Time's ripe for ...
THE show of
art shows
By Suzanne Tswei
Special to the Star-BulletinIT goes like this every year. The Honolulu Academy of Arts -- the islands' grande dame of art institutions -- puts out a call for everyone in the state to enter the "Artists of Hawai'i" exhibit. Hundreds of entries pour in, from professionals and amateurs alike. A mainland art expert is invited here to do the judging.
The exhibit opens, and everyone becomes an instant art critic. Second guessing the judge and prattling over who made the cut and who didn't become as much an event as the exhibit itself.
In the words of George Ellis, director of the academy, the show is "always eclectic and stimulating" and "sometimes controversial" but "never dull."
ON EXHIBIT
What: "Artists of Hawai'i"
It is the show everyone loves to hate, or at least has an opinion about. And people come in droves to see it.
Today, for the 49th year, the academy opens the doors to perhaps the most talked about -- if not the largest, the most important and the most popular -- art show in the islands. The anticipation has been building for months.
"It's really a crap shoot," says painter Lynda Hess, a veteran of the annual exhibit. "You never know if you'll get in. Of course, if you do get in, they'll let you know in advance, but then you don't know who else got in -- until the show actually opens. I can't wait to see it."
Already the buzz is that the juror, Lucinda Barnes, executive director of the Boise Art Museum, more fashionably known as BAM, was very selective.
"You know, Hawaii has the coconut wireless. I heard this year hardly anybody got in. And the people who always get in didn't get in. And the people who never get in got in," says Hess, whose painting of a contorted human figure passed the grade this year.
The academy received 867 art works by 354 artists for consideration this year. Only 83 pieces by 69 artists were chosen for the show. It's that kind of tough evaluation that makes being part of the show a much sought-after honor. It is a vehicle for the unknown to gain a foothold and the established to maintain their reputation."It's pretty much the only juried show I do," says up-and-coming artist Jason Teraoka. "It's the biggest organized show in the state. You are up against a whole bunch of people. You want to see how you do in something like that."
Teraoka's painting of a man being kicked in the groin is selected this year, and this is his second time in the annual show.
Doug Young, a painter whose life-like and lyrical work has earned him a sterling reputation through nearly three decades, but not a regular spot in the exhibit, agrees the show is important and prestigious.
"This is where you want to make your mark. But I've been out of it more than in it. Of course, you are happy when you get in, and you are not if you don't. I take it with a grain of salt," Young says, noting he has developed thick skin because of rejections.
Young is included in the show for the sixth time. He also is the winner of the GYM-Honolulu Award for Artistic Achievement. It is one of eight cash awards given to artists whose works are selected for the show. His award is $400.
All three artists say they are surprised and elated about being chosen, but they are trying not to let their in status go to their heads. After all, the selection is subject to the opinion of one person who may have preconceived ideas of island art. Next year the process begins all over again and everyone is back to the starting position.
In addition to the juried exhibit, the academy also showcases works by three invited artists as part of the "Artists of Hawai'i" exhibit. They are Claudia Johnson of Maui, Pat Hickman and Reiko Mochinaga Brandon, all fiber artists. AWARD WINNERS
Award winners in the juried portion of the exhibit are:
Click for online
calendars and events.
