Exhibits send messages across in contemporary style

By Virginia Wageman
Advertiser Art Critic

The Contemporary Museum at its First Hawaiian Bank site continues to provide first-rate art exhibitions for downtown office workers and bank customers to enjoy. On view are three disparate exhibitions, one of which, "Trust," an installation by Anne Bush, is particularly suited to its bank location.

The title of the installation also alludes to the notion of trust in the sense that the dollar bills are uncovered, mounted on the wall panel with masking tape. Any passer-by could reach out and take away a bill or bills.

Philosophically, Bush's installation explores the material and immaterial aspects of money and art, both of which have a value or meaning quite separate from their physical presence. In concrete terms, a $10 bill is worth the same as a $1 bill, but we assign it a greater value. A painting is nothing more than a piece of canvas with oil or acrylic paint applied to it, yet we ascribe meaning and value to it based on the composition and our knowledge of the artist and subject and, perhaps, on its art historical merit.

Bush's installation refers as well to Hawai'i's abysmal record when it comes to financing public education. Small cards printed with designs to suggest play money have on their backs facts related to the state's support of education. One reads: "Between 1992 and 1998 over 1 million square feet of physical plant was added to UH, but no operating support was authorized for new facilities." Another: "In just five years, total g-funds (state general-fund money) allocated to UH declined from 320M to 280M."

Each card is imprinted with: "Education = Future Prosperity/Think about it in the next election." Thus Bush throws education into the mix, equating education (i.e., culture) with the abstract concept of prosperity. The cards, unlike the real money, are intended to be taken by visitors.

Bush's installation is a provocative exploration of money vis-a-vis culture. Beautifully executed, with the overlappings of the dollar bills virtually uniform over the entire large panel, the piece fits perfectly within the bank both in terms of physical space and in view of its multi-faceted meanings.

Just as Jun Kaneko's sculptures seemed instantly to be integral to the space at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and, accordingly, money was raised to purchase them, so one would hope that Bush's installation will find a permanent home in this bank or in another equally suitable place.

O'ahu painter Timothy Ojile has been making a Polaroid diary of his world since 1997, a selection of which is on display at the First Hawaiian Bank. The Polaroids have been sorted and framed in categories, with a group of related prints organized in a grid within each frame.

Ojile brings an almost fanatical interest to the world around him, so much so that he photographs detritus on beaches and the food in his own kitchen. The subjects of the photographs exhibited include heavy machinery, motorcycle parts, Neiman Marcus under construction, trash and natural materials on the beach, and places on the Mainland important to Ojile, such as Los Angeles and Minneapolis.

The quick Polaroid process suits Ojile's temperament and the purpose of the photos. He's interested not in great photography but rather in documenting things he likes. None of the scenes has been manipulated, but the artist does intervene simply by his selection of what he will focus his camera on.

The result is a tantalizing glimpse of one artist's interests and of how he views the world about him, with an eye that selects certain details — such as the pattern of a building crane against a brilliant blue sky — and arranges them for us to see for a moment as he does.

Most of the photographs are brightly colored, as would be expected from Ojile, whose paintings are distinguished by their bold, bright colors. The one group of Polaroids that is more monochromatic and subtle in coloration ("Untitled 11") is perhaps the least interesting of the groupings, suggesting that Ojile hits his stride when he is working with a vibrantly colored palette.

New York artist Thomas Woodruff is known to Contemporary Museum visitors from his "Apple Canon," a suite of 365 paintings of apples exhibited there in 2000. While he was in Honolulu for the opening of that show, the seed for an idea to have him design sets for Hawai'i Opera Theatre was planted.

Two years later, Hawai'i Opera Theatre will present "Salome" in February with set and costume designs by Woodruff. A scale model of the set and drawings for the costumes are on display now at the First Hawaiian Bank.

The costume designs are particularly intriguing, festooned with flowers that satirically reflect each character's personality. Salome's mother, for example, wears a skirt supported by the petals of a Venus fly trap plant, and Salome herself wears like an apron over her skirt a pair of anthuriums with spathes that resemble penises.

Both finished drawings and early sketches are exhibited, providing a behind-the-scenes view of a theatrical production. Though expense will prevent the actual costumes and sets from following Woodruff's plan precisely, it is fascinating to see the results of an unfettered imagination.

Reach Virginia Wageman at VWageman@aol.com.