Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 4, Number 5, 1 May 1987 — Folk Art Traditions on Display [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Folk Art Traditions on Display

Academy Exhibitions Feature Paniolo, Molokai

"Na Paniolo O Hawaii: Folk Art Traditions of Cowboys in Hawaii," is an exhibition whieh will have its premiere showing May 17-June 14 in the Lecture Gallery at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. The Kauai Museum will also premiere the exhibit from 12 noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, July 4. A special ho'olaule'a is planned with music and demonstrations of traditional paniolo skills. In Honolulu, the exhibition is organized by the Folk Arts Program of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts with Lynn J. Martin, SFCA Folk Arts coordinator, as curator. Additional support has eome from the National Endowment for the Arts, Bank of Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines, the Davis family of Hu'ehu'e Ranch and Kahau/Pono Holo Ranch, with other contributions from Haleakala Ranch, Kealakekua Ranch, Keauhou Ranch and W.H. Shipman Estate. The Academy is open free of charge from lOa.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Included in the exhibition are handcrafted saddles going back more than 100 years, examples of rawhide whips and ropes, spurs and branding irons, feather, sisal and shell leis, photographs documenting flower leis and leimaking, handwoven lauhala hats and musical instruments — particularly guitars and ukuleles. The objects chronicle cultural sharing between

friends and neighbors, a daily part of rural life expressed in folk art traditions. Most of the objects were made by living folk artists and paniolos. Martin researched paniolo traditions through field work whieh she started in 1984. A full illustrated catalogue, incorporating studio and field photographs of objects, artists and paniolos, accompanies the exhi-

bition and includes research contributions from an active corps of field workers, including Hawaiian leimaking authority Marie MacDonald. Copies will be available in the Academy shop. Nearly 70 paniolo fo!k artists perpetuating the lively folk art traditions are represented in the exhibition. There are examples of the saddlemaking handiwork of Eric Paeheeo, Hawaii; Henry Silva, Philbert Freitas and Gilbert Kahaleauki, Maui; Jimmy Faye Lindsey and Harry Masashi Otsuka, Molokai; and Robert Ruiz, Kauai. Musical instruments by David Gomes of Hawaii and Miehael Sussman of Kauai are featured along with ukuleles from the family collections of Leslie Nunes, descendant of Manuel Nunes who is credited with introducing the instrument to Hawaii in the late 1870s. A pineapple-shaped ukulele from Sam Kamaka Sr. of Honolulu's famous family of ukulele makers ean also be seen at the exhibition.

The exhibition is being presented concurrently with "Cultural Persistence and Continuity: Molokai Past and Present," in the FOCUS Gallery from May 10 through June 14. It is an exhibition organized by the Friends of R.W. Meyer Sugar Mill and the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center and is supported by a grant from the Hawaii Committee on the Humanities and, for the Academy presentation, by funds from SFCA. The exhibition surveys Molokai's history through objects ranging from archaeological stone artifacts to contemporary leis, quilts and mats, also tracing the island's artistic tradition. For information about regular programs, services and current activities, phone 538-1006.

Kepa Pele, bell spurs, from the collection of George Paul (Peppie) Cooke II, Molokai.

Kaula'ili, braided rawhide rope by Henry Silva

Harry Masashi Otsuka, Molokai