Call for Figures & Quotes: Maui Community Art Project
ART OPENING & INSTALLATION
Monday, July 9, 20186-7 pm - Artist Remarks at 6:30 pmSip Me7 Ka‘ahumanu Ave, Kahului, MauiFree and open to allScroll down to see photos from the event and read a few comments.
I've been noodling on this idea for several months and am going to just share it out loud and see where it goes. (I've updated this post to feature the preliminary canvas we've created! The original blue canvas was by Yves Klein, the French artist who is credited with bringing body printing to the art world.)I am inspired by the early body print paintings of Yves Klein, a prominent and controversial French artist, that were created in the early 1960's.I'm also inspired by this question: Who are You?
UPDATE: MAHALO NUI to all of you who body printed and/or answered the question, Who are you? I have all the submissions and the piece is getting the finish coat of acrylic varnish today. Photos coming soon.
Here's my concept: I AM: Maui
1) I want to have a wide range of bodies print themselves onto a canvas to make a multi-cultural and multi-colored base to a painting. I want enough body prints that each body is blurred, one into the other, so we are left with a richly textured base painting of 'Maui bodies.' This is a contemporary way of co-mingling our selves while also defining our unique points of view. DONE! Thank you to all the amazing participants.2) Then, I want to collect as many answers as I can to the question, Who Are You? so I can write the "I AM ..." statements on the body-painted canvas. I want as many of these as I can attract from residents of Maui Nui — Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lanā‘i. The form is not built yet - I will update here when it is.Remember, I want as many "I AM" contributions as possible, for the words on the canvas! I haven't made that submission form yet; will update this when I do.Many people who take part in this kind of art project report a deeper appreciation of their bodies and themselves. :-)
A few photos from the opening!
I am so grateful to Laura Wentworth and all the staff at Sip Me for hosting our art opening and presenting the piece to the community. Please stop by for a coffee and some art! Thank you to all of you who showed up - sadly for me, I am missing a lot of you in the photos. But I remember and I am grateful. Feel free to email any photos to add to this post. Click on any photo to open a larger version and click through them all.Sip Me Kahului7 E Kaahumanu Ave.Kahului, Maui, HI 96732Hours: 6am - 6pm[gallery link="file" ids="260,259,258,261,262,280,278,277,276,269,263,270,271,274,275,268,266,264,279"]
Comments
"After attending the opening of “I Am Maui” painting exhibit I was inspired by something the artist Roxanne Darling said that reminded me how important process is when creating art. Most art is created in a solitary process but this piece was a collaboration and intimate process by many people.It gave pause in stopping and not just looking at a beautiful piece of art but gave the viewer permission to be thoughtful with the process."Dania Novack Katz, publisher, edible Hawaiian Islands Magazine
"I’ve been reviewing art on this island since 1998. The chance to be a part of a painting was delicious and exciting. From the day I got “painted” and imprinted myself on the canvas, as the first one, to the gathering at “Sip Me,” which turned out to be a farewell to the artist, it was a marvelous, unique, adventurous project. The gathering of all the participants, the dance one had to do to get the “I am” statements, watching the participants finding their belly buttons, butt cheeks, and other body parts in the layers of paint; such a hoot.When I saw the request for the “I am” statements, I wondered how they would be incorporated. That was the genius of the artist. I tried to imagine the work without the statements. It would lose its power.It was a most festive gathering and highly anticipated."Paul Janes-Brown, host of Curtain Call