Art Program
The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts appointed an Art Advisory Committee that was responsible for selecting artists to be commissioned for the $2 million art collection housed throughout the Hawai‘i Convention Center as part of the Arts in Public Places Program.
Outside
Shige Yamada, Gift of Water [1997]
Bronze - Location: Front entrance
Gift of Water represents a spring offering water. Symbolically, it acknowledges the Hawaiian people for their generosity and expressions of goodwill to newcomers. Like life-giving water, this wellspring of aloha nourishes all.
Level 1 – Exhibit Hall/Lobby
Hiroki Morinoue, Ma uka, Ma kai [1997]
Acrylic on wood - Location: Main entry/lobby (Level 1, above the entrance to the Exhibit Halls)
Ma uka, Ma kai (Towards the mountain, towards the sea). Large veins of lava formed fingerlike patterns, harden like monuments against the sea. Mountains were formed with time. The wind, rain and sand were in constant dialogue, shaping the island’s contours. Land and sea were precious to everyone.
Don Dugal, Milo in Permanent Green, Noni in Sap Green, Tree Heliotrope in Terra Verte [2001]Location: 3 watercooler niches (Level 1)
Level 3 – Meeting Rooms/Theaters
John Wisnosky, For the Adventurers [1997]
Acrylic on wood - Location: Ala Halawai Concourse (Level 3)
The earliest adventurers of the Pacific observed birds, felt currents, embraced winds and read stars, all the while not knowing what lay ahead. We are humbled by their courage and abilities. We are forever in their debt. We must remember them.
Rick Mills, Reef Map [1998]
Glass, copper, stainless steel - Location: Ala Halawai Concourse (Level 3)
The timeless beauty of Hawaiian waters and the mystery of aquatic archaeology are inspirations for Reef Map. The perpetually changing togographic features of the ocean floor are frozen in space for detailed inspection and contemplation.
Mataumu Alisa, Imu [1998]
Polychromed ceramic tiles - Location: Ala Halawai Concourse (Level 3)
The setting of this mural is around the ritual of preparing an imu (underground oven). The ritual is participated in by the people, the land, the sea, and the air. The scene depicts men placing food in the imu.
Hans Ladislaus, Forgotten Inheritance [1997]
Concrete, bronze, plaster - Location: Ala Halawai Concourse (Level 3)
Sometimes, it is when we realize we have forgotten to care for this fragile and unique place that we can begin to remember what we have inherited. This mural suggests both our solid and tenuous connections with our immediate environment and the world, as well as our past and future.
Jay Wilson, Hawaiian Tapestry [1997]
Glass mosaic - Location: Ala Halawai Concourse (Level 3)
The beauty of Hawai‘i is captured in a tapestry of stylized images incorporating a sun (abstracted from a gourd rattle), canoe lashings and outriggers, surf, a fish hook, tattoos, kapa patterns, Hawaiian flora and fauna.
David Kuraoka, Kumulipo [1997]
Pit fired ceramics - Location: Ala Halawai Concourse (Level 3)
Each tile is an image of Hawai‘i’s creation in fire, its volcanoes, mountains, canyons, valleys, rocks, skies, streams or ocean. The completed mural is composed as a Hawaiian chant or melody, haunting, rhythmic and romantic.
Masami Teraoka, Green Rabbit Island [1998]
Oil on canvas - Location: Ma kai/‘Ewa corner (Level 3)
Rabbit Island, whose Hawaiian name is Manana, lies across from the dramatic cliffs of Makapu‘u on O‘ahu’s east coast. Hawai‘i is a land of travelers from ancient Polynesian settlers to modern day tourists. Rabbit Island continues to greet visitors with Hawaiian courtesy, its surrounding blue waters mesmerizing viewers and inviting them to return. In this painting an unexpected rainy season brings an outburst of lush vegetation to the island, leaving it glowing like an emerald amidst the ever-churning foam and waves.
Student Art Exhibition, My Island and Me [1998 – now]
Location: Pa Kamali‘i Courtyard (also referred to as the Children’s Courtyard, Level 3)
A competitive annual exhibition was developed by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Arts in Education Program, in cooperation with the Department of Education, the Hawai‘i Association of Independent Schools, and the Honolulu Academy of Arts. My Island and Me encouraged all participants to express how they feel about, look at, or interpret their island homes. Each school is allowed to enter up to 10 works for judging at the district level. After final review at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, 96 works are selected for the exhibition. Exhibitions go in a yearly cycle: elementary students one year, intermediate students the next year, and then high school students.
