My name is Reimi Adachi, and I am a widow of late William Corey (1949-2008).
I run the online photo gallery, and I have been presenting his work since his passing in 2008.
www.williamcorey.com
Corey was an internationally recognized photographer, lecturer, and an educator. He is considered the foremost western artist to photograph Japanese gardens.
One of Corey’s goals was to become the cultural bridge between the US and Japan through his photography.
In fact, Corey’s large 12 scale photographs [ 9 of 8ft ( 36 x 96 inch) images and 3 of 5ft ( 48 x 60 inch) images] are currently displayed at Denver International Airport (DIA) as a part of inaugural activity for celebrating the direct flight between DIA and Tokyo from June 1st until the end of May 2014.
Below are the links to the article/video of local news and another article regarding the exhibition at DIA.
http://www.dailycamera.com/state-west-news/ci_23319428/late-boulder-photographers-sumptuous-images-japan-mark-debut
http://www.rewireme.com/explorations/can-zen-help-beat-travel-stress/
Go to the page 38-42.
Here are some highlights of Corey’s achievements.
In 1994, Corey was commissioned by the State of Colorado to take a picture of Rocky Mountain National Park as the official gift to the Emperor and Empress of Japan who were visiting Colorado for the first time. Corey personally presented it to them. It is my understanding that, to this day, his photograph is still being displayed at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. I have a copy of the same image displayed at my house/studio in Boulder.
As a sort of a return favor, Imperial Household Agency granted Corey the special permission to photograph three Imperial Gardens in Kyoto, and he was considered to be the first foreigner to have been given such permission and honor.
In 1995, Corey also received an invitation from Tohoku Geijyutsu Koka Daigaku (Art University) in Yamagata to stay there for three months as a guest instructor and the artist in residence to take the pictures of Yamagata (The sister city of Boulder, CO).
In 1998, Corey was invited to have a solo exhibition at Bunsyokan Art Museum in Yamagata.
In 2012, William’s 6 of 8ft (36 x 96 inch) photographs were displayed at the Mitchell Hall at Denver Botanic Gardens.
Corey was known for his use of an unique 8 x 20 Korona large view camera with the film plane dimensions of 8”x 20” and weigh 70 lb. to capture the utmost details and the complexity of these gardens.
Corey’s process was Zen-like. He had spent many hours at the garden before he actually took the photograph. He was intending to get acquainted and become familiar with the space and attempted to understand and imagine how the generations of gardeners were envisioning each garden to be seen in the distant future. Corey only made a few pictures of each scene, and he never cropped the image. He waited until the composition was perfect for his large 8 x 20 negative.
He sometimes used the “Long exposure” which lasted up to 40 minutes, capturing the physical beauty and the historical passage of time of the garden reflected through the layering sunlight.
Corey sought to establish a sacred connection between the essence of the garden and the inner stillness of the viewer. Creating images with the themes “Enabling Awareness” and “Spiritual Consciousness” in mind, he intended to guide the viewer not only to see the beauty but to enlighten his/her mind and heart.
Lastly, although this has not been finalized yet, I've received the offer from the Foundation Schloss Dyck in Germany to have an exhibition at Schloss Dyck, so I am in the middle of discussing with them regarding the details. The tentative plan for the exhibition would be from April until the end of October in 2014. They are also considering that after the exhibit at Schloss Dyck in Germany, and they would like the exhibit to travel elsewhere in Europe.
http://www.stiftung-schloss-dyck.de/en/home.html
Thank you for your time reading this rather long submission.
I appreciate very much for AIE to look into Corey’s work for being included in this program.
