Information for nominators
Anyone can nominate a first work, fitting the criteria good, true and beautiful, see below.
Nomination packages must include only original documentation prepared specifically for the Ranald MacDonald Award. The preferred language is English.
The package must include a short description of the work presented, a short CV of the nominee, a short CV of the nominator and a short description of their relation. Self-nominations are not acceptable.
Nominations should be sent by email. Large files, such as video and music files, can be sent by WeTransfer, clearly stating the nomination they refer to.
Preferably only letters and/or materials should be summitted that add substance to the nomination. Quality is appreciated over quantity. A well-written and documented submission increases the likelihood of a positive outcome.
Submissions that do not meet the submission requirements will not be assessed. For questions contact FOM NL at nomination@friendsofmacdonald.nl, also in case you have not received an email confirming receipt of your nomination after you have completed the submission process.
The Ranald MacDonald Prize? For whom and what for?
According to the articles of association of the foundation Friends of MacDonald • The Dutch Connection the answer is: ‘The Ranald MacDonald Award (is annually granted) to a first work (about the relations between Asia, Europe and North America in a broad sense) by an artist or writer of exceptional quality, that is ‘true, good and beautiful’.
Four considerations are clear:
- The prize will be awarded to work already circulating in the public domain —it is therefore not a grant.
- The work should be its maker’s ‘first’.
- The maker’s nationality is irrelevant.
- Not only the content of the work is what matters, but the form is equally important. If it concerns a book, the writing should be explicitly good and beautiful.
In a spreadsheet the answer to the questions above might have been put as follows:
| in the public domain | a book already published, a dance that has been performed, a painting exhibited, a building already realised, a film having appeared on screen |
| comprehensible for any interested layman | it should not contain scientific or artistic jargon |
| a start of some kind | preferably his or her very first work in the relevant field |
| writer in the broadest sense | a historical or political work, a poetry collection, a journalistic report, a book of photographs, a novel, an essay |
| artist in the broadest sense | see 'a work in the public domain' |
| good, true, beautiful | ἀγαθόν agathon "good", ἀληθές alethes "true", καλόν kalon "beautiful" |
| in three words, a THING OF BEAUTY | |
In the realm of dreams the prize might have been awarded
| to | for | in |
| Hidenori Mitsue | His paintings of 2012 | 2012 |
| Edmund de Waal | The Hare with Amber Eyes | 2010 |
| Nina Paley | Sita sings the blues | 2008 |
| Wang Bing | Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks | 2003 |
| Jonathan Clements | The Anime Encyclopedia | 2001 |
| Amélie Nothomb | Le Sabotage amoureux | 1993 |
| Tony Gatlif | Latcho Drom | 1993 |
| Frank Dikötter | The Discourse of Race in Modern China | 1992 |
| Kristofer Schipper | Le corps taoïste. Corps physique, corps social | 1982 |
| Ian Buruma | The Japanese Tattoo | 1980 |
| John Dower | Origins of the Modern Japanese State | 1975 |
| Pierre Ryckmans | Les Habits neufs du président Mao | 1971 |
| Donald Richie | The Japanese Film: Art and Industry | 1959 |
| Akira Kurosawa | 生きものの記録 • I Live in Fear | 1955 |
| Vincent van Gogh | Brug in de regen (naar Hiroshige), Courtisane (naar Eisen) en Bloeiende pruimenboomgaard (naar Hiroshige) | 1887 |
| Eduard Douwes Dekker | Max Havelaar | 1860 |
| Philipp Franz von Siebold | Nippon | 1832 |
| Nicolaes Witsen | Noord en Oost Tartarye | 1692 |