L I T T L E T O K Y O H I S T O R I C D I S T R I C T S T R E E T I M P R O V E M E N T, Los Angeles, California, 1991-1992
Commissioner: Community Redevelopment Agency, City of Los Angeles
Public Arts Task Force of Little Tokyo Community Development Advisory Committee
bronze, aluminum, slide projector, tripod
The sculpture is an enlarged replica of the handmade camera constructed by the Japanese-American photographer Toyo Miyatake during his confinement at Manzanar, an internment camp in the California desert used to segregate Japanese-Americans in World War II.
Installed as a permanent public artwork in the Little Tokyo area of downtown Los Angeles, Miyatake’s photograph are projected from the camera onto the façade of the Japanese American National Museum. With this connection to the museum, a former Buddhist Temple, the camera sculpture is integrated into the commemorative fabric of the historic district of Little Tokyo, where Miyatake had his photo studio.From left to right: Archie Miyatake, son of Toyo Miyatake; original hand-made camera by Toyo Miyatake; Alan Miyatake, grandson of Toyo Miyatake