(Updated May 27, 2009)
Ho'oulu: The Inspiration of Hula
September 4, 2009 to July 17, 2010, Hawai'i State Art Museum, Free
The Hawai'i State Art Museum presents Ho'oulu: The Inspiration of Hula, an exhibit of hula-inspired and hula-related relocatable and commissioned works from the Art in Public Places (APP) Collection.
Additional works on loan from Bishop Museum, Hula Preservation Society, visual artist Solomon Enos, and cultural practitioners Moana Eisele and Ka'iulani de Silva will also be on display.
Ho'oulu: to grow; inspired as for artistic creation; to enter in and inspire. The term describes the proliferation of hula, beginning with the hula deities to the numerous kumu hula and h lau hula (hula schools) throughout the world.
It explains how hula, as the muse, has moved artists to produce the works in the APP Collection. Ho'oulu expresses an objective of the advisory committee and exhibit team: to motivate HiSAM visitors to learn more about hula and Hawaiian culture.
The exhibit is designed to mimic the ' hi'a lehua tree, a tree beloved by and associated with the hula deities. Hi'iakaikapoliopele planted a grove of red and white lehua for her friend, H poe, who taught the goddess the hula.
Hula goddess, Kapo'ulak na'u, loved the lehua of K 'ana, Moloka'i. Offerings of ' hi'a lehua flowers are placed on the altar to Laka, a patroness of hula. The flowers represent K ka' hi'alaka, the male deity of hula, also known as Laka. His symbol is the legendary tree, ' hi'a Laka, that bears one red lehua blossom on the eastern branch and one white lehua blossom on the western branch.
Beginning with the roots, Hi'iakaikapoliopele's epic tale, one of the origin stories of hula, is illustrated in a variety of media. Two such works from the APP Collection are a series of seven black and white photographs by Bill Woods. The series is based on the encounter of Hi'iaka and her relative M lei at Makapu'u, O'ahu.
The other is a commissioned work of art by Kazu Kauinana. "Ka Mo'o 'Ili'ili" references Hi'iaka slaying the mo'o (dragon) of M noa Valley. Kauinana's sculpture rests on the mo'o's remains at K hi Elementary School. A few of Enos' illustrations from Ka Mo'olelo o Hi'iakaikapoliopele and The Epic Tale of Hi'iakaikapoliopele are featured here.
The trunk or kumu features the portraits of renowned kumu hula who have received the Order of Distinction for Cultural Leadership from the State of Hawai'i: 'Iolani Luahine, Rosalie Lokalia Montgomery, Mary Kawena Pukui, and Edith Kanaka'ole.
The branches contain the portraits of loea hula (hula resources) by photographer Shuzo Uemoto, with additional photographs by George Bacon and Chris McLuckie. The portraits were featured in Volume 1 of N n I N Loea Hula: Look to the Hula Resources, published in 1984 by Kalihi-P lama Culture and Arts Society, Inc.
The fruits and flowers of the ' hi'a are represented by dances and dancers. Photographer Francis Haar documented kumu hula (hula master) 'Iolani Luahine with kumu hula Tom Hiona performing different hula in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A selection will be featured, as well as Haar's portrait of Aunt Jennie Wilson, a dancer at King David Kal kaua's court.
To complement the still images, the 1976 HSFCA-sponsored film by Tip Davis of Aunty 'Io with her niece Hoakalei Kamau'u, entitled Hawaiian Dancer, will be shown.
The Hula Preservation Society, in partnership with the HSFCA, is producing a video containing interviews that they have conducted with some of the kumu hula in the branches section. The video will premiere in the gallery.
Hula costumes of kapa (barkcloth) by Moana Eisele and Ka'iulani de Silva will be on display. A brief history of the HSFCA's involvement with hula will also be presented.
The exhibit team was advised by hula and Hawaiian cultural experts. The consultants are kumu hula and Maui Arts and Culture Center's Cultural Director H k lani Holt-Padilla; kumu hula and educator at Hawai'i Community College, N lani Kanaka'ole; Hula Preservation Society director and kumu hula Maile Beamer Loo; University of Hawai'i at M noa Hawaiian language professor and translator M. Puakea Nogelmeier; and Cultural Activities Director of the Royal Hawaiian Center and kumu hula, Manu Boyd.
