A Legacy of Inspiration
As a great repository of knowledge, UHManoa is an ideal location to showcase the forerunners of Hawaii’s printmaking tradition. Home in on Hamilton Library, and in the study alcove you’ll find 30 prints and some bios from a succession of 23 artists gracing the walls, commanding serious contemplation of the flow of artistic talent in Hawaii. A medieval-looking, hand-operated printing press is also on view, offering additional depth and a genuine feel for the historical nature of the prints.
The display offers tidbits that spark the imagination. Formed in 1928, Honolulu Printmakers (event sponsor) is one of Hawaii’s oldest art organizations. One of its founders, Huc Lucquiens, was, in 1924, the first art instructor at UH. The exhibit is one of his realistic impressions of our island landscape, a land he called, “the one perfect place in all the world.” The collection also includes a landscape print by the head of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin art department in the 1920s and ’30s, John Kelly, who enjoyed depicting the Polynesian people in his work. Other notable figures include local artist Isami Doi, whose print depicts his inner, emotional world as much as an external landscape of Kauai. Two Jean Charlot prints, one of the most world-renowned artists to work in Hawaii, also are on display.
“The concept for ‘Lineage: A Family Tree of Printmakers’ originated in a discussion I had with Tom Klobe (exhibition design guru, and a personal and artistic mentor of mine and fellow member of the Gallery Iolani advisory board),” says exhibit curator Erika Molyneux. “We spoke about how many art students remember the teachers that inspired them but often know little about their teachers’ mentors and inspirations that indirectly shaped their experiences. I wanted to start uncovering the human connections that resulted in the rich, local printmaking community that exists in Hawaii.”
LINEAGE
When: Through May 27, and at Windward Community College’s Gallery Iolani in the fall
Where: UH Manoa’s Hamilton Library
More Info: hawaii.edu/calendar/uh/2013 (under Ongoing Events)
ALSO SHOWING
Lethal Blight
A fat monkey clutches at the back of a withered, bilious creature, grabbing at its throat and shoving a smoking glass pipe into its mouth. The forceful message about crystal meth’s death grip on our Island community is replicated in adjacent student-designed posters lining the state Capitol chamber level foyer (through March 22, and at Honolulu Hale March 25-April 12; also viewable at methproject.org/action/hawaii/takeastand.html). The location suggests an important message: The issue is weighty, and our state’s decision-makers are paying attention.
Young, unsophisticated voices offer profound sentiment in short essays also adorning the wall: “A little twitch goes off in my mind every time I hear or think about meth,” says an anonymous 14-year old girl. “Would I ever do it again? I honestly couldn’t tell you. I don’t know if I would have the self-control to not smoke it if it was near me.”
The showcased submissions, including winning entries, come from Hawaii Meth Project’s statewide teen art contest, “Take a Stand Against Meth.” The pictures by Hawaii’s youths demonstrate grasp of a subject matter beyond their years, meaning the Meth Project is having the intended impact, inculcating the most vulnerable members of our community against the very real nightmare lurking at our backs.
