"First and foremost we are presenting a collection of photographs taken by one person on one day, as a reminder of what a nuclear waepon does to a city. Our aim is to encourage further discussion and debate. In today's world, the exhibit is as much a cautionary tale for future generations as it is a record of the past."Background materials will provide visitors with differing points of view and broad contexts for thought about events and histories surrounding the atomic bomb. Included in the exhibition materials are a timeline of atomic development and the Pacific war, extracts from a memo written by the photographer about his experience in Nagasaki, and a quiet space for reflection by the viewer.
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International Tour and Exhibition Book
Following the July 1995 openings in San Francisco, New York, and
Nagasaki,.Nagasaki Journey will tour the United States and Europe under the
auspices of Exhibit Touring Services, Washington (for more information call
1-800-356-1256). A separate ten-city tour of Japan will be organized by the
Japan Peace Museum in Tokyo.
A 128-page book, published by Pomegranate Artbooks and edited by Rupert
Jenkins, will accompany the exhibition. This bilingual book contains three
major essays and a work of fiction, more than seventy duotoned reproductions
(including the complete photography exhibition), a 1962 interview with Yosuke
Yamahata translated into English for the first time, plus extensive
biographical and chronological materials. The book also features a foreword
by noted author and psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton (Death in Life: Survivors
of Hiroshima, The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of
Genocide). It will be available May 1995. Pomegranate Artbooks can be
contacted at 1-800-227-1428.
Exhibition Film
A half-hour exhibition film tells the stories of two survivors: Sumiteru
Taniguchi, whose family was psychologically torn apart in the wake of his
injuries caused by the atomic bomb; and Itsuko Okubo, who lost her son Akira
in the blast and years later, on a memorial journey to the spot where he
died, discovered a sense of personal reconciliation and peace. Archival
footage is included throughout the 26-minute production. A portion of this
footage was photographed by U.S. Marine cinematographers in September and
October 1945; this is the first time it has been shown publicly since it was
placed in the National Archives soon after the war ended.
Credits: An Independent Documentary Group Production. Produced and directed by Judy Irving and Christopher Beaver. Music by Toru Takemitsu. Running time: 26 minutes. IDG Films can be contacted at 415-824-5822.
Exhibition Personnel, National Support.
Nagasaki Journey: The Photographs of Yosuke Yamahata is a project of the
Independent Documentary Group, San Francisco. Project curator and executive
producer is Christopher Beaver; co-producer is Judy Irving (both of IDG
Films). Maya Ishiwata/RAM is the project coordinator in Japan. Rupert
Jenkins, former Associate Director of San Francisco Camerawork, is the
exhibition consultant.
Support for Nagasaki Journey has been provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, W. Alton Jones Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, William Bingham Foundation, Samuel Rubin Foundation, Columbia Foundation, Marina and Danson Drummer, Finneran Family, Japan Foundation, George Frederick Jewett Foundation, LEF Foundation, Graham and Susan Nash, Nash Editions, and TX Unlimited.
Contact: Rupert Jenkins: 415 648-5170/Christopher Beaver: 415 824-5822