An exhibit of twenty-two images are currently on display in the Visual Arts Technology Garden-Level Gallery in the Gunder Myran Building on campus. The work was produced by eleven WCC students that participated in the spring 2006 course entitled Digital Photography Abroad, and is a visual culmination of their experiences living in Japan for two weeks. This course was the core experience among three, which were collectively called the Japanese Cultural Journey. During March and April this group of students studied in a non-credit, Japanese Language and Culture course, in addition to activating a personal plan for an immersion experience in international living. It provided excellent access and insight into Japanese cultural etiquettes, culinary expectations, and basic language skills to navigate their way around various cities and countryside. Then for two weeks in May, they lived at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities in Hikone City (a sister city of Ann Arbor), in Shiga Prefecture (a sister state of Michigan), producing images with digital SLR cameras and portable computers. Hikone (Hee-ko-neh) is in the heart of the central Kansai region of Japan and provides easy access for students to visit the cities of Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima; some even went as far as Tokyo. Finally, for three weeks in June, they returned to WCC’s Digital Imaging Labs to print some of their most well-crafted photographs from the trip. The wide-format prints were produced on an Epson 7800 printer in the Visual Arts Technology Production Center. These images are edited and sequenced with the intent to offer the viewer various ways of seeing the intriguing coexistence of ancient tradition and 21st Century cultural systems and values. Some simply offer an interpretion of Japan’s deep connection to the natural world. For example, we continually noted in group critiques how the shadows of branches, mountain skylines, or even gesture in an octupus posess similar linear forms to that of Kanji and/or Kana characters — the written “alphabet” used in Japan. In this group exhibit viewing context, the photographer’s original intent is potentially forfeited in lieu of a pairing that can convey either a unification or a deliberate juxtaposition. Therefore, rather than searching for answers, we encourage the viewer to ask questions about what they are seeing to determine what it means to them. This photography exhibit represents mere fragments from several greater collections of work produced by each student. Some of them shot hundreds, some even thousands of images, yet only a mere few rose to the surface to establish a level of proficiency and artistic vision that conveys the essence of Japan through Western eyes. In completion, the task that lay ahead for each of them now is to meet or exceed this level of excellence. The work in this web gallery includes two students from two other universities that joined our group through the Japan Center for Michigan Universities (the host institution which provided housing and instructional spaces), and is reproduced from the layout of a thirty-page, handmade book. This book is on display also, in the glass showcase adjacent to the exhibit. Some images in this web gallery do not appear in the exhibit, and likewise, some images in the exhibit do not appear here. We hope you enjoy viewing the work. These photographs represent a great diversity of talent and professional interests, not to mention the amazing stories and circumstances of personal growth and commitment experienced while studying abroad. If you have questions or comments about this work, or about the International Travel component of the Photography Program please contact me.

Sarah Burke (UM) Laura Hart Trisha Hitz Randy House Kimberly Johnson Christina Lemus Daniel Lupo (GVSU) Karen Lenz Kathleen Montague Lauren Murphy Nina Plasencia Joshua Tillinghast Kristine Willimann