Hawaiian Art Culture
The cultural art of Hawaii reflects off of the innate beauty of the land. The meaningful and religious songs, the graceful Hawaiian dances, and the various interesting art forms that seem to be created with only one purpose. To serve as instruments through which the mystery and beauty of the place is expressed. It is said that the art of Hawaii is diverse and complex, with a broad range of styles to sure please pundits of all ages. From intricate koa wood carvings to surf photography, fine art, coconut weaving, lei making, printmaking, heirloom jewelry and paintings.
History:
A lot of events in Hawaiian culture consist of festivals. The Merrie Monarch Day Festival,
Aloha Festival, Kamehameha Festival and Lei Day. One of
The flat, painted style and narrative is unmistakably a Wei artwork. Dow: Island takes us through a range of human emotions. Seen on the canvas is unmistakably a map, a map unrecognisable to any cartographer. The islands on the map are completely figments of the artists imagination. These islands are set in a sea of an infinite variety of blues contrasting against the white stylised clouds. Giving the viewer a bird’s eye view over the landscapes. Wei’s little fragile figures are present on the canvas and are on a seemingly impossible journey. They inhabit the three main islands.
As every other culture, Hawaii has its own myths and stories. Holo Mai Pele tells the creation myth of Hawaii and this myth holds the same stature for Hawaiians as Genesis for Western (Christian) cultures and Ramayana for Hinduism. Holo Mai Pele is an epic saga of the Hawaiian god of volcano Pele, and her sister Hi'iaka. The major themes present in the story are sibling rivalry, love, conflict and creation. Simultaneously, it tells a story of an individual's journey to her self-awareness and reclaiming her status as a deity. The purpose of Holo Mai Pele is to keep the Hawaiian myth alive in order to pass it down to future generations. The poetic aspects of the play make it easier to remember and interesting to perform.
My friends, after traveling through the Asian continent and Japan, I continued on to the Americas. The art in the Americas has three regions, North America, Central America, and South America. Each region has a very distinct aspect to their forms of art. All cultures have some kind of art. Being curious about art, I have collected samples from five different areas. The following works of art are very different from European art, but there are still some similarities. The similarities of the human spirit are evident in the following images.
The Mahele was a land division in 1848 that created a massive alteration to the Hawaiians’ society. The Mahele was enacted because King Kamehameha III wanted to prevent the foreigners from completely taking control over the lands of Hawaii. The Mahele was also enacted to grant Hawaiians an ample amount of land. However, the Mahele did not accomplish its intended purpose. Ultimately, the foreigners gained the generality of the land and Hawaiians were left with a meager amount of land or no land at all (Cachola). Therefore, the Mahele did not benefit the Hawaiians because only foreigners had sufficient money to purchase the land and because the land that was given to the Hawaiians had limited resources (Menton and Tamura 116).
What is one thing that stands out in most peoples’ minds when they think of Hawaii? Most people would probably say the hula dance. The hula dance descended from, or can be traced to Polynesia and India. The Hula was a form of poetry for the Hawaiians in all of its sacred and ceremonial forms.
Thinking back through history, the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a monumental, sadening take over. The Committee of Safety or the Annexationist were at a verbal war with power of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii has been in the threat of annexation for a while and while some support the monarchy others despise it. For the Reciprocity Treaty to the Bayonet Constitution to the Spanish American War, all of these events lead up to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom mostly unfairly and illegally. The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was unjustified because of the unfairness and illegalness from the opponents such as, John Stevens and the secrecy from the Committee of Safety.
As described by Linnekin and Bierle (2003), Hawaiians are a subsistence combination culture that are in the sub region off Polynesia. Hawaiians are indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands. They descended from Eastern Polynesians who originated in the Marquesas Islands. The current Hawaiian population is estimated to be 175,000 people. “Pure” Hawaiians, or people who are completely Hawaiian, consists of only about 9,000 people. Few Hawaiians can speak the Hawaiian language because it was suppressed in the mid-1900s. Most Hawaiians now speak Hawai’i island Creole, known as “Pidgin” by many who speak it.
