Dean K Terasaki
Landing
Image Created: 2023
Medium: Archival Pigment on Unryu paper
Edition: 25
Print: 1/25
Unframed: $400
Frame: 22.75″ x 17.5″
Framed: $575
Hear from Dean
From the artist
My photomontage images begin as documents of a changing cultural landscape and reflect on the collision between personal memory and shared visual experience. The ubiquitous family snapshot is an important part of that shared experience.
My montage, titled “Landing,” starts with a photograph of my grandfather standing with his son, my father. Grandpa and Dad are seen on the walkway to their front porch just before Dad leaves to go fight in World War II Europe. For me, the mystery and possibility of that moment hold a powerful emotional reality, a grounding in a way. The longing suggested by that image is montaged with a hand-written letter from my grandfather’s business, the S. Ban Company. I believe there is urgency in the communication.
My grandfather lost his business through a series of struggles including the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake and, finally, the Great Depression. I’m interested in how that financial loss, and its impact on my grandfather, affected the relationship between father and son.
My father, born an American citizen, turned 18 in 1942 and was listed by the draft board as an enemy alien. The American war effort stumbled and his classification changed. He was drafted and served in combat in the U.S. Army’s famed 442d Regiment. Much has been written about the bravery of those soldiers. One common thread in those stories is the father and son conversation to serve with honor, prove your worth as an American, and “not bring shame on the family.” These images are stories about family, community and cultural history.