honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 8, 2007

Hawaii's public works of art up for adoption

Photo galleryPhoto gallery: Adopting art

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

This Downtown sculpture, called "What’s next: Hawaii's Journey; wearing our past and looking to the future," is maintained with help from its creator, Jodi Endicott.

Photos by ANDREW SHIMABUKU | The Honolulu Advertiser

spacer spacer

WANT TO ADOPT SOME ART?

Participating organizations that adopt will help the city with routine upkeep of public art for five years. Training in art-preservation techniques will be provided by the staff of the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts.

General maintenance of public sculptures takes place in one of the following cycles: monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually, biennially or five years. The type of maintenance required depends on the type, condition and material composition of the sculpture.

Call the Adopt-a-Sculpture program at 523-4674.

spacer spacer
Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

This bronze bust of Queen Emma in Queen Emma Square is among more than 80 public monuments and sculptures available to adopt. Most adoption opportunities are small in scale, a city official says.

spacer spacer

Like that sculpture near your office? If it's part of the city's collection, your business or organization could adopt that piece of public art and help preserve it for the future.

More than 80 public monuments and sculptures are being made available for adoption throughout O'ahu, said Tory Laitila, registrar for the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts, who is asking for help this month with the program.

"This is our first open call," he said. Businesses and organizations are encouraged to sign up with the commitment ranging from clearing debris or occasional hosing or cleaning to more formal art-preservation techniques.

Sometimes the problems are caused by graffiti or plants that grow up around the artwork, or sometimes the pieces just get grimy from being out in the elements, he said.

The collection comes mostly from a law that requires an allocation of 1 percent of construction projects to go toward public art. Some pieces are donated.

Laitila said general maintenance of public sculptures takes place in various cycles: monthly, quarterly, semiannually, annually, biennially or five years. The type of maintenance required depends on the type, condition and material composition of the sculpture.

He said the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce has been taking care of the Padrao sculpture and mosaic on Fort Street Mall at Beretania Street for years.

The Downtown monument celebrates Portuguese immigration to Hawai'i.

Pat Cabrinha, president of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i, said the organization was instrumental in building the monument so it was a natural project to adopt. But she'd recommend the adoption process to others.

"It's our heritage. We definitely want to see that people see a very beautiful monument to the Portuguese who immigrated to Hawai'i," she said.

"We want to make sure that it's there for our children and their children."

She said there's a big annual cleaning that involves the mosaic tile and the sculpture. "We have all the different solvents to use," which cost an initial investment of about $200.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann backed the idea of adopt-a-sculpture after seeing success over time with people pitching in to adopt parks, streams and even city blocks to help the community.

City parks director Lester Chang said the adopt-a-park program has been a great help over the years for improving public parks on O'ahu. As of this year, the city counted 279 active adoptions.

"We have a very broad adopt-a-park program," Chang said. "Some people have adopted by going in daily, others have done it as an organization."

Chang said the city is happy to work with individuals, businesses and organizations to help nurture Honolulu's green spaces.

Grace Pacific Co., a construction company, adopted Makakilo Community Park several years ago and responded to a variety of requests over time.

Company coordinator Georgette Stevens said the company selected that park — which is near its Makakilo offices — because it was well-used by the community and had the only recreation center in the area. And it could use the help with upkeep.

She said the company helped fill in areas of the field that had sunk and assisted in other ways. "With all the parks that the city has, they need help maintaining the area parks," she said. But in recent months, she said the park hasn't been calling for help.

In addition to businesses, Chang said civic organizations often help out. "The McKinley Leo Club members faithfully work at Ala Moana Park every month," he said.

Iwalani Sato of the city Department of Environmental Services helps coordinate other "adoption" efforts pulling in volunteers to help take care of streams and clean up city blocks.

"Right now we have about 40 different projects between adopt a stream and adopt a block," she said. The program asks for a two-year commitment with a minimum of four cleanups a year, she added.

Laitila keeps watch over the city's art collection of nearly 900 pieces, most of the traditional indoor art — paintings, prints and sculpture. But the city also cares for about 100 outdoor works of art, some so big — like the large steel Skygate sculpture by City Hall — that they won't ask others to help take care of them.

They include Duke Kahanamoku at Waikiki Beach, Bruddah Iz (singer Israel Kamakawiwoole) in Wai'anae, a humuhumunukunukuapua'a at Hanauma Bay and a canoe monument at Ke'ehi Lagoon.

Other pieces include a mural at Dole Community Park below Punchbowl, a bronze bust of Queen Emma in Queen Emma Square and an abstract gateway sculpture with block seating at River Street Mall near College Walk.

He said some of the adoption opportunities are fairly small scale. "Quite a few parks are named after people and there are plaques."

But he warns of people taking on projects without knowing the proper approach because well-meaning but untrained helpers can trip up the city. Laitila said the city would like to see someone adopt the Roll of Honor plaque near the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium, which commemorates people from Hawai'i who died in World War I.

The bronze plaque shows signs of oxidation and needs help. Previously, some veterans had polished the plaque. But Laitila said polishing the bronze is actually detrimental because it wears off the protective coating.

"Polishing is bad, washing and waxing is good," Laitila said.

He said they also get some help from neighbors and even the artists themselves.

He said artist Jodi Endicott helps care for a life-size sculpture in Downtown at Bishop and King streets. That's the one of a seated man reading a newspaper with three mice on his shoulder titled: "What's next: Hawaii's Journey; wearing our past and looking to the future."

Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.