BeHere / 1942

Name: BeHere / 1942
Author: University of California, Los Angeles

University of California, Los Angeles

DOCUMENTED

Published in academic literature

For:General Public & Enthusiasts

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App Summary

BeHere / 1942 is an educational augmented reality (AR) app that allows users to interact with the history of Japanese American internment in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. The associated research describes the app as an art and research project that uses viewer participation and AR to critique the dominant historical narrative by re-contextualizing archival propaganda photographs. The authors note this interactive approach is designed to foster a new understanding of historical photography and the performance of power embedded in the act of documenting events.

App Screenshots

Detailed Description

Functionality & Mechanism

BeHere / 1942 is an augmented reality system developed by media artist Masaki Fujihata. It superimposes historical propaganda photographs of the Japanese American internment onto the contemporary environment of Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. The interface facilitates an interactive, site-specific experience, requiring participants to physically engage with the location. The system is designed to recontextualize the historical event through viewer participation and a critical engagement with archival media, reframing the act of photography as a performance of power.

Evidence & Research Context

The system is detailed in a research article analyzing it as an intermedia work of art and a form of historical critique.
The associated research describes the system's use of augmented reality to challenge dominant media narratives surrounding the 1942 internment of Japanese Americans.
The project's design promotes a new understanding of historical photography by creating an interactive, participatory experience for the viewer within a specific physical space.
A central theme examined in the research is the act of photography as a performance of power, which the system invites users to critically consider.

Intended Use & Scope

The system is intended for the general public, educators, and students as an experiential educational tool for historical engagement. Its primary utility is to foster critical reflection on a specific historical event through a site-specific, art-based augmented reality experience. It does not function as a comprehensive historical database but as a focused interpretive lens. Further academic resources are required for a complete historical understanding.

Studies & Publications

1 publication

Peer-reviewed research associated with this app.

Non-Evaluative Reference

Performing the Power of the Photography BeHere/1942 by Masaki Fujihata

Kleczek et al. (2002) · Pamiętnik Teatralny

Referenced in academic literature; no direct evaluation of the app

The aim of this article is to analyze the art and research project BeHere/1942 (2022) by the Japanese media artist Masaki Fujihata. The collectively created intermedia system, which enables viewer participation, refers to a forgotten series of propaganda photographs documenting the internment of West-Coast Americans of Japanese descent in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles. BeHere/1942 employs creative strategies developed by Fujihata, who is an acclaimed pioneer of the use of augmented reality technology in media art. The project also constitutes a daring form of critique of the dominant media narrative about the historical event. The article examines the forms of experience in which the creators of BeHere/1942 enmesh the viewers. Particular attention is paid to interactivity, a new understanding of historical photography, and the act of photographing as a performance of power.

In the Media

JANM exhibit uses augmented reality to visit WWII-era round-up of Little Tokyo Nikkei

UCLA and the Japanese American National Museum launched BeHere / 1942 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Japanese American incarceration, using augmented reality technology to recreate the mass removal from Little Tokyo. The exhibit features a massive 200-person AR installation by Japanese media artist Masaki Fujihata that "hyper-enlarges" historical photographs to reveal reflections in subjects' eyes, allowing visitors to see what they saw. Visitors can experience the installation at the museum's outdoor plaza using smartphones or museum-provided devices, with the AR component remaining accessible even after the exhibit concludes on October 9.

NichibeiRead article

Augmented Reality App Lets Users 'Witness' WWII Removal Of Japanese Americans

The Japanese American National Museum launched "BeHere/1942" to recreate the WWII eviction of 120,000 Japanese Americans using augmented reality technology that superimposes historical scenes over the museum's Little Tokyo courtyard. "Oh my God, it's incredible what they can do," said June Aochi Berk, a 89-year-old incarceration survivor whose digitized likeness appears in the installation, "It looks like I'm actually there waiting for the bus." The free exhibit opened Saturday and is currently available only for iPhones.

LaistRead article

Exhibition puts viewers in midst of WWII-era removal of Japanese Americans

The Yanai Initiative of UCLA and Tokyo's Waseda University developed BeHere / 1942 to illuminate the 1942 Japanese American incarceration through augmented reality technology at the original Little Tokyo removal site. UCLA Professor Michael Emmerich explains, "This is an exhibit about what photographs reveal and what they conceal... it is about what happened here in Little Tokyo and all along the West Coast in 1942, but it is also about the present." The exhibition opened May 7, 2022, at the Japanese American National Museum, nearly 80 years after 3,475 Little Tokyo residents lost their homes and freedom on May 9, 1942.

UCLARead article

Augmented reality exhibition places viewers in midst of WWII-era forced removal of Japanese Americans

The Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities, a joint project of UCLA and Japan's Waseda University, developed BeHere / 1942 to recreate the 1942 forced removal of Japanese Americans through augmented reality at the actual Little Tokyo site where thousands were ordered to report. "This is an exhibit about what photographs reveal and what they conceal," said UCLA Professor Michael Emmerich, explaining how the AR experience transforms historic images to reveal previously hidden details like reflections in subjects' eyes. The exhibition opened May 7 at the Japanese American National Museum, launching almost 80 years to the day after 3,475 Little Tokyo residents lost their homes and freedom.

UCLARead article