Ron Kowalke, Windows of Fire [1998]
Aluminum, neon - Location: Ma kai/Diamond Head corner (Level 3)
Windows of Fire embraces the idea of viewing the world through our physical and spiritual senses. Touching the panels symbolizes our connection with the earth, the energy of the land, and the essence of Hawai‘i.
Michael G.B. Tom, `A Pele [1998]
Copper - Location: Ma uka/Diamond Head corner (Level 3)
`A Pele (in the nature of Pele) is a visual reminder that from Pele’s bowels flow not only the life force of creation, but also the same force reclaiming that which is hers.
Jean Charlot, Chief’s Canoe, [1956]
Buon fresco - Location: Pa Kaloka Courtyard (also referred to as the Charlot Courtyard, Level 3)
The inspiration for these frescoes was drawn from the culture of the Hawaiian people in appreciation for the contribution they have made to the understanding of our life in this universe. Chief’s Canoe portrays the dignity with which the Hawaiian people presented their cultural gifts to their first foreign visitors and to the world. The other frescoes describe the creation of Hawaiian culture. Hawaiians are as immersed in their environment as swimmers in the sea and celebrate the beauty of that experience in their arts.
Reiko Brandon, ‘Anuenue
Woven wallhanging - Location: Lili`u Theater (Level 3)
Reiko Brandon was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1935. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958 from Rikyo University, Tokyo, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1974 from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
Museum Display Facilities
Location: Ma uka Corridor (Level 3)
Six display cases have been provided to display art on loan from visual arts museums, institutions, and organizations including the State Art Collection. Each case is approximately 10 ft. high by 12 ft. wide by 3 ft. deep, with climate control to accommodate a wide variety of museum artifacts. Exhibits showcase the diversity of the traditional and contemporary arts of Hawai‘i.
Lawrence Calcagno, Homage to Kilauea
Oil on canvas - Location: Pa Kalihi Courtyard (Level 3)
Lawrence Calcagno (1916-1993) was born in San Francisco, California. He studied at the California School of Fine Arts (1947-1950). Academic de la Grande Chaumiere in Paris (1950-1951) and the Academia degli Belle Arte in Florence (1951-1952).
Carol Bennett, Rise, Fall, Drink [2001]
Enamel and oil on glass - Location: 3 watercooler niches (Level 3)
Bob Flint, Awapuhi ‘Uli‘uli, Awapuhi Luheluhe, Awapuhi Kookoo [2001]
Ceramic tile - Location: 3 watercooler niches (Level 1 and 3)
Level 4 – Ballroom/Rooftop Garden
Allyn Bromley, A Walk From Downtown to Waikiki [1999]
Screenprinting on clayboard
Location: Exterior wall of the ballroom (Level 4)
A Walk represents a collage of printed images. Imagery is reminiscent of actual places from the Aloha Tower to Waikiki with identifiable downtown buildings, water vistas, prominent landmarks that are signatures of our city.
Tadashi Sato, Nakalele [1998]
Oil on canvas - Location: Kalakaua Ballroom (Level 4)
Impressions of the north shore of Maui are depicted in this landscape of Nakalele Point. Its rugged terrain, natural beauty, and serenity are conveyed through the use of restrained color, shapes, and values.
Satoru Abe, Reaching for the Sun [1998]
Bronze metal - Location: Rooftop Garden Pool (Level 4)
Seaweed forms growing and reaching for the sun symbolize man’s quest for his highest achievement.
Brendt Burger, Petroglyph Art [1999]
Acrylic polymer - Location: Wall art along the Ala Wai Corridor
The wall images represent the lush physicality of the islands seen in dense foliage as well as references to Pele and lava. The 6 islands are linked together by a continuous chain of kamaka maoli.
Doug Young, Plant Series: Bromeliad #3, Water Series #3 [2001]
Porcelain enamel on steel - Location: 3 watercooler niches (Level 3 and 4)