Uploaded November 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago
One hundred years ago, the Kodak "Picture Ahead" marketing campaign was introduced into the American landscape. Over time, these markers evolved from their earliest appearances as roadside markers highlighting particular subjects to photograph, to their later Kodak Picture Spot iterations and installations within world's fairs, local and national parks, and Disney theme parks.
These signs helped to promote picture-taking behavior throughout much of the past century and were the subject of Leslie K. Brown's popular Focus 45 talk in 2016. Her subsequent PhD dissertation drew largely from the George Eastman Legacy Collection, corporate archives, and her own Kodak family history. To commemorate the centennial of the Kodak "Picture Ahead" campaign, Brown will revisit their presentation with some updates and new additions to provide a historical overview of this cultural phenomenon.
This talk is in conjunction with the display One Hundred Years Ago: George Eastman in 1921, currently on view in the Sitting Room through the end of the year.
One hundred years ago, the Kodak "Picture Ahead" marketing campaign was introduced into the American landscape. Over time, these markers evolved from their earliest appearances as roadside markers highlighting particular subjects to photograph, to their later Kodak Picture Spot iterations and installations within world's fairs, local and national parks, and Disney theme parks.
These signs helped to promote picture-taking behavior throughout much of the past century and were the subject of Leslie K. Brown's popular Focus 45 talk in 2016. Her subsequent PhD dissertation drew largely from the George Eastman Legacy Collection, corporate archives, and her own Kodak family history. To commemorate the centennial of the Kodak "Picture Ahead" campaign, Brown will revisit their presentation with some updates and new additions to provide a historical overview of this cultural phenomenon.
This talk is in conjunction with the display One Hundred Years Ago: George Eastman in 1921, currently on view in the Sitting Room through the end of the year.
