Public TV series profiles Hawai'i arts

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

•	'Art Stories' First of a three-part series of television programs 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, 10 p.m. Sunday PBS Hawaii

Hosted and narrated by Elizabeth Lindsay Buyers, the premiere piece spotlights the State Art Museum, the Honolulu Academy of Arts and 'Iolani Palace, and ultimately reflects the diversity — call it the melting pot — that is Hawai'i. This visual "museum piece" shows how and when these facilities emerged and examines, with splendor and eloquence, the thumbprints beyond the usual history-book versions. A thumbs-up to Stuart Yamane, producer, writer and director.

First up: the State Art Museum, in the former Hemmeter Building. Museum director Lisa Yoshihara and exhibition designer Tom Klobe are among the on-camera sources who detail the daunting task of examining the state's collection of 5,000-plus pieces to whittle down the list to 700 for exhibition consideration, to carry out a "responsibility to the people of Hawai'i" to reflect the vast array of collected art, says Klobe.

As a result, says Yoshihara, "stories emerged ... art is talking to you." The facility opened Nov. 3, 2002, and as then-Gov. Ben Cayetano and wife Vicky entered the museum, strains of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Over the Rainbow" provide the perfect aural embellishment.

The Honolulu Academy of Arts segment examines the lifelong passion of Anna Rice and Charles Montague Cooke, from two missionary families, who married and eventually turned over their property on Beretania Street to build an art museum that would reflect Rice's eclectic art collection and taste. As former museum director George Ellis says: "An art museum was a good thing to have in bringing diverse cultures and ethnicities ... and through art, learn to respect each other." The facility opened on April 8, 1927.

'Iolani Palace, former residence of King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi'iolani, is an edifice with both symbolic and historical importance. Its regal European design reflects "the heart of the kingdom, territory and state," says historian Doug Askman. "It was the center of Hawaiian government for 100 years." It remains a sacred place, says Keola Cabacungan, educational and program coordinator — and continues to be part of the monarchy's enduring legacy. "Stewardship is a good word," Cabacungan says of the responsibility to main the palace for generations to come.

The quickie peek is enough to stir local interest and spawn an in-person visit.