Glossary

Former factories, mills, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities that have been closed and left vacant, often due to economic decline or shifting industrial practices. These sites were a major focus of Hayashi's work, particularly in documenting the industrial decline of America's Rust Belt. Her panoramic photo-collages captured both the architectural grandeur and melancholic decay of these spaces.

The distinctive commercial architecture and signage found along American highways, including motels, diners, gas stations, and tourist attractions. This term refers to everyday, non-academic architecture that reflects popular culture and regional identity. Hayashi photographed roadside architecture throughout her career, documenting disappearing aspects of American car culture and commerce.

Color photographic prints made from color negatives using a chemical development process. Chromogenic prints use dye couplers to create full-color images. Masumi Hayashi primarily worked with chromogenic color prints in creating her photo-collages, hand-assembling individual C-prints into large panoramic compositions.

An image created by combining multiple photographs into a single unified artwork. In Hayashi's practice, composite images were created through physical assembly of individual photographic prints rather than digital manipulation, resulting in large-scale panoramic photo-collages with visible seams.

A room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and photographic paper. Masumi Hayashi worked extensively in the darkroom, not only developing and printing individual photographs but also physically assembling her photo-collages by hand, carefully arranging and mounting prints to create panoramic compositions.

The process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a region. Masumi Hayashi's photographs of abandoned factories and closed industrial sites visually documented the human and architectural consequences of deindustrialization in American cities.

Photography used to chronicle significant and historical events, people, objects, or places with an emphasis on truthful, objective, and educational representation. While Masumi Hayashi's work falls within documentary photography, her photo-collage technique and artistic approach distinguished her practice from traditional documentary methods, creating what might be called 'poetic documentary' that combined factual recording with aesthetic and emotional interpretation.

The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Hayashi's photographs of toxic waste sites often highlighted environmental justice issues, documenting how marginalized communities disproportionately bear the burden of environmental contamination.

Presidential executive order signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, authorizing the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans from the West Coast. This order led to the creation of Japanese American internment camps and affected approximately 120,000 people, two-thirds of whom were American citizens.

One of ten major Japanese American internment camps, located in the Arizona desert near Rivers, Arizona. Operating from July 1942 to November 1945, it was one of the largest camps, holding over 13,000 people at its peak. Masumi Hayashi was incarcerated here as an infant with her family, an experience that profoundly influenced her later artistic documentation of all ten camps.

Forced relocation and incarceration facilities where approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were imprisoned during World War II (1942-1946) under Executive Order 9066. Also known as concentration camps or incarceration camps. Ten major War Relocation Authority camps were established in remote areas of seven states. Masumi Hayashi, incarcerated as an infant at Gila River, Arizona, later documented all ten major camps in her landmark photographic series.

Photography using film sizes of 4x5 inches or larger, requiring view cameras. Large format photography offers exceptional detail and image quality. While Hayashi's final photo-collages were large in scale (often 30x90 inches or larger), she typically used medium format cameras for the individual exposures that she assembled into her panoramic works.

A photographic technique that captures an elongated field of view, typically wider than the human eye can see in a single glance. Masumi Hayashi used panoramic formats extensively in her photo-collage work to document large-scale sites and create immersive viewing experiences.

Masumi Hayashi's signature technique of creating panoramic images by hand-assembling multiple individual photographs taken from a single vantage point. Unlike seamless panoramic photography, her photo-collages retain visible edges and overlaps between prints, creating a distinctive visual rhythm that reflects both physical space and the temporal experience of viewing. Each collage might incorporate dozens or even hundreds of individual prints, carefully arranged in the darkroom.

Region of the northeastern and midwestern United States characterized by economic decline, population loss, and urban decay, particularly in former industrial and manufacturing centers. Hayashi photographed numerous abandoned factories, closed steel mills, and deteriorating industrial sites in Rust Belt cities, creating haunting panoramas of post-industrial America.

A genre of photography focused on documenting social issues, inequality, and the human condition, often with the goal of inspiring social change or raising awareness. Hayashi's work consistently engaged with social documentary themes—civil liberties violations, environmental racism, economic inequality—while employing her distinctive panoramic photo-collage technique.

A contaminated location in the United States designated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for hazardous waste cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Masumi Hayashi photographed numerous Superfund toxic waste sites in her environmental justice series, documenting the intersection of industrial contamination, environmental racism, and community impact.

Locations contaminated with hazardous materials from industrial activity, improper disposal, or environmental disasters. Masumi Hayashi created an extensive series documenting EPA Superfund toxic waste sites across America, using her panoramic photo-collage technique to capture the scale of contamination and its impact on surrounding communities.

Architecture characterized by local needs, availability of construction materials, and reflecting local traditions. Built without professional architects, vernacular architecture includes common functional buildings. Hayashi's photographs often featured vernacular structures—from internment camp barracks to roadside motels—that revealed social history through everyday architecture.

United States government agency established in 1942 to administer the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II. The WRA operated ten major concentration camps: Manzanar and Tule Lake (California), Poston and Gila River (Arizona), Minidoka (Idaho), Heart Mountain (Wyoming), Topaz (Utah), Granada (Colorado), Jerome and Rohwer (Arkansas).