price under 1,000 yen and not inserting any advertisements.Sometimes we are asked, “Why do both the artist and the reader have to pay?” Well, as you can see from the above, it is because the idea of our “book” is totally new and different from that of the existing books or magazines, and we believe it is the only possible solution.
Art work exists ‘as an object’.
The other question we are frequently asked is: Why a “book” now in the time of the Internet? We understand that the Internet can be a convenient and practical tool, and also an excellent media for art.But, is it really the best way when it comes to artistic expression? The Internet is suitable only when the content is matched to the viewer’s request. If so, does the Internet really serve the purpose for your artistic expression? We strongly believe that art work can be truly meaningful when it exists as an object.
Unlike musicians, artists today haven’t acquired their “uniqueness” yet. We hope to change this situation by providing artists with exposure to a wider audience, and to boost the recognition of under-appreciated artists as a result. We strive for the realization of your dreams and expansion of the value of creativity together with you beyond any genre.
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