During the film era, Kodak announced that more film was shot in Hawai‘i than any other state. Recently, the Improve Photography website reveals that Hawai‘i has the second most active photographic community in the country. And the State film office lists over 225 motion picture films made in Hawai‘i during the twentieth and early twenty first centuries. What makes Hawai‘i such a compelling and sought-out location for photographers and filmmakers? The […]
Photography
Photography for Social Change, Spring 2016
The following images were drawn from the final portfolios in my Chaminade University class, Photography for Social Change, Spring 2016. The class is an introduction to photography with an emphasis on using the camera as an instrument to reveal social issues or to assist in seeking positive solutions to the problems which vex us all. —David Ulrich Kim Barroga Waimanalo, is a city in the district of Ko’olaupoko on the island of […]
Art and Self Knowledge
Who Am I?Know Thyself.” Socrates words resound with an inner force as clear and direct as their first utterance over twenty-five centuries ago. These two simple words lie at the heart of the world’s great teachings and have had a profound impact on the thought and inquiry of western civilization. What do these powerful words really mean? How do we approach this vast and essential task? And for our purposes: […]
Paradise / Paradox
Crossroads of Heaven and Earth on Mauna KeaAmong the many roles that artists can play is to bring perspective, create an enlarged viewpoint, and to offer their wisdom through carefully crafted objects invested with feeling and thought. By thought, I mean the intelligence that grows from one’s entire being, formulated in thinking that is capable of transcending literal and rational description. Several years ago, I worked on a small project […]
What (and Who) is Art For?
An American VisionThe arts reflect the soul of a people; they express the spirit of an age. If this is true, and historically all evidence affirms this, then what can we deduce from this graphic? The diagram shows the most prevalent search for artists on eBay by state. Since eBay is a commerce site, we can safely assume that at least some of these searches were made with the intention […]
Education and the Cultivation of Wisdom
An Ever-present Invitation to Ever-greater OpennessAs an educator, I face the question daily: In what way can modern education contribute to the cultivation of wisdom and the search for clarity of thought and perception? Many of my students have confided in me that striving towards independent thought, emotional understanding, and direct perception are noticeably absent from most of their educational experiences in school — and that they are looking for […]
Intimations of Infinity
Visions of Hawai‘iWhen I look out the window of my home, towards Diamond Head and the Pacific Ocean, I see infinity. I can see as far as the distant horizon allows. Often, the ocean and sky blend together into a featureless, luminous field of color and light. I see this daily and it enters my consciousness deeply. It changes me in ways I cannot quite identify. I am constantly reminded […]
Observations of the Hawai‘i Landscape
A guest essay by Franco SalmoiraghiThese images are selections from forty-five years of photographing in Hawai’i. Expeditions, wanderings and assignments for books and magazines have given me opportunities to observe the mysterious and mythical nature of the ‘aina (land) that has been revered for centuries through ritual oli, hula and mele (chant, dance and song). These photographs are quiet observations. My intent has been to document remnants of primeval nature […]