Posted on: Friday, May 4, 2001
Art Scene
A night of Island poetry rooted in 'Cementus'
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Joe Balaz will present his concrete poetry – a blend of graphics and collage in addition to the undefinables – Saturday night at Native Books Kapalama.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser 'Cementus – E Pili Kakou': |
Joe Balaz talks art with a philosophical fluidity, in a voice that is overcome with enthusiasm but unsure the listener truly understands the depths of his passion.
Fluidity for something as abstract as the construction of words to invoke an emotion, but so concrete to create actual works of art you can touch, hear, see, feel. On every level.
He calls it concrete poetry, a visual form that appeals to the eye rather than the ear, an art you have to physically construct.
This is not his invention.
But Balaz takes the concept, fashionable in London in the '70s, and spins it with Hawai'i-specific themes and words.
"It's totally different from your traditional poetry," he said slowly, searching for the simplest ways to describe its complexities. "It's obvious it's a graphic form of poetry." Pause. "It's collage-based work." Pause. "With lettering, stencils. Constructivist aspect. Graphic material to create a visual point."
The 48-year-old from Ka'a'awa hasn't quite figured it out himself. Experimentation is what he believes in, finding the best way to move minds, to shout out in soft, subtle ways.
He introduces his concrete poetry at a reading of what he calls amplified poetry at "Cementus — E Pili Kakou: An exhibit of concrete poetry by Joe Balaz" Saturday at Native Books Kapalama.
Thirteen pieces, most of them letter-sized, hang along the bookstore's walls in a place sanctioned the Aupuni Artwall, a place that showcases Hawaiian work in a culturally supportive environment. A space both comfortable and powerful.
"The artwall offers the native Hawaiian community an experimental space to create whatever kind of self-expression they desire," said Maile Meyer, president of Native Books & Beautiful Things. "There are no constraints, no 'requirements' about what they can or can't do. They don't have to 'sell' their work, they don't have to fill up all the walls. The space is theirs to support whatever they want to do."
And what Balaz wants is synergy. To make the experience of reading poetry amplified, he's added the voltage of music.
"Not that poetry can't stand on its own," he quickly added. "But this is a form of experimental poetry, and we want to embellish it a little more."
Sharing the mike that night will be fellow poets Kathryn Waddell Takara, Richard Hamasaki, Imaikalani Kalahele and Nalani Minton. Providing the synergy are musicians Sam Henderson, Peter Kealoha, Chuck Souza and Peter Chamberlain.
Some poets, such as Takara, have already experimented with amplified poetry, working mostly with percussionists during readings.
"Working with other people invokes more out of you because you're playing off one another," said Takara, who holds a Ph.D. in political science and teaches ethnic studies at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa. "They get your interpretation, and you get theirs. I feel it's a more significant form of transmission."
And the Aupuni Artwall ("aupuni" in Hawaiian means "nation") is a fitting venue for this multi-sensory exchange of ideas and emotions.
"All of the material we represent is about finding out more about Hawai'i and things Hawaiian," Meyer said. "We believe contemporary Hawaiian artists, poets and musicians add to this healthy self-discovery."
Impulsive and free-flowing, the plan on Saturday is to create an environment of unexpectation and spontaneity. No serious rehearsals or set time schedules. Because that would be counterproductive to the synergy, which, by definition, means a cooperative action.
"We have a basic understanding of what the music will be like," Balaz said. "But in actuality, what happens is kinda spontaneous, kinda loose."
Making the artwall a sort of rhythm nation for the night.
"Mixing more," Balaz said, finally. "That's what they're trying to do in that space. Mixing more."
