Posted on: Friday, September 13, 2002

THE LEFT LANE
Just tubing along

Advertiser Library Photo

Peering down from their hilltop vantage point by the municipal building on Alapa'i Street, three "tubers" — concrete figures appearing to float in an imaginary swimming pool — remind weary commuters that they do, indeed, live in paradise.

Artist Jodi Endicott donated the sculptures to Honolulu in 1998 after her exhibition, "Tubers," at the Contemporary Museum. "I want to make art accessible to the public by putting it in places where the public will see it," she said. "I'm interested in how the public interacts with it."

Each half-figure weighs about 300 pounds. The original exhibit, a sculpture installation, featured 40 larger-than-life tubers.

Master's voice lives

Pakistani vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan wasn't just the greatest qawwal singer of all time, but also possessed one of the most exquisite musical voices of all time. Five years after his death, his soaring vocal interpretations of traditional qawwals— the devotional music of Islam's Sufi sect — remain without peer. Late in his career, he paired up with alt-rock stars like Peter Gabriel, Eddie Vedder and others.

On Sept. 17, music lovers will have a chance to see and hear him in the concert film "Nusrat! Live at Meany." It captures him leading an eight-man ensemble through a set list of traditional works that placed his voice front and center. The film will have a single showing at Doris Duke at the Academy at 7:30 p.m. $5 ($3 academy members, seniors, students). 532-8768.

Kaua'i's best artists

The annual juried Art Kauai 2002 exhibition, on display through Sept. 20 at the Kukui Grove exhibition Hall in Lihu'e, is presented by the Kauai Society of Artists. This year, the society honors botanical artist Geraldine King Tam with a Lifetime Achievement Award and an exhibition of her work spanning five decades.

Tam is known for her lifelong commitment to art, her elegant portrayals of Hawai'i's flora and her enthusiastic support for the arts of Kaua'i. She married Kaua'i-born artist and poet Reuben Tam, and their summers on Monhegan Island, Maine, sparked her interest in botanical painting.

In 1980 the couple moved to Kaua'i and she began to paint Hawaiian plants, blending scientific study and artistic vision.

For more information on the exhibit, call (808) 822-7179 or visit the Kauai Society of Artists Web site at www.hawaiian.net/~ksa.

— Advertiser staff and news services