Also in this series:
I was recently able to experience the “Artists of Hawaii Now” exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art, and I left full of so many different emotions and thoughts that I am still untangling. It inspired me to share portrait work by native Hawaiian artists. Native Hawaiians refer to themselves in various ways, including kānaka maoli and ʻōiwi Hawaiʻi. There isn’t one correct way, but it is important to differentiate between people living in Hawaii (such as myself), and reserving terms such as “Hawaiians” to refer only to those with ancestral ties to this land.
I would like to begin with artist Kapulani Landgraf, who was born and raised in Pūʻahuʻula, Kāneʻohe and works at Kapi’olani Community College. I am most familiar with her photography work, in particular with the book E Luku Wale E. You can view some of her collage work on Google’s Art and Culture site here: https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/kapulani-landgraf/m010qk0z3?categoryid=artist
Kapulani Landgraf’s artwork Māmakakaua featured “a collection of 39 portraits of the kūpuna who were arrested on July 17, 2019 on the Mauna Kea access road standing in protection of Mauna Kea.” Read more about this artwork and view the video on the HoMa’s Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__m3bQYoeaA
In 2019, she created another portrait photography and text based artwork, ‘Au‘a | Voices of those who refuse, for the 2019 Hawaii Biennial (now Hawaii Triennial), which you can learn about and see some images from here: http://blog.honoluluacademy.org/kapulani-landgraf-aua-voices-of-those-who-refuse-i/ and here: http://blog.honoluluacademy.org/kapulani-landgraf-aua-voices-of-those-who-refuse-iii/
Another native Hawaiian artist who was featured in the 2019 Hawaii Biennial (and elsewhere) is Solomon Enos. He is an artist and visionary with a wide range of talents and interests. His complex work spans the distant past and far future. http://www.solomonenos.com/about Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/solomonenos/
Solomon Enos’ Alo project is “a multi-year project to build an online gallery of contemporary oil portraiture.” You can view this beautiful community project here: http://aloportraitproject.blogspot.com/
Kenyatta Kelechi is a photographer who uses the historical wet-plate technique to create his portraits. His work is currently on view online and in person through the SHangriLa 8×8 exhibit: https://www.shangrilahawaii.org/8x8_shangrila_22-visual-artists/
You can also see more of his work here: https://www.ategallery.com/kenyattakelechi https://fluxhawaii.com/the-hawaiian-photographer-subverting-colonial-era-portraiture/
Kapulei Flores is a photographer and activist. She is best known for her work documenting the protectors of Mauna Kea. https://www.kapzphotography.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kapuleifloress/
That’s all for now, might come back and add more later! Let me know if I’m missing anyone…