projects > Georges of Our World

George Yamane, 9th Grade
Charcoal, paper
12"x9"
March 2021
George Wada, 12th Grade
Charcoal, watercolor, paper
12"x9"
March 2021
George Nenashi, 12th Grade
Charcoal, paper
12"x9"
March 2021
George Uchida, 9th Grade
Charcoal, paper
12"x9"
March 2021

The high school class of 1944 at Manzanar produces a yearbook, Our World.

Toyo Miyatake is the class photographer.

In the context of the camps, the ritual of the class photo takes on its own specific meanings: the performance of a normal routine in an abnormal circumstance; the senior photo is a declaration of independence, at once assimilative and defiant.

I think about Roland Barthes' idea of the studium (the aesthetics) and the punctum (an unintended detail that captures the imagination of and creates an emotional response in the viewer; different viewers may find different puncta in the same image). I identify a punctum in these photos: the name George.