Southampton Arts Center Hosts Kodak Colorama Exhibit

Starting in 1950, the Eastman Kodak company hung 18-foot-tall by 60-foot-wide photographic advertisements at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. These images, known as Colorama, exhibited American values and encouraged photography as a part of life.

In total, 565 Colorama photographs were displayed in Grand Central over 40 years.

Through the end of 2016, the Southampton Arts Center in Southampton Village will display 36 panoramic prints of these photographs, many of which were taken in the 1960s. The exhibition was organized by the George Eastman Museum, based in Rochester, where Kodak’s main headquarters is located.

The Coloramas prints on display in Southampton are much, much smaller than the larger-than-life prints that were in Grand Central, but they still show a level of definition that was rare for the time the photos were taken. All of the photos display great focus and are rich in color.

One of the photos, taken by Donald Martin in 1964, shows a couple in a bed of multi-colored tulips. Another photo, taken by Herbert Archer in 1967, shows skiers at Christmastime outside of a village, with one of the skiers taking a photo of the village. The majority of the photos have at least one person snapping a picture with a Kodak camera.

The art exhibition also has photos taken by Ansel Adams and even NASA, including the first photograph of earth from the moon in 1966.

“Each Colorama in the exhibition so beautifully represents a time of great optimism, purity and joy,” said Amy Kirwin, the arts center’s director of programs. “We can’t think of a better compilation of work to close out 2016 at Southampton Arts Center.

“We feel confident that every visitor will leave with a smile on their face,” she added.

The Southampton Arts Center is open, with free admission, Thursday through Sunday, from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, visit southamptonartscenter.org.