My friend, Flo, and I viewed the new Art Deco Hawaii exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art the other day. Admission is free on the first Wednesday and first Sunday of the month, so we took advantage of it on Wednesday. As you know, Flo is an artist, so I learned quite a bit from her.
The Art Deco period spans the period between the two world wars. Here are some photos of what we saw:
Arman Tateos Manookian: “Hawaiian Boy and Girl” (1928):
Eugene Savage: “A God Appears” (1940). Captain James Cook meets King Kamehameha I:
Eugene Savage: “Pomp and Circumstance” (1940):
Shirley Russell: “Plumerias” (c. 1938):
Lloyd Sexton: “Morning Glory” (c. 1930s):
Madge Tennent: “Olympia of Hawaii” (c. 1927) This is Flo’s favorite painting:
Close-up of her dress (previous painting). Flo loved the interplay of the colors:
Genevieve Springston Lynch: “Water Lilies” (c. 1930s) Flo said that this is more difficult to paint, because it is so precise:
Don Blanding: “Underwater Scene” (c. 1927-30) This is my favorite painting, because it is so colorful and cheerful:
There were more paintings and other types of art than are shown here. You will be amazed at the variety. All in all, we had a great time viewing the exhibit and having lunch at the Art Café. The exhibit will continue through January 11, 2015.
P.S. As of 3:30 pm Thursday, Oahu has not been affected by the hurricanes. I’ll give you an update on Sunday morning. Hope to have good news to report. Take care, everyone!
gigi-hawaii 
August 8, 2014 at 12:55 am |
Looks like you and Flo had a great outing and glad to read that all is still OK. We are following weather updates online.
August 8, 2014 at 2:16 am |
Impressive. What a fun outing for you both. And free!
August 8, 2014 at 2:24 am |
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing these, and I’m still hoping Hawaii will be all right.
August 8, 2014 at 2:35 am |
Weather report on our TV news as well – hope all goes well this weekend.
Rather like the look of ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ – wish I was as slim and svelte as the hula girls in unison
Cathy
August 8, 2014 at 3:01 am |
wonderful art, glad you enjoyed it. And even better that Oahu may be spared.
August 8, 2014 at 3:40 am |
I am still hoping that all is well for you out there, keeping my fingers crossed that the weekend will be a good one. The art work is gorgeous! I like how you explained about the color in the lady’s dress that your friend liked. I enjoyed the Hawaiian Scenes, the flowers and the tropical fish.
August 8, 2014 at 5:25 am |
We hear the first storm is being dispersed over the mountains on the Big Island and the second is blowing to the north. Good luck!
Did you know Captain Bligh was with Cook when he came to Hawaii? Bligh was quite amazed with the flora he found there, and took many specimens back to Kew Gardens in London. He is buried in the grounds of the Museum of Garden history in England.
The plumeria is a native of Southeast Asia and known as Frangipani in FL the Caribbean and other parts of the world. I think I like that painting best. Thanks for sharing.
August 8, 2014 at 5:27 am |
Or the fish. I love the tropical fish.
August 8, 2014 at 7:36 am |
The paintings are beautiful! Thank you for sharing them. I still vividly remember visiting the palace of the king and queen. I was seven. It made such a lasting impression on my memory.
August 8, 2014 at 8:26 am |
I like the “Olympia of Hawaii” painting best, too. Definitely the best of all!!!!!!
Stay safe! We follow the hurricanes from here….
❃ Beatrice ❃
August 8, 2014 at 2:20 pm |
I thoroughly enjoyed the outing. The Olympia painting is so massive in size that it gave such an aura of strength and invincibility
(Notice how the male is subjugated Ito the background?). After all she is Olympia!
August 8, 2014 at 3:28 pm |
I thought it was a female in the background because of her narrow waist and covered bust.
August 8, 2014 at 7:15 pm |
You may be right, although this painting makes a referential “apology” to Edouard Manet who also painted his own Olympia, a prostitute. I “saw” or interpreted this person to be a male. It could very well be a female companion to Tennent’s “Olympia.” That’s what is so interesting about art – we bring our own insights to the viewing of paintings. Art allows us to explore many parts of our life and about ourselves. We could start a real discussion about art, or in this case Madge Tennent. I want to know more about her!
August 8, 2014 at 7:52 pm |
I.m back home and catching up. Lovely art work. I’ll be looking for your storm report.
August 8, 2014 at 11:46 pm |
love the flowers
August 9, 2014 at 7:22 am |
Interesting. To me it looks more primitive, with dash of impressionism/romanticism. But what do I know. I slept thru art class in college.
August 9, 2014 at 7:44 am |
I agree that Tennent’s painting is very impressionistic…more like Gaugin and Manet. I think that had the exhibit only included Manookian and Savage, there would be very little to view! You know more about art history than you give yourself credit.
August 9, 2014 at 5:59 pm |
The George Geracimos, owner of the Green Mill Cafe, mentioned in the Manookian paintings, was my wife Helen Geracimos Chapin’s father. Local Greek family. (They misspelled it as Garacimos.)
August 10, 2014 at 11:23 pm |
Misspelling a name seems to be a problem for me as I spelled Gauguin as Gaugin! Nonetheless, I would have loved to have been a patron of the Green Mill Cafe to see Manookian’s paintings in that time and place! He truly loved Hawaii and its people. The Greeks and Armenians have found their home here in Hawaii too, bringing such a rich and multi-cultural diversity to our islands.
August 16, 2014 at 9:06 pm
Flo, It’s not you who misspelled the name of Geracimos. It’s the Honolulu Museum of Art that did it. We are going to try to get them to spell it right. Lotsa luck! 🙂 Good to see you at the luncheon at Greens and Vines today, but you were at the other end of the table so I didn’t get to talk to you. Glenda told me you are an artist. I like your picture of the white dog. I have a real white dog with a tan streak down her back that looks like a Mohawk haircut. Her name is Hoku, a Terrier Mix. I must now take her for a walk. 9:05 pm Saturday, August 16, 2014.
August 13, 2014 at 12:57 pm |
REallly nice art. Thaks.