Imaging Disaster

Imaging Disaster is a rich social history of Japan's Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Drawing on a kaleidoscopic range of images from the fine arts, magazines, cartoons, and other popular sources, Gennifer Weisenfeld has produced an original study of this catastrophic event from an art historical perspective. --Jonathan Reynolds, Barnard College Imaging Disaster is an exhaustive and illuminating study of the visual culture generated by Japan's most devastating natural disaster. Comprehensive in scope--covering photography, cinema, painting, postcards, sketches, urban planning, and even scientific models--Weisenfeld makes a compelling point that the massive profusion of visual representations that followed the quake must itself be considered an integral part of this tragic historical event.--Seiji Lippit, UCLA