Brown, DeSoto. "Beautiful, Romantic Hawaii: How the Fantasy Image Came to Be." The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts. 20 (1994): 252-271.
Jovik, Sonia P. and James O. Jovik. (1997). “History.” Atlas of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p.408.
The two artworks I decided to discuss are A thousand peaks and myriad ravines by Wang Hui for the Chinese artwork and View of Kojima Bay by Ike Taiga as the Japanese artwork. Both these share a few similarities including the subject of the artwork being the landscape and naturalism. In A thousand peaks and myriad ravines by Wang Hui you can notice very clear detailing and lining from the top trees of the mountains to the very small fishers and scholars portrayed towards the bottom and center of the artwork. Primarily, this artwork emphasizes the detail. The portrait is mostly taken up by the mountains and that around it. The range of colors used in this hanging scroll consist of the grey scale and a golden bronze done with a very thin brush.
Hawaii also creates the perfect location for a love story. Mark O’Bannon guides young writers that choosing a setting is nearly as important as the story itself. He encourages people to think about the genre and the message it portrays (O’Bannon 1). Hawaii offers the perfect answer to everything screen writer Wing wanted to drive through to viewers. Hawaii is charming with white beaches, beautiful flowers, and stunning sunsets. All of these natural beauties offer the ideal equation to a heart touching love story. Although it is stereotypical, Hawaii is the perfect location to host such a unique story.
The Polynesian peoples have a lifestyle quite different than that of any other culture, as living on an island requires a level of flexible adaptability in order to cope with such a different, sometimes difficult environment. We see the way diverse cultures build their lives around their circumstances and how they respect them in their cultural myths and stories. The Polynesian legends emphasize the physical environment that they live in. They are quite different than any other region in the world, but the beauty and individuality of the Polynesian culture is prominent as seen in their mythology.
As a native Hawaiian, Kristiana Kahakauwila has extensive knowledge on Hawaiian customs and culture. Though she was not raised in Hawaii, Kristiana is still connected to the culture. Her upbringing in California did not separate her from the customs of Hawaii. Kristiana has a master’s in fine arts and a degree in comparative literature. Her degrees and background with Hawaiian culture led her to write the book “This is Paradise,” which is composed of multiple short stories. Each short story unveils a new layer of Hawaiian culture that many people tend to overlook. Before the first short story begins, Kristiana sets the tone for the novel with the cover of the book.
The Hopi Indians use art in their everyday life from woven rugs to clay pots. Art is a very important aspect of the tribe’s life and each piece is said to have a story behind it. The Hopi tribe even has dances said to bring luck and prosper to the community. They also have a very unique piece of art that ties directly to their religion, kachinas mask and dolls.
Art can be regarded as one of the greatest pastimes. From the several finger paintings of the family created in Kindergarten to the priceless paintings and artifacts found in the Louvre, art is appreciated by all. In Lamen’s terms, art can be defined as a way of expressing oneself. Although many people consider art to consist of paintings and drawings the variety of subjects under this heading are numerous. Some include sculptures, music, and even photography. However, of all these, paintings are regarded as some of the most common inner expressions. Inner expressions range from love to grief, but a specific example is respect for nature. These images enable one to exercise the imagination in ways daily life is not capable. A good painting will allow one to dream into a world unlike their own, feel the terror, or serenity. Also by simply looking at a painting, one can tell about the feelings of the artist at that time. It is rare to not see a depiction of some natural landscape. With their talent, artists express their love and respect for nature through the simple brush strokes. Two paintings represent this fact. One entitled Port of Ostia During a Tempest, by Leonardo Carlo Coccorante, is a depiction of a violent storm. The second painting by Sanford Glifford, entitled Kaaterskill Falls, is a more subtle painting of a valley. This expression has been seen from the beginning of man, when he first drew on the walls of caves hoping to extract the souls from the animals, throughout the course of history.