[ LOCAL COLOR ]
Review by
Seann Kojima
"Fish Camera: Pinhole Papio" by Scott Terufumi Kubo seems formulaic at first, but its amusing appeal wins out.
Local art show
gratifiesSeveral works command
the eye at this welcome,
varied exhibit
I must confess. I always go to the "Artists of Hawai'i" show with low expectations. Perhaps I've become a snob after spending several years cruising galleries and museums on the mainland. I started assuming that locally produced contemporary art won't be of the same caliber as the abstract expressionistic art that came out of Hawaii in the '50s and '60s. I expect to see art that is derivative and second-rate.Year after year, however, I am humbled by the art and leave pleasantly surprised. There's always something that catches my attention, makes me laugh and makes me think. This year's show is no exception.
The person responsible for this year's provocative show is former Honolulu Academy of Arts Director George Ellis, who doesn't need to be convinced of the quality of art produced in Hawaii. Whereas past jurors have come from outside the state, it is refreshing to have a juror who is akamai about the local art scene, whose selections are unfettered by the artistic trends and biases of the mainland.
Painting dominates the show not just in scale, but in quantity. This could be a reflection of Ellis' background as a painter. That being said, he seems to have made a vigorous attempt to include a wide range of media. In addition to the traditional genres of painting, sculpture, printmaking and ceramic art, there is also a variety of textile art, woodworking and digital art on view.
Here is a small sampling of the many works that held my gaze:
Karen Lucas' "Ohana" was among the 91 works selected for "Artists of Hawaii 2003."
>> "Fish Camera: Pinhole Papio," by Scott Terufumi Kubo
This piece is a crowd-pleaser. As the title suggests, it is a pinhole camera, made out of wood and shaped like a papio. At first this piece because seemed formulaic -- add a disparate object to a recognizable icon, throw in some unexpected materials, and voilà, you've got art. But how can you resist a papio? The randomness of the camera parts and tripod stuck to it were amusing. Was it a commentary on commercialism or the nonfunctionality of art? I'm not sure, but I smile when I think about it.
>> "Whim," by Gaye Chan
The frame on the right side of this delightful diptych contains a handkerchief laid out flat, with the outline of a humanlike skeleton cut into it. The frame on the left contains tiny bones organized into different categories, which makes it seem as though the handkerchief was the site of a small-scale excavation, the recovered bones cleaned and ready to be shipped off to a natural-history museum.
I got caught up trying to identify the bones on display. Was it a bird? Was it a lizard? Could all the bones on the left really fit into the spaces on the right? There were more leg bones and lower jaws than could fit into a single organism. I had become an unwitting participant in the artist's attempt to parody the human tendency to isolate and categorize unfamiliar things.
>> "Carved," by Keiko Kamata
There is no image to be found in this abstract woodcut comprising multiple cuts of a sharp chisel on wood, printed in black ink on paper, that blew me away.
I was impressed by the physicality of the piece, at over 3 feet tall. Creating a decent print from a woodcut that size is no small feat.
I was also struck by the intricacy of the patterns in the print. The darker areas, where the cuts are deeper and more angular, create stepping points for your eye to move throughout the print, much like the craggy bark of a tree trunk. The lighter areas, where the cuts are broader, invoke shimmering pockets of light. It's easy to imagine the aggressive chips and violent gouges of the woodcutting tools that must have gone into creating this piece that would have made Clement Greenburg proud.
>> "Kalo-Taro," by Lisa Louise Adams
This may be the show's most poignant piece. At first glance it looks like an ordinary Hawaiian quilt of a symmetrical and stylized taro plant set against a contrasting background.
Upon closer examination however, it becomes clear that several things are out of joint. The fabric has been stained and the quilt's color is muddy. The taro leaves are shrunken and withered. The plants seem to be slipping off of their supports. And at the center of the quilt, a large "X" dominates, offering a bleak commentary on the plight of Hawaiian culture.
Go to the show and see for yourself the wealth of art being produced in Hawaii. You won't be disappointed.
Seann Kojima is an artist and teacher at Mililani Middle School.
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Award winners announced
Curatorial and administrative staff at the Honolulu Academy of Arts have selected the following works from the "Artists of Hawaii 2003" exhibition for awards. Each award is accompanied by a stipend.
>> The Alfred Preis Memorial Award for the Visual Arts: Vanessa Boer for "Gutter Songs."
>> The Jean Charlot Foundation Award for Excellence: Gaye Chan for "Whim."
>> Cynthia Eyre Award: Jeffrey Kurosaki for "I Miss Our Every Yesterdays."
>> The Roselle Davenport Award for Artistic Excellence: Renee Iijima for "A Dream of Karma."
>> The Reuben Tam Award for Painting: Cory Morgenstein for "Self Portrait."
>> The Melusine Award for Painting: Jianjie Ji for "Virtual Screen."
>> The Baciu Visual Arts Award: Franco Salmoiraghi for "Paia Sugar Plantation."
>> The Honolulu Academy of Arts Director's Choice Award: Sally French for "Ballso Talks Bubblespeak."
"Self Portrait" by Cory Morgenstein
"A Dream of Karma" by Renee Iijima
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