Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 6, 1 June 1988 — Makaku [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Makaku

By Rocky Ka'iouliokahihikolo 'Ehu Jensen

What Price Art?

I want to touch upon three subjects that influenee how our native art is perceived throughout the mainstream population. Last week, an article in The Honolulu Advertiser made the elaim that "American schools are failing at arts education . . ." Frank Hodsoll, National Endowmentfor the Arts chairman stated that ". . . the arts are in triple jeopardy: they are not viewed as serious; knowledge itself is not viewed as a pnme educational objective and those who determine school curricula do not agree on what arts education is." This survey was done on a national scale. Let us, however, concentrate on the native scale instead. I am appalled at the laek of native art instructors and native art instructions. Public schools, or should I say, individual teachers, attempt to incorporate something resembling art instruction in their Hawaiiana classes, and it never fails that during the last quarter of every school year, I am inundated with students who want me to appear in their class, as their project. This is the extent of teaching native Hawaiian fine arts in the public schools. On the other hand, our own native school offers precious little else. The teachers are non-native and there is no understanding of our artistic symbolism and philosophy. lnstead, our talented young are being taught contemporary/modern art based on an aesthetic value system alien to ours. Balance is non-existent. This brings me to the second matter . . . good friend Herbert Kawainui Kane sent me a sensitive letter stating among other things, "What we know of any past culture the world over is largely through its art, the writing, sculpture, architecture, drawings and paintings that have survived. Through these, people of long ago ean still speak to those who will listen. Their art reveals what manner of people they were, their world view, attitudes and values." Because of the acculturation of our people, our

careers as native artists have suffered. Kane eontinues "... regionalism in art has been frowned upon. Internationalism is in vogue." Our young are being taught an art form that does not identify with their true essence. And, the more this continues within our society, the more difficult it will be to continue perpetuating our ancient ideals for posterity. Again Herb states: ". . . to interpret, commemorate, and celebrate our own people and culture, past and present, creating a visual record whieh someday may also help our posterity know themselves by knowing who we were." We must encourage education in Hawaiian art form and philosophy, both traditional and eontemporary if we are to continue as a unique race of people. This brings me to my third problem: the cost of art versus loeal peoples' prices. Because of the laek of native education in the arts, we are eonfronted with ignorance on a colossal scale. Why is it that sophisticated non-natives think that they ean get a native pieee for a fourth of what they would pay a Caucasian or Oriental artist? Why is it that the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts persists to overlook the really creative and talented native artists in favor of pet people? And, why is it that when a TRUE native is given an award, it always seems like tokenism? Why is our art still relegated to the craft section of people's minds? Not that there is anything wrong with crafts, it's just that we, too, create eontemporary works of art, based on our identities, but contemporary nonetheless. For instance, I ean sculpt in stone, clay . . . cast in bronze . . . resin, if necessary, and do virtually anything any "international" artist ean do. Yet the stigma remains! In order to get the real "stuff," I would have had to sacrifice my ideals and my integnty . . . play the role . . . ride the fence . . . pay the pnee! Mai ka po mai 'oia'i'o! Truth is before time!!!