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MR. VAUGHN: Mr. Moses, members of the press,
distinguished guests and visitors:
It is indeed a pleasure to be here with you
this morning -- much more so if we were outside, I might add.
Your presence adds support and validity to our own belief that
this exposition has true significance for industry, for our company,
to this community and our state, and to the nation.
We're confident, further, that its appeal
will be truly international.
On this occasion we mark the beginning of
our contribution to that appeal. On these grounds, nearby, are
the foundations for the pavilion symbolic of photography's remarkable
achievements over 140 years.
At its outset photography was a promising
but cumbersome practice, something between art and alchemy. Later,
as it became less difficult for the user and more manageable
in the laboratory, photography and its influence began to grow.
Today it is the world's leading hobby. Its sphere has extended
to education, industry, commerce, government, medicine and the
sciences. It is one of the most versatile tools in the service
of mankind.
In the finished pavilion on the Kodak site,
visitors will find the most complete and colorful exhibit ever
assembled to display photography's impact on our lives. We are
confident that it will bring new awareness of photography's pervasive
scope and influence.
Part of the scope to which we refer is the
enjoyment that millions associate with photography as a leisure
activity. But there is more: The historian's interest in what
went before preserved on film; photography's ability to measure
and document progress; industry's growing use of photography
as an ingenious and trustworthy production tool. The Kodak exhibit
will present these and many other areas of interest.
Accomplishments of the past will be on display.
We will not neglect those pioneers who gave photography its start:
Niepce and Daguerre, Talbot and Archer were Europeans but it
was an American, George Eastman, who pioneered roll film and
the simple hand-held camera that made picture-taking both popular
and practical for millions.
We intend to offer Fairgoers an exhibit as
appealing, as instructive, and we believe even more dramatic
than those which have previously appeared under the Kodak emblem.
Exhibits will be designed with doing as well as seeing in mind.
We also intend to present visual impressions that only photography
can capture and convey -- impressions too fleeting for the unaided
eye to recall and interpret.
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In physical design, the Kodak pavilion is
the result of many months of thought and effort. Those chiefly
responsible, the Company's architects and designers -- Will Burtin
and others in his organization -- have worked diligently and
imaginatively and to excellent purpose.
We are pleased at this time, as you see here,
to show you the design of the pavilion as it will appear. We
believe that this pavilion will be regarded as a unique architectural
showcase.
A floating carpet of concrete, supported by
four main columns, will provide a surface of gently sloping walkways,
gardens and fountains. There will be attractive settings for
camera users who wish to photograph their families and friends.
Beneath the concrete carpet, at ground level,
the visitor will find numerous exhibit areas of interest. Here,
he will be able to pass at leisure through the world of photography
and also view exhibits which recall Kodak achievements in other
fields, such as chemicals, plastics, and synthetic fibers.
A large and striking tower of photography
will add visual drama. The equivalent of an eight-story building
in height, the tower will have around its shaft five giant photographs.
We expect that each of these will be more than 2,000 square feet
in size and, illuminated by day and by night, will be visible
from afar as well as nearby. The tower will also house a large
theater capable of accommodating thousands during the course
of each day's Fairgoing hours. We are at the present time planning
a 12 to 14-minute motion picture for showing. For this production
and for all that will appear at our exhibit, we will draw upon
our years of technical experience and results of continuing research.
Extensive study has gone into new methods
of photographic display. Our aim is a total presentation, as
exciting in technique as in topical matter. We've already referred
to the part played by photography in modern life -- in business,
in science, in health, and in a variety of fields.
We believe that no other medium is more admirably
suited to carry out the purpose of the New York World's Fair
-- Peace Through Understanding.
By 1964, the industrious and imaginative efforts
of Mr. Moses and his associates will have come to fruition. Flushing
Meadow will have been transformed by then into a symbol of human
achievement. We are pleased to mark at this time the beginning
of Kodak's part in this challenging enterprise.
We appreciate your willingness to share this
occasion with us. But let me add this invitation: Won't you come
again and see us at the Fair? Thank you very much.
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