- From the George Eastman Museum collection, a selection of vibrant
Coloramas displayed at Grand Central Terminal between 1950 and 1990 -
Once called the 'world's largest photographs, ' these remarkable Kodak
panoramas were seen by millions - Sheds fascinating insight on the
history of American advertising and color photography as well as the
lasting impact of the Colorama For 40 years, the Colorama dominated the
east wall of New York City's Grand Central Terminal, where it was seen
by thousands of people passing through each day. The massive backlit
transparencies measured 60 feet wide by 18 feet tall and changed every
few weeks between 1950 and 1990, resulting in a total production of 565
Coloramas. Eastman Kodak Company conceived of the imposing size and
vibrancy to demonstrate the brilliance of colour photography, and thus,
the company's colour film products. At a time when colour photographs
were seen by many as garish or prosaic, Eastman Kodak sought to
mass-market colour photography, just as the company had marketed
shapshot photography since it introduced the Kodak camera in 1888 and
the Kodak Brownie camera in 1900. The idealized lifestyle presented in
the Coloramas was intended to celebrate family or travel snapshooting,
reinforcing the idea that colour photography was the best way to
memorialise all of life's moments. The Colorama display in Grand Central
Terminal was one of the longest and most successful corporate marketing
campaigns of the 20th century and continues to be examined in the
context of the history of advertising and colour photography. Text in
English, German and French.
