‘I open
windows to
the past’By Kekoa Catherine Enomoto
Star-Bulletin"Ancient Hawaii" by Herbert Kawainui Kane, The Kawainui Press, 1998, 112 pages, $16.50 hardback, $12.50 soft cover
HERB Kawainui Kane looks down from his 8-1/2-acre Honaunau, Big Island, estate where avocados, macadamia nuts, gardens and a bird-filled forest preside. The renowned painter's view encompasses the Pu'uhonua (sanctuary) O Honaunau National Historical Park where ali'i once were buried and early Hawaiians sought refuge, and Kealakekua Bay, an ancient capital where thousands of canoes once queued and Capt. James Cook dropped anchor in 1778.
The 70-year-old artist speaks in an easy cadence, marked by thoughtful pauses and umms, sounding comfortable with himself and his environment.
"I open windows to the past," says Kane, whose works have come to serve as familiar markers of early culture, "so that people can get a better view of what our past was like and what happened in Hawaiian history and prehistory."
His fifth book, "Ancient Hawai'i," makes its debut this week. The reasonably priced introduction to island history features his signature canoe paintings. Those and his murals glow quietly in blues, reds and bronze browns. His drawings depict early Hawaiians fishing, planting, plaiting and woodworking. Handsome kapa prints by Pua Van Dorpe are also included.
Curiosity drives Kane, who is a historic researcher and author besides artist.
"I ask myself what did a particular event really look like," he says by phone. "There are a lot of aspects of our history that have never been depicted, never been interpreted visually; so I ask myself what would be the correct interpretation. If it was a historic event, I try to research the time of day and the setting of the people involved. I try to find out as much as I can; then I try to reconstruct the moment in a painting. That's what I mean about opening a window to the past.
"A lot of my paintings are that way -- like in the book "Voyages" (WhaleSong, 1992, $19.95) and also in "Ancient Hawai'i" -- they are deliberate attempts to open windows to the past."
Kane enjoys his painting, visits friends and travels for research. His days start with exercise followed by breakfast, checking e-mail and returning correspondence, five hours or more at the easel or drawing board, then wrapping up business details until 5 in the evening.
He wrote, illustrated, designed and published "Ancient Hawai'i." His earlier "Pele -- Goddess of Hawaiian Volcanoes" (Kawainui Press, 1985, $8.95) has sold 85,000 copies and was the 10th best-selling Hawaiiana book last year.
On the eve of the centennial of Hawaii's annexation, the painter who recreates historical events calls the Committee of Public Safety, a secret society that conspired against the Hawaiian monarchy, an "ineffectual group."
"It was the Marines that did it, not these guys; they didn't have the muscle to do it. It was not a locally homegrown thing. It was something brought about by a clique in the U.S. government, and something for which the United States is totally responsible and has to be held responsible.
"I guess that's the bottom line, not only for annexation but also for the overthrow (of the monarchy) -- it has to be recognized as a case of justice not having been served, as something that's still owed to the Hawaiian people. It has to go down as an IOU that hasn't been collected.
"Something will come along," he laughs softly.
Kane is a renaissance man -- the primary designer and builder of the Hokule'a voyaging canoe, a high point in the Hawaiian renaissance of the early 1970s. A co-founder of the Polynesian Voyaging Society, he was the vessel's first captain on its maiden voyage through the Hawaiian archipelago.
"Hokule'a was important, it was a catalyst. But I think there's a lot of renaissance that has been going on that a lot of people aren't even aware of. People are doing crafts in their carports without a lot of fanfare, very quietly. There's continual progress and I'm optimistic about that. I see generally a recovery of Hawaiian culture going on.
"What's sad is we are able to recover only the tip of the iceberg and, in talking about ancient Hawaii, all we can produce is a little book. So much is irretrievably lost, so we can't even write about it without some invention and speculation."
Kane gazes down from his own windows at history's scenes, both physical and intangible.
"Nevertheless, what we do know about it is fascinating, and it shows the values those people had -- the courage and resourcefulness they had to develop a culture of richness, in an island environment that was so isolated, without metals, without fossil fuels, things we take for granted.
"They were able to develop a very complex culture. That's really the basic story line throughout the whole book -- how they did so much with so little. And, the more I learn about those old people, the more I have to stand in awe."
