JAPAN: Lantern Slides from the Archives of Visual Studies Workshop

日本

JAPAN: Lantern Slides from the Archives of Visual Studies Workshop Maja Kruegle, David Mitchell, Amanda Webster, Christian Whitworth While photography is a medium reliant on light, much of academia takes place in a dim classroom. The only source of light is often a projector in the rear of the room, which shows an image or illustration on the front wall. The images were characteristically bound in the form of lantern slides, generally 4 x 3 1/4 inch glass slides, sometimes hand-colored, that were housed in collections and picked by professors for college lectures. The collections grew in size until the 1960s, and were soon stagnant by the late 1980s. The fading use of lantern slides was not only perpetuated by the durable, compact, and colorful 35mm slide, but also by the advent of the digital image.

Today, many collections of lantern slides have either been disposed of or passed on to other collections. The Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York, is one such institution that has accepted and maintained collections and archives of lantern slides. The slides, diverse in subject, image, and physical condition, continue to provide a nostalgic view of the educational object, a hand-colored image sandwiched between glass plates, taped and bound, archived and projected.

The lantern slides collected for this publication center around the people, landscape, and activities of 20th century Japan. Either from the collection of the New York State Education Department, the studio of T. Ikeda, or the Keystone View Company in Meadville, Pennsylvania, the images, as presented here, are no longer intended solely for archival or educational instruction, but rather for creative reflection.

The combination of historical and modern Japanese traditions, from dress to transportation and architecture, parallel the dichotomy of the lantern slide: its inevitable acknowledgement not only as a historical and educational object, but also its more contemporary intention as a sequenced image in an artistic narrative.

Special thanks goes to Nitin Sampat, Associate Professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and head of the minor in Applied Imaging Systems, for the assignment and for continued motivation.

Also, thanks to the Visual Studies Workshop, especially the archivist Jessica Johnston, for access, permissions, and assistance in the lantern slide archives. Thanks to Bruce Meader, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, for design and layout advice, and Miasha Nakahara for translation. And finally, thanks to Merlin Digital Printing Solutions, especially Sandor Hoppenwasser, for output advice and support.

日本、箱根火山に囲まれた芦ノ湖 Japan. Hakone Lake, Surrounded by Volcanic Mountains, 1932 New York State Education Department Visual Instruction Division Negative B1602

京都市金閣寺 Kinkakuji Temple, Kyoto T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

京都市銀閣寺 ‘Ginkakuji,’ Silver Pavilion, Kyoto T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

藤の花 Wistarias T. Ikeda Kurama, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

茶道

A Scene of Tea Ceremony T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

東京都帝国ホテル内庭 Garden of Imperial Hotel, Tokyo T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

日光杉並木街道 Cryptomeria Avenue, Nikko T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

和傘作り Making Parasols T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

宇治市平等院鳳凰堂 Phoenix Hall of Byodoin Temple at Uji T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

京都祇園祭り ‘Maiko,’ or Dancing Girls under Cherry Blossoms T. Ikeda Kurmai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

歌舞伎 A Scene of Kabuki Play T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

相撲、日本国技

‘Sumo,’ Japanese Professional Wrestlers T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

相撲、日本国技

‘Sumo,’ Japanese Professional Wrestlers T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

九州耶馬渓トンネル Yabakei, Kyushu T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

日本アルプス Japan Alps T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

日本、神戸市六甲山住宅地 Japan. Kobe, View over Residential Section, Wooded Hills Beyond, 1930 New York State Education Department Visual Instruction Division Negative A1602

田植え Rice Planting T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

長良川鵜飼 Cormorant Fishing at the River Nagara T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

桜の下 Under the Cherry Blossoms Keystone View Company Studios, Meadville P.A.

奈良公園 Deer Park, Nara T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

日本の機織り工場 Interior of a Japanese factory T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

岡山後楽園 Korakuen Garden, Okayama T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

鎌倉大仏 Great Buddha, Kamakura T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

横浜山道 Motor-Road, near Yokohama T. Ikeda Kurakamai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

着物の着付け How to Dress Japanese Kimono T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

女性用和服 Costumes of Japanese Women T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

日本東京都築地市場外 Japan. Tokyo. Sidewalk Restaurants, May 1934 New York State Education Department Visual Instruction Division Negative C16064

河口湖からの富士山 Mt. Fuji as seen across Lake Kawaguchi T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

東京都国会議事堂裏門 The New Diet as seen through the Feudal Gate, Tokyo T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

富士山と霧降の滝 Mt. Fuji & Kirifuri Waterfall T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

和食 How to Eat Japanese Meal T. Ikeda, Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

芸子の夕飯時、東京都 Geishas at Dinner, Tokyo Keystone View Company Studios, Meadville P.A.

玄関で立つ二人の女性 Dwelling, two women standing at entrance Japan New York State Education Department Visual Instruction Division

結婚式 Marriage Ceremony T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan

日光神橋 Sacred Bridge, Nikko T. Ikeda Kuramai, Asakusa Tokyo, Japan