"roidea 4" by Eli Baxter is on display in the Accession '09 exhibition.
Accession '09
Diamond Head Gallery, Second Floor
May 1, 2009 - January 16, 2010
A continuation of the exhibition, Accession: Recent Acquisitions from the Art in Public Places Collection, that highlights recent purchases, commissions, and gifts that demonstrate the exceptional work collected by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the Art in Public Places Collection.
"EDC: Night Passage" by Kenneth Bushnell is on display in the Accession: Recent Acquisitions from the Art in Public Places Collection exhibition.
Accession: Recent Acquisitions from the Art in Public
Places Collection
Diamond Head Gallery, Second Floor
September 6, 2008 – July 18, 2009
This exhibition highlights recent purchases, commissions, and gifts that demonstrate the exceptional work collected by the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts for the Art in Public Places Collection. A few of the artists featured include Reiko Brandon, Kenneth Bushnell, Charles Higa, Jerry Okimoto, Laura Smith, and Toshiko Takaezu.
The Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts was established by the State Legislature in 1965 as the official arts agency of Hawai‘i. In 1967, the stateÕs role as patron of the arts was further augmented with the creation of the Art in Public Places Program, the first such program in the United States.
The Art in Public Places Collection includes over 5,000 works of art by more than 1,400 artists that have been acquired since the collection began in 1967.
"Portrait de Phyllis Dobson" by Diego Rivera is on display in the He Alo A He Alo exhibition.
He Alo A He Alo: Face to Face, Visions & Portraits of Hawai‘i
Ewa Gallery, Second Floor
May 2, 2008 – September 12, 2009
He Alo A He Alo is an o‘lelo no‘eau, an Hawaiian expression that means coming into communion with someone else. In this exhibit, the viewer interacts with the fascinating world of other community members. On display are visionary artwork and portraits from the Art in Public Places Collection. The intimate works of art capture some of the essence of our Hawai‘i community by honoring the subjects of the portraits and the work of the artists. Some of the themes of the exhibition are Hawaiian heritage, Asian roots, social consciousness, and cultural traditions.
A few pieces included in the exhibit are a portrait of the late art patron, Phyllis "Dobson" Hume Spalding by the internationally renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera; a formal portrait by artist Willson Y. Stamper, of Hawaiian Kumu Hula Master Rosalie Lokalia Montgomery, a recipient of the State of Hawai‘i Order of Distinction for Cultural Leadership; and a photographic portrait by Francis Haar of Hawai‘i artist Madge Tennent, whose towering painting of Two Sisters hangs in the Ewa Gallery.
The exhibition also features more recent works, including one by Tian Wei, who journeyed from China to Hawai‘i to study Western artistic traditions. In his 1988 self portrait, Wei makes a statement about his commitment to art: a brush, a dish, and the artist sitting stoically are framed by fiery calligraphy, reflecting his struggle with and passion for his chosen profession.
"Body Quadrants: Dream Search for the Seat of the Soul" by Franco Salmoiraghi is on display in the Fragments: Representing the Body exhibition
Fragments: Representing the Body
Downtown @ HiSAM Restaurant Gallery, First Floor
March 7, 2008 - July 31, 2009
An exhibition featuring work that transforms the human form with unique visions; offering the viewer a new perspective. A few of the artists represented in the exhibit include Rich Allred, Renee Iijima and Franco Salmoiraghi.
The I Love Art Gallery helps you learn about the elements of art through hands-on activities.
I Love Art Gallery
Diamond Head Gallery, Second Floor
Ongoing - Gallery is modified for each new exhibition
A new interactive educational gallery that promotes the understanding and appreciation of the arts, and encourages the public to increase their own awareness of the place and significance of art in their own lives.
The gallery allows visitors of all ages to learn together in a refreshing and informal setting. It focuses on the vocabulary and structure of art-making through the elements and principles of art and design (such as line, shape, form, space, and texture); ties information to objects currently on view in our galleries; and provides hands-on activities to experience art materials. Participants are encouraged to learn about art as artists do – by touching, observing, exploring, thinking, and reading.
We encourage you to explore the gallery to share insights and ideas, become familiar with the language of art, and see for yourself how it builds and shapes the works in our galleries.
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