Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 2, Number 7, 1 July 1985 — Hawaiian Artist Gets Tahitian Commission [ARTICLE]

Hawaiian Artist Gets Tahitian Commission

Bobby Holeolm, who was born and raised in the Chinatown district of Honolulu, is a Hawaiian artist whose work is fascinating because it blends Hawaiian and Tahitian culture and history into one related past. Holeolm, currently living and working in Huahine, French Polynesia, has been commissioned by the Tahitian government for various art projects. A one man play may also be in the works. According to Lisa Leina'ala Enoka, a graduate student in Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawaii, Holcolm's drawings and paintings fuse together the entire Polynesian region. One ean see the relationships of the is!ands and "feel" the mana through Bobby's imagery. Enoka says Holcolm's artwork includes the Hawaiian, Tahitian and Pacific elements the islanders ean identify with. Holeolm, she reports, is recognized throughout Tahiti and French Polynesia as a gifted Polynesian artist. Holcolm's commission by the T ahihan government is eonsidered a big breakthrough because this was not always the case. A few years ago the government refused to aeknowledge his art and considered him an "outsider." It is Holcolm's desire to one day return home and present an art show of his works.