Art at the Capitol

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First Friday Hawaii
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Art at the Capitol
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Type: Art Exhibit
Date: Friday - 3/5/2010
Time: 5pm - 7pm
Location:
Hawaii State Capitol
415 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

Contact: Jane Hong
808-586-7142
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Cost: Free

STATE LEGISLATURE TO HOST 2ND ANNUAL "ART AT THE CAPITOL" ON MARCH’S FIRST FRIDAY

The public is invited to enjoy an evening of art, culture and history at the State Capitol.

The Hawai‘i State Legislature will open its doors for March’s First Friday event with the 2^nd Annual “Art at the Capitol,” an opportunity for the public to view over 430 works of art that are a part of the State’s Art in Public Places program. Guests can also enjoy entertainment featuring live music by the Hawai‘i Youth Symphony, take guided historical tours of the Capitol, and mingle with artists and lawmakers.

The event will be held on Friday, March 5, 2010 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., with a short program on the third floor to kick it off starting at 4:45 p.m.

“We have some outstanding art in the Capitol,” said Senator Brian Taniguchi, who has led efforts to open the Capitol on First Friday. “We wanted to make it more convenient for people to come in and see them all at once, to get the full impact of our collection.”

Ronald Yamakawa, Executive Director of the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, also sees the Art at the Capitol event as a way to expand public appreciation of art in various environments.

“We have a lot of art installed at the Capitol, which not only enhances the building’s atmosphere, but also shows that the experience of art can be an everyday event,” said Yamakawa. “This is a great opportunity for the public to view these works in the context of working offices.”
This marks the second year the State Capitol has participated in a First Friday event. More than 400 people attended last year's event held in April 2009. This year, 45 offices in both the House and the Senate will participate.

"This is the people's capitol and the public's art after all," said Representative Isaac Choy, who is coordinating offices in the House and welcomes the opportunity to open their doors to the public. “What a great way for members of the public to meet their lawmakers face to face, see their offices and get to know them in a different context."

The event will feature the newly restored mosaic "Aquarius" by famous local artist Tadashi Sato, and give guests an opportunity to meet and greet some of the artists whose works are on display, including renowned artists Satoru Abe, Doug Young, Aaron Padilla, Kloe Kang, Lori Uyehara, Amos Kotomori, Marianne Au, Norm Graffam, Jr., Lily Hasegawa, Yoshio Hayashi, Charlene Hughes, Anne Irons, Karen Lee, Alan Leitner, and Brett A. Uprichard.

Works of art are placed in public areas of the State Capitol as part of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts’ “Art in Public Places” program, which seeks to
enhance the environmental quality of state public buildings and spaces for the enjoyment and enrichment of the public; cultivate the public’s awareness, understanding and appreciation of visual arts; contribute toward the development and recognition of a professional artistic community; and acquire, preserve, and display works of art expressive of the character of the Hawaiian Islands, the multicultural heritage of its people, and the various creative interests of its artists. The program was established in 1967, and was the first program of its kind in the nation.

Photo of art pieces and of last year's event:

Tying Child to Chair by Jean Charlot (Located in the office of Sen. Mike Gabbard)
Jean Charlot (1898-1979) was born in Paris. Educated in Paris at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts, known for its life drawing, Charlot moved to Mexico in 1920, where he experimented and worked on fresco painting with contemporaries, Diego Rivera, Jose Orozco, and David Siqueiros. A professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa from 1949 to 1966, Charlot is recognized as one of the world's leading muralists. Charlot states of this work, "Before leaving the child alone in the house, the mother takes care that the child will not fall from the chair."

Seed No. 57 by Satoru Abe (Located in the Office of Rep. Scott Nishimoto)
Born in Honolulu, 1926, Satoru Abe is a graduate of McKinley High School. He left Hawai‘i in 1948 to study at the California School of Fine Arts and the Art Students League, New York. Abe returned to Hawai‘i in 1950 and met pioneering artist Isami Doi who became a personal inspiration and friend. Abe received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1963. A reflection of this artist's theme centered around "growth"; this painting translates the concept of the "husk of the seed bursting to grow."

Enlightenment by Isami Doi (Located in the office of Senate President Colleen Hanabusa)
Celebrated artist Isami Doi (1903–1965) was born in ‘Ewa, O‘ahu and spent his childhood in Kalaheo, Kaua‘i. He studied at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 1921 and moved to New York to study at Columbia University, receiving a BS in 1929. He also studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Grand Chaumiere, and the Louvre. A generation of younger Japanese-American artists from Hawai‘i regard Doi as their “spiritual and aesthetic father”. He established his final residence on Kaua‘i in 1958. Doi’s later works reflect a deeply eloquent and mystical Buddhist spirituality.

Art at the Capitol 2009
Senator Brian Taniguchi, a major proponent of the arts, sits in front of Doug Young’s “Kaku – Lost T'S, Moloka‘i” at the first annual Art at the Capitol in April, 2009

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First Friday Hawaii Event Calendar Item

First Friday Hawaii
Event Calendar Item