Local Color
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It's taken Russell Sunabe nearly 14 years to address an unfinished chapter from his Big Island sugar plantation roots, and he speaks his mind eloquently with paint and brush on canvas. Artist’s painting pays overdue
tribute to close friend"I am finally paying tribute to my friend James Cabatbat, that's C-A-B-A-T-B-A-T, like saying 'bat' twice," Sunabe explains, carefully spelling out his best friend's name without any prompting.
The two grew up at Hakalau but didn't get to know each other well until they were attending the University of Hawaii-Hilo. Cabatbat, two years older, was passionate about local issues such as native sovereignty and resurgence of Hawaiian culture, and his enthusiasm rubbed off on Sunabe.
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"Everything was happening in the '70s, and he was really into it. He took a class from Aunty Edith Kanaka'ole (an icon of Hawaii culture), and because of him, I took the class, too," Sunabe recalls. "Naturally he became the teacher's pet, and because of him, I became the teacher's pet, too."The two young men, part of a group with similar backgrounds, hung out together and formed a close friendship. After graduation, Cabatbat survived a tour of Vietnam in which he was badly injured: He was sitting on a tank when an incendiary missile struck, leaving him with serious burns. Cabatbat recovered and after his return to Hawaii became a national park ranger. But he became ill with cancer and died in 1988, leaving three young children and a void in Sunabe's life.
"It was really sad. While I mourned him, I couldn't do anything," Sunabe says. "I couldn't deal with his death for a long time -- until this summer."
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The painting, in Sunabe's signature dark, brooding, neo-expressive style, shows a male figure lying on a dark and barren landscape. A double-hulled canoe looms in the background, accompanied by the heart of a taro plant -- symbols that were dear to Cabatbat, an advocate of local culture. A burst of bright yellow above the body signifies spiritual light and perhaps rebirth of his spirit."To me, this is the most important painting in the exhibit. This is what the exhibit is about," says Sunabe, explaining his "Remain in Light" series of paintings on view at Bibelot Gallery in Kaimuki.
The painting, and another in a similar style, stands in stark contrast to the rest in the series. The other paintings are really drawings -- charcoal on sepia-tone canvas -- and are surrealistic portrayals of subjects also important in his life.
Both of his children are depicted riding on sea creatures. His 6-year-old daughter, Kelli, flies in the sky on the back of an octopus. His 10-year-old son, Tyler, glides above the Koolaus on a giant ulua. (Judging from the brisk sale on opening night, the drawings were a big hit.)
New work in oil and charcoal by Russell Sunabe Remain in Light
Place: Biblot Gallery, 1130 Koko Head Ave., Suite 2
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, through March 22
Call: 738-0368
"These drawings are a diversion for me," Sunabe says. "I did them because I wanted to do something fun, and I used things that you find in Hawaii." Describing his paintings as "contemporary allegories for and of Hawaii," he says the series is also a tribute to his home.
"I am a regional artist living in Hawaii, and I am from the pidgin local culture. I definitely feel very adamant about being part of the Hawaiian culture.
"You cannot help but work from yourself. That's the greatest resource; that's the well you draw from. Because I grew up in Hawaii, that's part of who I am. I like to honor that."
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San Francisco art patron Jesse Shenson, also a supporter of the arts in Hawaii, died last week in San Francisco. Shenson and his brother, Ben, were both medical doctors and donated "The Lei Maker," a popular painting by Theodore Wores, to the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The academy's newly renovated Chinese art gallery is named after the brothers, who also gave an endowment to the museum.
Meeting deadlines is a pain, but it can give a needed boost -- in accolades or in money -- to the pursuit of art. Here are a few coming up:
>> March 15 is the deadline for applications for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts' Folk Arts Apprenticeship Awards. The awards range from $2,000 to $4,000 for each master-and-apprentice team. Call Michael Schuster, 586-0306, for more information.
Applications for the foundation's programs also is available online at www.state.hi.us/sfca.
>> April 1 is the deadline for performing artists to apply for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts' Individual Artist Fellowships. The fellowships range from $5,000 to $7,000 each. Call Carol Hasegawa, 586-0736, for more information.
Gardening Calendar
Suzanne Tswei's art column runs Sundays in Today.
You can write her at the Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI, 96813
or email stswei@starbulletin.com
