Explore Animism And Totemism In Contemporary Hawaiian Art

With this exhibition, Hale Nauā III begins a new journey into the world of traditional and conceptual contemporary art forms. The exhibition will showcase over two-dozen native artists, including Native Hawaiians, as well as indigenous artists from across the North American continent. Hale Nauā has reached across the Pacific to foster relationships with many of the nation's leading Native American artists, including Ed Archie Noisecat (Shuswap/Stlitlimx) and Phillip Charette (Yupik).

According to Directors Rocky and Lucia Jensen, the exhibition will powerfully illustrate the influences that Animism and Totemism, which are fundamental beliefs of all First Nation People, have on artistic expression. The exhibition will also include rare ÿaumakua images from the Bishop Museum's own unrivaled collection.

Says Bishop Museum project Manager Noelle Kahanu, "Pa'a Ka La'a embodies the native Hawiian belief that all things are imbued with life: thunder and lightening and rain-laden clouds; the Hawaiian hawk that streaks through the sky and the mo'o (lizard) moves among the underbrush."

Pa'a Ka La'a will also honor artist Leialoha Kanahele, who has been a member of Hale Nauā III since 1976. Māui-born, Leialoha Kanahele is a descendent of Ali'i Nui Kahekilinui'ahumanu and Kahuna Nui Hewahewa. She received her formal training at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. With Hale Nauā III for thirty years, Kanahele has contributed to hundreds of exhibitions, in the islands and abroad. She has remained steadfast in the pursuit of making others aware of the esoteric meaning of her homeland.

Her surreal landscapes of the Ko'olau Mountains evoke the time-honored indigenous traditions that all things have soul. Kanahele's paintings are in the collection of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and in numerous corporate and private collections throughout the world. At 80, Kanahele is perhaps the organization's most esteemed member. She is currently on a quest to document Sacred Sites throughout Ka Pae 'Ä€ina.

By www.bishopmuseum.org