{"id":181406,"date":"2023-08-04T15:33:14","date_gmt":"2023-08-05T01:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=181406"},"modified":"2023-08-04T15:33:14","modified_gmt":"2023-08-05T01:33:14","slug":"creatures-and-characters-feature-uh-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/08\/04\/creatures-and-characters-feature-uh-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Creatures and Characters’ feature UH<\/abbr> artists"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Cats,
Power Play<\/em> by Jackie Mild-Lau<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Surprising, unusual and amusing are elements woven into art pieces on display in the newly unveiled “Creatures and Characters<\/a>” exhibit at the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Art Museum<\/a>. Works created by University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> artists are among the pieces featured which include five UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa and UH<\/abbr> Hilo alumni and seven faculty from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa and Windward Community College.<\/p>\n

\"Person
Aloha Wear(y)<\/em> by Brandon Ng<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The exhibit opened on Friday, August 3, and spotlights creations through a diverse mix of media and artistic approaches such as ink jet prints, bronze and wood.<\/p>\n

Brightly colored fabrics dotted with vintage-esque Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> scenes of shady palms and pineapple are featured in artist Brandon Ng\u2019s Aloha Wear(y)<\/em> photograph print. Ng, who earned a BFA<\/abbr> from the Art and Art History<\/a> department at UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, exposes hidden and disguised psychological ramifications through art.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019ve often found that when traveling on the continental U.S. and abroad, I have to explain to people why I am not Hawaiian despite being born and raised in the islands,” Ng said. “Using generic ‘Hawaiian Shirts” and tropical fabric motifs as a stand-in for pervasive ideas about paradise, I call attention to the complication of self-identification through the lens of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>‘s nuanced ethnic dynamic.”<\/p>\n

Dark art<\/h2>\n
\"Woman
Bessemer Bubbles<\/em> by Katya Lee Hutchinson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Print artist Katya Lee Hutchinson believes her artwork possesses a dark intensity often heavily influenced by literature, examining ideas around escapism, isolation, and social evolution. The UH<\/abbr> Hilo art<\/a> alumna poured views about our society into Bessemer Bubbles<\/em>, her intaglio and monoprint print.<\/p>\n

“The industrial cycle of labor\/production\/consumption has had an immeasurable impact on culture and the environment,” Hutchinson stated. “Haunted by the insidious nature of industry and materialism, Bessemer Bubbles<\/em> examines my own role as a passive participant within a flawed system.”<\/p>\n

Featured UH<\/abbr> alumni artists<\/h2>\n