On display on the first floor across from the Reference Desk and on the Fifth Floor outside the Reading Room.

Artist Bio

Ross Togashi was born in Kea'au on the island of Hawai'i, and spent his early years wandering about Pearl City, O'ahu. He has photographed since he was a youngster, documenting his family life and travels with a Kodak Instamatic.

More recently, Ross has enrolled in a number of photography workshops and classes that have broadened his view of photography. Through his ongoing education at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Art Department, he has discovered that photography can be an evocative and powerful means of expressing ideas. His artworks often reflect themes pertaining to the human condition, identity, history, and geography.

Works

Documents: Evidence Found in a Library
Gelatin silver prints and mixed-media
2004

Artist Statement:

I´ve been fascinated for a long time with the vast historical information found in old books and maps. My latest artwork combines my love for the photographic medium with the priceless holdings of libraries and archives. This work explores an important period of Hawaiian history and brings to light a selection of 19th century U.S. government publications and other archival material uncovered in Hamilton Library, University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Among the pertinent historical documents are volumes from the U.S. Congressional Serial Set, including the "Blount Report", U.S. government maps, and the anti-annexation petitions of 1897.

Note: Most of the bound volumes and maps shown in this artwork were destroyed in a flash flood on October 30, 2004.

Defining Moment
Mixed-media
2005

Artist Statement:

A year ago, on October 30, 2004, a flash flood roared through the basement of Hamilton Library, destroying most of its contents. I was in Japan when I heard about the catastrophic event. As the Map Technician in charge of the Library´s Map Collection, I was devastated. Nothing can describe how terrible I felt upon my return when I saw firsthand the total destruction that had taken place during my absence.

Thankfully, so much had already been done by the courageous Library staff, faculty, students, and countless volunteers. Because of their enormous efforts, thousands of invaluable maps and aerial photographs were saved.

For many months after the flood, I was haunted by the images of destruction captured by Library staff photographers - specifically those photographs that documented the ruin in those first days. Later, the images of ruin were complemented by other more positive metaphors of the Library being resurrected; a reflection perhaps, of the work I was involved in "post-flood".

This mixed-media work is the tangible of my mind´s eye.

Special acknowledgements to: Dore Minatodani (Librarian), Susan Tokairin (Library Technician), and Lloyd Tsukano (Map Collection Intern) who graciously permitted use of their flood photographs in this artwork; and the many people involved in the rescue, rebirth, and rebuilding of Hamilton Library´s Map and Aerial Photography Collections.

In everyone´s life there are defining moments
Events after which everything is different
After which nothing is the same.

From the film, The Photographer, written and produced by Jeremy Stein.

[This artist statement was written for the Student Photography exhibit in Hamilton Library, Winter 2005.]

You can find Ross's work "Defining Moment" in Hamilton Library on the First Floor across from the Reference Desk and "Documents: Evidence Found in a Library" on the Fifth Floor outside the Hawaiian Pacific Reading Room.