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.
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.
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 role of a kahuna in the Hawaiian culture takes on the responsibility of keeping a balance between the people and the nation. In doing so, they apply their field of expertise towards assisting the aliʻi and the makaʻāinana. In ancient Hawai’i, there were many different types of kāhuna that had a skill set that contributed or benefited the community. In this paper I will discuss the different ways a kahuna achieves this type of balance within the lāhui. These kuleana include advising the aliʻi to make pono decisions, guiding the makaʻāinana in their daily lives and practices, and taking care of the spiritual side of the Hawaiian culture and traditional practices of the people.
...e" (Trask xix). This incident beautifully illustrates and signifies tourism's impact in American society. Like most Americans, this woman uses a discourse that has been shaped by tourist advertisements and souvenirs. The woman's statement implies that Trask resembles what the tourist industry projects, as if this image created Hawaiian culture. As Trask asserts, Hawaiian culture existed long before tourism and has been exploited by tourism in the form of advertisements and items such as postcards. Along with the violence, endangered environment, and poverty, this exploitation is what the tourist industry does not want to show. However, this is the Hawai'i Haunani-Kay Trask lives in everyday. "This is Hawai'i, once the most fragile and precious of sacred places, now transformed by the American behemoth into a dying land. Only a whispering spirit remains" (Trask 19).
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.
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.
Brown, DeSoto. "Beautiful, Romantic Hawaii: How the Fantasy Image Came to Be." The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts. 20 (1994): 252-271.
...Hawai`i’s economy is very dependent on tourism, however many locals are possessive of their land, and as they stereotype tourists, many do not accept others as they have a unity for their own. Numerous individuals feel the desideratum to fit the local stereotype because they prefer not to be labeled as a “haole”. It becomes tough and rather intense for an individual, because becoming haole betokens that you forgot and disregarded the local or Hawaiian quality values and ways of routes, as well as the flowing stream of life in the islands. We need to remind ourselves that regardless of where we emanate from, our skin tone, race, physical characteristics, and so forth, everybody ought to acknowledge just for who we/they are and treat one another like 'ohana and show "aloha", and subsequently, we can determinately verbally express "This is it. This is Paradise" (33).
Jovik, Sonia P. and James O. Jovik. (1997). “History.” Atlas of Hawaii. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, p.408.
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).
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.
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.