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MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGY
Exhibit Review Essays
Hawaii and Its People. Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, permanent installation.
Pupu 'o Ni'ihau. Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, May 13-September 30, 2001.
Na Maka Hou: New Visions. Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, May 13-June 17,2001.
Pupu 'o Ni'ihau. Linda Paik Moriarty. Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2001. 42 pp.
Museums in geographically isolated areas like Hawaii face a dilemma: Do they appeal to the local populace by focusing on regional subject matter and run the risk of becoming provincial, or do they try to broaden the horizons of residents and run the risk of becoming irrelevant to all but the most sophisticated. The Honolulu Academy of Arts, Hawaii's only general fine arts museum and regarded as elitist by many local residents, opened its $17 million Luce Pavilion Complex on May 13, 2001, in an attempt both to accommodate world-class exhibitions and to showcase its island home. The 4,000-square-foot first-floor gallery will host traveling exhibitions while the similarly sized second floor gallery houses the Academy's collection of Hawaii-themed paintings, graphic and decorative arts, and sculpture. In addition to the gallery space, the complex also includes an expanded shop, outdoor cafe, and landscaped courtyard.
Opened in 1927, the Academy was founded by Anna Rice Cooke. Born to a prominent missionary family on Oahu, Mrs. Cooke was not only the driving force behind the Academy, she provided the land on which it stands, actively donated to its collections, and set up a generous endowment. Her great grandson, Samuel A. Cooke, is currently the Academy's board chairman and headed the $25-million campaign to renovate its building and facilities. That enduring relationship not only says a lot about where the leadership of island society continues to be based but explains why many local residents perceive the Academy as being of interest to only a limited segment of the population. Thus, despite the Academy's strong efforts in education and public programs, many locals believe they would feel out of place there. Consequently, the Academy's decision to permanently showcase Hawaii-themed art and, in its inaugural temporary exhibition, to display the work of contemporary Native Hawaiian artists is a message to the general public that the museum is for everyone.
Let us begin with the second-floor John...