Posted on: Friday, November 19, 2004
Exploring decorated bodies
Advertiser Staff
A landmark exploration of the Pacific islands' rich history of cultural change, adaptation and resistance, evolution in gender roles and more, all told through the often surprising lens of bodily adornment, is on display at Mission Houses Museum.
Mission Houses Museum "Body Language" juxtaposes historical and contemporary objects and photographs from a variety of Pacific island cultures. Programming that complements the exhibition includes public lectures by scholars and researchers with expertise in the art, history and culture of Pacific bodily adornment; workshops and gallery talks by cultural experts from various Pacific island communities; and demonstrations and performances by cultural specialists and artists from local Pacific islander communities, particularly Native Hawaiian and Micronesian. The lectures and events are free with exhibition admission, unless otherwise noted. "The Body Tells a Story." Hula performers adorn themselves with many varieties of lei to create a complex system of meaning about the important relationship between ornamentation and the performance of hula in Hawaiian society, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday. 10 a.m.-noon: Master lei makers such as Mary Lou Kekuewa, Paulette Kahalepuna and Sandy Vincent present an interactive demonstration on the art of feather, shell, seed and flower lei making. 2 p.m.: Hula performance. Hula Halau Hula Ka No'eau and Michael Pili Pang, kumu hula, present discussion on dressing chants, modern and traditional hula, and the intricacies of hula adornment.
Tricia Allen "Recycling Tradition in the Arts of Hawai'i," a talk by Adrienne Kaeppler, Curator of Oceanic Ethnology, National Museum of Natural History, explores Hawaiian arts today through addressing body art and wearable art and the recycling of traditional arts into the modern in a global context, 7 p.m. Dec. 2, museum library. "The Aloha Shirt: A Postcard You Can Wear," DeSoto Brown, collections manager, Bishop Museum archives, will give slide lecture and historical overview of Hawai'i's gift to the fashion world: aloha wear, 7 p.m. Dec. 9, museum library. "The Message of the Materials," exploration of how fabric, clothing and jewelry contribute to the art and aesthetics of bodily adornment throughout Hawai'i and the Pacific, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 11. 10 a.m.-noon: Kapa-making demonstration. Native Hawaiian kapa artists discuss the process of kapa-making and demonstrate the art of kapa-printing. Noon: Gallery Talk: "Micronesian Dress: Gendered Symbols of Cultural Identity and Change," by Kimberlee S. Kihleng, executive director, Mission Houses Museum, and Julie Walsh Kroeker, executive director, Small Island Networks.
2 p.m. Gallery Talk: "Adornment: Pacific Visions," by Carol Anne Dickson, associate professor of textiles and clothing, UH-Manoa. Free Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Dec. 12 and Jan. 16.
"Tattoo Traditions of the Marquesas Islands," illustrated lecture by Tricia Allen, tattoo artist and researchers, provides an overview of tattoo as recorded from 1803 to 1922 by various observers of Marquesan life and culture, 7 p.m. Jan. 20, museum library.
Mission Houses Museum 11 a.m.: "Tattoo Artists of the Sky," Daniel A. Kelin, II, director of drama education at Honolulu Theatre for Youth, and Julie Walsh Kroeker, executive director of Small Island Networks, present an interactive storytelling adventure for families about a tattoo legend.
2 p.m.: "Tradition & Innovation in Pacific Tattoo," a panel discussion led by Keoni Nunes and other Pacific tattoo specialists on the meaning of traditional tattoo in contemporary Pacific societies in relation to issues of cultural revival and identity. "Art & the Body in Oceania," Jerome Feldman, professor of art and art history, Hawai'i Pacific University, lectures on the range of possible cultural relationships between Hawai'i, the Marquesas and Micronesia, across the vast region known as Oceania, through an examination of body art as an expression of tradition and identity, 7 p.m. Jan. 27, museum library. "Body Language" is supported by the Hawai'i Council for the Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Fred Baldwin Memorial Foundation, the Atherton Family Foundation and the University of Hawai'i Center for Pacific Islands Studies. The Mission Houses Museum, 553 S. King St., is a national historic landmark and accredited by the American Association of Museums. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursdays; and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Admission to the "Body Language" exhibition is $6; exhibit and house tour is $12. Call 531-0481 for more information.
"Body Language: Adornment & Identity in the Pacific" is on display through Feb. 5. The exhibition addresses four main topic areas: rank and status; ritual and ceremony; aesthetics, beauty and attraction; and performance. The objects in the exhibition include feathered capes and headdresses as well as fiber and kapa clothing, tattoos, lei, jewelry and cosmetics.
These crowns were made of shells and worn by high-ranking Marquesans in pre-contact times.
31st Annual Holiday Craft Fair, featuring Hawaiian and Pacific islander handcrafted goods with a demonstration area where visitors can observe local artists and crafters as they create shell jewelry, feather and shell lei, lauhala and other textiles as well as hand carved objects of wood and shell, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Nov. 27-28.
Tattoos, such as these on the legs of Fati Fii of Tahuata, Marquesas, are one of the topics to be discussed in Mission Houses lectures.
"Body Talk: Tattoos," celebration of the art of Pacific tattoo by exploring, through storytelling, demonstrations and discussion, how this form of bodily adornment has evolved through time across Hawai'i and the Pacific, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 22.
Braided human hair and whale ivory lei niho palaoa were worn by pre-contact Hawaiian ali'i.
