Art
Twigg-Smith display reflects discerning eye for excellence
By Virginia Wageman
Advertiser Art Critic
When Laila Twigg-Smith died in 1998, the art world mourned her loss. Founder of the Contemporary Museum with then-husband, former Honolulu Advertiser publisher Thurston Twigg-Smith, she supported and nurtured contemporary artists.
• The Contemporary Museum • Through Jan. 6 • 526-1322
La Bella Figura • Academy Art Center, Honolulu Academy of Arts • Through Dec. 30 • 532-8700
The Human Family • The Contemporary Museum • Through Jan. 6 • 526-1322
Twigg-Smith's spirit lives on in the collection of contemporary art that she amassed during her lifetime, a selection of which is on view at the Contemporary Museum.
•
Works from the Collection of Laila Twigg-Smith
More than 50 works are exhibited, ranging from paintings and prints by such well-known figures as Richard Diebenkorn, Jim Dine, Philip Guston, Roy Lichtenstein and Wayne Thiebaud to many first-rate works by artists who are not quite household names.
Twigg-Smith's collection is a promised gift to the Contemporary Museum from her son, artist Cade Roster.
She had a discerning eye, quirky and idiosyncratic at times, but with exquisite taste and always focused on the cutting edge. Whether an artist was an art-world darling seemed to matter little to her, and she was astute in recognizing emerging artists.
Among the remarkable works in the show are a lush garden landscape by Jennifer Bartlett, known for her virtuosic combining of abstraction and realism, and a jewel of a realist landscape by William Beckman.
A large screenprint by conceptualist Jonathan Borofsky, more than 8 feet high, depicts the perforated, "molecule" men for which he is known. An even larger three-panel painting by Charles Garabedian (33 feet wide) is a masterpiece of dynamic imagery, combining abstractions with identifiable shapes.
Elizabeth Murray's two-part piece titled "Hobo" utilizes abstracted forms in an eccentric, explosive shaped canvas with imagery from her daily life, such as a surreal vacuum hose. Her aggressive colors are matched by a strong yellow wall that has been painted to suggest a wall in Twigg-Smith's house.
Walking through the galleries, one is tempted to play the "would I have bought that if I had had the opportunity?" game. The answer in every instance is yes, sometimes because a work is gorgeous, sometimes because it is significant as a social statement or as a major work in an artist's oeuvre, sometimes because the artist demonstrates a compelling command of conception and medium.
In the latter category is a composition by Fred Tomaselli made up of a variety of pharmaceuticals — marijuana leaves, aspirin, antacids, etc. — arranged into decorative patterns on a painted wood panel and covered with a smooth veneer of resin. The result is a seductive but sober meditation on beauty and pleasure.
Without ever having met Twigg-Smith, one can get a sense of her tremendous vitality and spirited personality from the two Polaroid portraits of her by William Wegman, well known for his photographs of his weimaraner dogs. Wegman rarely does portraits of people, making the Twigg-Smith portraits especially important examples of the popular photographer's work.
Painting, Italy style
"There's no better way to travel," says George Woollard of the painting workshops that he and fellow artist Chuck Davis run each year in Europe. They took a group of students to Provence in the summer of 2000, and in May they went to Italy, to which they will return in 2002.
According to Woollard and trip participants, the focus is entirely on making art, beginning with doing sketches at Honolulu International Airport. Everyone is expected to draw — even tag-along partners who have little background in art.
They digress to eat ("perhaps too well," Woollard says), but even then they all take along their sketchpads. There's a little sightseeing and shopping, but always with sketchbook in hand.
The fruits of their explorations into watercolor painting and sketching from their latest trip is at the Honolulu Academy of Arts' Art Center until Dec. 30.
Some of the artists were beginners, including Jack Cragin, David Higa and Paula Rath, The Advertiser's fashion and style writer. The others — Jane Higa, Tom Marshall, Jerry Mayfield (Rath's husband), Light Ruth, Hae Sook Shin and Dorothy Voight — were experienced in artmaking.
Though the substantial training of some artists is reflected in their drawings and watercolors, of which perhaps the most luscious are those by Hae Sook Shin, all are worthy of display, demonstrating the progress that can be made in three weeks of concentrated study.
Woollard and Davis have included their own works in the show. Especially striking are Woollard's "Umbrian Red" and Davis' "Mato Mato," both inspired by Italy's vibrant red poppies.
Middle East issues
In response to the terrorist attacks, the Contemporary Museum is screening a video program focusing on films that document issues in Afghanistan and the Middle East, helping us see people from that region as part of "the human family" (the title of the film series).
Everyone should see "Shroud of Silence," an award-winning documentary produced by Mavis Leno that presents chilling images of life for Afghan women under the Taliban. The 15-minute tape is screened daily from noon to 1 p.m.
A videotaped series of vignettes from everyday life about people in Arab countries is being presented daily from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., with a different film each day.
Each film focuses on intimate stories that revolve around life's milestones: birth, youth, love and marriage, home and work.
Shown on alternating days from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. are two half-hour tapes, one relating to New York City, the other to the Taliban. "9.11," focuses on the spontaneous memorials that New York residents mounted in response to the tragedy, while "The Taliban Legacy" exposes the havoc wreaked by those brutal people.
What is most striking about these films is how they convey the universality of human experience. We come away with increased awareness of life in the Middle East and of just what America's first war in the 21st century is all about.
For details about screening times, call the museum at 526-1322.
Reach Virginia Wageman at VWageman@aol.com.
