Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Tuesday, January 14, 2025 82° Today's Paper


Artists’ works explore identity, environment

COURTESY HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART

“Voices in My Head,” 1997, by Lesley Dill; charcoal and thread on gelatin silver print.

In a turbulent political climate, questions continue to arise that relate to identity, ethnic inequality and the environment. “The World Reflected” features works from the museum’s contemporary art collection that address these issues.

Featured artists at the Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House exhibit include Vito Acconci, Robert Arneson, Jennifer Bartlett, Geoff Chadsey, Lesley Dill, Edgar Heap of Birds, William Kentridge and Kara Walker.

“Wav(er)ing Flags,” a three-color lithograph by Acconci, who is best known as a performance artist in the 1960s and ’70s, will be among the displayed works. Acconci superimposed a rippling American flag with the Pledge of Allegiance. The words might remind one of a musical score and beckon the idea of patriotism in modern times.

“THE WORLD REFLECTED”
Featuring works by Vito Acconci, Robert Arneson, Jennifer Bartlett, Geoff Chadsey, Lesley Dill, Edgar Heap of Birds, William Kentridge and Kara Walker

>> Where: Honolulu Museum of Art’s Spalding House, 2411 Makiki Heights Drive
>> When: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-4 p.m. Sunday, through Oct. 28
>> Cost: $20, $10 kamaaina, free for ages 18 and under; free admission Oct. 4 (first Wednesday) and 15 (third Sunday)
>> Info: 526-1322, honolulumuseum.org

“Voices in My Head,” a charcoal and thread on gelatin silver print by Dill, is layered with text, a poetic decryption of Emily Dickinson’s poem “937,” which is roughly superimposed over a printed image.

Frank Moore creates a dystopian landscape filled with mounds of people’s possessions and consumer goods in “Study for Oz” (gouache, watercolor and graphite on paper). The piece is intended to caution humans on their attachments and relationships to objects.

The artwork is on display through Oct. 28.

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