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This Sunday Heidi Chang |
Photographers explore joy
and pain of natural worldIf you're looking for a way to take a break during the hustle and bustle of the holidays, you might find yourself revived by a celebration of photography at the Honolulu Academy of Arts this month. Some extraordinary images of people and places in Hawaii and around the world are showcased in three exhibitions.
"In Focus: A Hawaii Photography Invitational," features the work of some of Hawaii's leading photographers like Franco Salmoiraghi, Wayne Levin, David Ulrich and Shuzo Uemoto, who approaches photography as a magical kind of drawing. Through his photos, Uemoto tries to see a sense of beauty in non-native plants, not normally considered beautiful, while still expressing the spirit of the land.
The exhibit also includes the work of respected Hawaii photographers, Stan Tomita, Mark Hamasaki, Kapulani Landgraf, Sergio Goes, Tom Haar and others.
In a separate exhibition, Brett Weston's photography explores the theme, "Hawaii, Leaves and Lava."
Topping things off, the academy just opened its largest photography exhibit in 20 years -- "In Celebration of Light: Photographs from the Collection of Cherye and James Pierce." It's a photographer's dream to view 121 prints by some of the world's most celebrated photographers all in one place. Artists such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Imogen Cunningham, Diane Arbus and Robert Mapplethorpe, to name just a few.
During the show's opening, Jim Pierce pointed out two photographs shown side by side: The University Library in Sarajevo in 1988 and the same library reduced to rubble after being bombed. "How transient things can be in life," he reflected, noting "the sadness and destruction of war."
Franco Salmoiraghi is the only Hawaii photographer whose work is also featured in the Pierce collection. Cherye Pierce describes Salmoiraghi's work as "absolutely breathtaking" while admiring his "mystical piece" called "Angel of Choice."
It captures a Butoh dancer's outstretched hands as she prepares for a concert to commemorate the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. She's dressed in a gauze-like kimono, symbolic of the material used to bandage burn victims.
As many gather to celebrate the holidays and pray for peace on earth, why not take a moment to explore the human condition or the beauty of nature through the lens of a photographer. It opens you up to different perspectives and makes you aware of how others view the world.
Heidi Chang is a freelance writer and producer.