Hawaii State Art Museum has turned the lens on the masculine gender with its new exhibit, “Men.”

The show is not a contemporary statement about gender identity, though some of the individual pieces do seek to shatter the status quo. More so, the 30-plus pieces on display are a contemplative cross section of works by some of Hawaii’s most esteemed artists through the decades.

The focus is predominantly related to island life, portraying figures of various ethnicities — figures marked by musculature, seriousness of expression, dynamism and activity.

“This exhibition highlights some of the ways artists choose to depict men,” said show organizer Elizabeth Baxter, an artist herself who has been on staff at the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts for more than 10 years. The current scrutiny of men in the media inspired her to select and pool together depictions of men from the Art in Public Places collection, which she curates.

“The artwork in the exhibition spans almost 100 years,” she added. “It makes one think about how society views men, and in turn, how you as a viewer view men. I kept finding myself questioning what attributes make a man.”

The many male mugs Baxter initially found were an obvious choice, but a roomful of stern faces staring straight into a camera could be a bit disconcerting, so she dug deeper.

“I found a lot of (representations) of men working or playing,” she noted. “It was interesting, though, that artists chose to depict them with the men’s backs turned, faces hidden. Also, lots of men alone.”

WORKS BY seminal artists of modern Hawaii are on display, including pieces by Louis Pohl, Satoru Abe, Bumpei Akaji, Dietrich Varez and world-recognized muralist Jean Charlot.

“Women and the female form have been the focus of art historically,” points out Baxter. “This is mostly due to the fact that, historically, most artists have been men.”

Baxter included an assortment of works in a variety of media, from paintings, sketches and photographs to sculptures, a tapestry, block prints and more.

Some pieces are a bit edgy or defy easy categorization, so they might not be on view as frequently as other works comprised in Art in Public Places.

Take for instance, Kaina Young’s untitled photograph. A shadowy figure leans against a wall, his face bathed in a ray of light. Only upon closer inspection does it become clear that another figure is kneeling in front of him. The accompanying plaque offers Young’s description. As a homosexual man who has felt ostracized and unsafe, he says, “I hope that by seeing (my work) someone may move a step closer toward acceptance.”

Most of the works at the exhibit are by men. However, women’s work is also represented, including an intriguing creation by Susan Martin Maffei. As its title posits, “Man Reclining on a Couch” is what’s presented. He’s naked, bald and extremely lean. The portrayal has been rendered in tapestry, thereby applying an unusual medium to an unusual situation for a man – he’s undressed and posed in a way that has traditionally been used for women.

An apt description of what can be found at “Men” is posted at the entrance to the exhibit, reading in part, “Ideas of masculinity are presented in ways that are sometimes direct, sometimes fictitious, and sometimes symbolic.”

Perhaps the work that most readily jumps out at a viewer is an abstract oddity, “Crow Man Goes Sailing,” by James Surls. The drawing is large and seemingly whimsical, but Surls, whose works can be seen at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and other celebrated museums, states that every line has meaning. The wall-sized piece brings a touch of levity to a room busy with depictions of hunting, images of striking physiognomy and works rich with conceptual significance.

What does it mean to depict men artistically? Come ready to explore, challenge and expand your notions.