Ansel Adams exhibit of Japanese internment

[Don Wallace]

Ansel Adams's Photographs of Japanese-American Internment at Manzanar http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/anseladams/

One might expect that the area around the Sierra Nevada Mountains might be an elegant and obvious choice for the noted photographer Ansel Adams to feature in his work, particularly given his fondness for documenting various aspects of the natural world. But, in the fall of 1943, Adams came to this area, not to document the surrounding landscape, but rather the lives of the Japanese-Americans who had been moved to the nearby Manzanar War Relocation Center. Presented by the American Memory Project, this site presents Adams' 242 original negatives from this endeavor, along with his 209 photographic prints. The collection includes a number of portraits, along with scenes of daily life, sports, and other leisure activities. Additionally, visitors can view a timeline of Adams' life, and the original book, "Born Free and Equal". Published in 1944, the work presents a selection of photographs from Adams' work, and introduces the reader "...to perhaps twenty individuals...loyal American citizens who are anxious to get back into the stream of life and contribute to our victory."

[Vick Vickery]

Having view some of these photos in the past, I can say that they are up to his usual technical standards and some can be emotionally moving in a much different way than his landscapes. Its worth a look! Many folks don't associate Adams with portraiture, but he did quite a bit of this type of work and had a good eye for it.

[Michael Daily]

Don,
Thanks for the reference! I teach the novel _Farewell to Manzanar_ in my English classes and had a friend who was incarcerated in one of the camps.
Michael