Chris Reiner makes furniture. Mat Kubo installs and repairs hydraulic lifts. Saint Marko waits tables on Maui. Anson Tsang works in his family's jewelry business. Carl F.K. Pao teaches ceramics and printmaking at Kamehameha High School. What do these men have in common?

They are all artists and all "Knights" — at least through the end of August, while their show, "Hot August Knights," is up at The ARTS at Marks Garage.

These "five brave men that tell bold new stories forged from a multicultural, multidisciplinary fusion of ideas," as their show's invitation reads, are not afraid of the sublime or the ridiculous. They share an attraction for found objects or art that seems found, as in the case of Pao, who describes his creations as if they were discovered in an archaeological dig.

Bravely, they enter uncharted territory, filtering serious concepts and Pacific problems through a compensatory, sardonic sense of humor. Kubo's work already has caused a stir, as people spot his metal Stryker cut-outs glued around town. On Friday, The Advertiser received calls from people curious about the street art.

"It's like a dude fest," says Tsang. And so it might be, but these are some serious (and seriously funny) dudes. They make art with a conscience, art that communicates their political and social views, and that engages viewers in a dialogue.

Armed with art degrees, this brotherhood of Hawai'i-based artists is bound by a common compulsion: Making art keeps them sane. They just have to do it — whether it sells or not.

Despite their similarities, they hadn't met before our interview. Rich Richardson, creative director for Marks Garage, is the common denominator. Richardson, aka King Curatorious, curated the show and gathered the knights together — calling this survey "a hybrid of East/West, goofy/dangerous."

The intelligent, humorous and thought-provoking exhibition is mostly three-dimensional, although Saint Marko and Pao have two-dimensional works in the show.

"The art doesn't stop," as Reiner says. These artists will be back with more in the near future. Pao, affiliated with Kailua's Lodestar Collective, will have a solo show at the Gallery on the Pali in January. Kubo is going for his MFA this fall. Saint Marko has a home in Newfoundland, where he's planning to establish an artist's retreat. And Tsang will open his own jewelry store, while continuing to make art. "I discovered that I couldn't survive on my artwork alone, so I figured out a way to make money and make art on my own terms," he said.

We caught up with four of the five knights at Marks Garage. The fifth, Saint Marko, spoke to us by phone from Newfoundland. We asked them about their methods and what they made for "Hot August Knights."

Reiner: I like to work with "obtainium," or things I find on the side of the road, the rejected history that people throw away. I feel like I'm a custodian to their historical preservation and rejuvenation, rehistorical rehabilitation.

I have three pieces in the show. One is politically motivated. One is an observation on life and the span of life and how we record that. The third one, a mobile, was inspired by an Alexander Calder show I saw at MoMA and the "Arts of the Pacific" show at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. That motivated it, and there's a tongue-in-cheek aspect to it, because the title is "Trade Winds." Basically, (it refers to) the shipping and trading that we're reliant on to drive our economy. The piece has its own scenic lookout.

Two of the pieces have kinetic capabilities, and the other implies movement of some sort. I like my work to be accessible to people. It's not for the 1 percent of the 1 percent that speak artspeak. I feel that if one person takes something with them, then it is successful to me — better than any sale. ...

Many (Island) issues are a perpetual frustration for me, too. I can let them take me down, or I can have a sense of humor about it. It's about the only way I can deal with it and hopefully open some other people's eyes.

Kubo: The title of (my) piece in the show is "Miniature Monuments to Empire." I'm making galvanized steel cutout silhouettes of the Stryker, the new military vehicle, as plaques and monuments. I believe there will be 319 of these vehicles on O'ahu and the Big Island, and I have a number from 1 to 319 stamped on each piece. I'm gluing them in various locations where people congregate, with five to 10 volunteers to give the notion that there is this "other presence" here.

The military presence is somewhat hidden. Twenty-five percent of this island is off-limits military base, and that figure is growing because of the new Stryker brigade. I'm just trying to draw attention to that, and keep that in the public consciousness. This is what Hawai'i is, contrary to the whole paradise idea. I can't separate myself from that.

The feedback we've been getting is contradictory. People feel they are invasive, and yet they also feel protected. I want to create some dialogue around the subject. Marks Garage will exhibit the sheets of metal that I cut the silhouettes from, along with a video of the project.

It's a real privilege to be able to make art. I grew up middle class, and it was comfortable for me. There are so many people that don't even get an education or have the time to make art. There are tortured artists out there, but there are tortured working people out there too. All of us are a part of that.

Marko: I have two paintings in the show that I've reinvented. I bought two landscape paintings from plein-air painter friends of mine, who knew I planned to reinvent them into a more social- landscape point of view, and were all right with that. They needed the money. I think most of the landscape painters have fallen into a rut and are marketing the same image of Hawai'i — the one from the travel section in the (newspapers).

My work is involved with contemporary current events. I read the paper every day with a pair of scissors in my hand. In one of the pieces, "Batu," the background is a beautiful banyan tree. That tree is also the place to score batu, also known as ice, in that neighborhood. I've silk-screened a text on top of the banyan-tree painting that deals with this issue.

I like the immediacy of silk-screening. I'm not making fun of the original painting, and it's not a collaboration. I'm recognizing the truth of the matter and reconsidering how things really are in Hawai'i's topsy-turvy society.

I like stirring up the pot. I don't want it to burn at the bottom. I feel comfortable in using a number of media in communicating what I want to say. That's the best part about being an artist — having something to say, and being able to communicate. It's a gift that I treasure.

Tsang: I spent about five years in Alaska. In my last year, I did a lot of western timber framing. When I came here, I was influenced by Japanese/Asian cultures. I started doing larger sculptures combining western timber- framing joinery with the eastern framing joinery, taking on that eastern sensibility.

In Shinto timber framing, they have a great sense of materials. They look at trees that are blowing on the mountain a certain way. ...

For this show, I submitted three larger-scale sculptures made out of wood and steel that were part of my thesis show installed across the University of Hawai'i campus. ... One piece is an 8-foot-long log with pins that run down through it, with a steel dovetail core. ... This gallery setting is a whole new environment for this work. ...

There is a Shinto aesthetic in these works, in their irregularity, suggestion and sense of impermanence. I don't coat them with anything. They are weathering nicely and will eventually rot and decay.

Pao: I'm trying to fight the ridiculous with the ridiculous. There's this whole stance the United States government is taking that aboriginal Hawaiians don't exist. There's this struggle for recognition.

I'm attempting to create a post-historical Hawaiian museum. We are uncovering the pieces that are going to fill this museum from different sites around the island, to generate and prove the theory that Hawaiians do exist. ...

What we have here could be either garden tools or weapons. We're still not sure how these pieces were used. We did find some fragments of the actual carving that are on display, just to show evidence that they were actually made here. If Hawaiians do exist, some action is being taken. ... There is this kind of technology that's pushing the boundaries and making us question whether they might even be around today. ...

We've also come across a document. We're not sure if it's a cook list or a list for Cook — how to prepare Cook ... Capt. Cook.

This (show) is different from everything else I've done. But if I'm not doing art, there is something really big missing in my life. If someone walks away thinking differently from when they entered, then that's all I can ask for.

Chris Reiner's works, fashioned from found objects, often have moving parts.

Mat Kubo's Stryker cutouts attempt to start a dialogue about a contentious issue.

Principles of Shinto can be seen in Anson Tsang's sculptures.

Junk? Not when Chris Reiner gets his hands on it. He uses old items to create works layered with meaning.