Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Georgia O'Keefe and Hawaii









The late 1930s were a time of great change and upheaval in the life of Georgia O’Keeffe. Her mentor and husband, the famous photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, became romantically involved with a wealthy young married woman named Dorothy Norman. Even after O’Keeffe suffered a nervous breakdown over the stress of his infidelity, the love affair continued.

The nervous breakdown so incapacitated O’Keeffe that she did not pursue her art for almost two years. An essential part of her recovery was travel. She renewed her regular summer trips to Abiquiu, New Mexico but also went to Maine, Bermuda, and Hawai‘i. These trips took her away from her husband’s ongoing relationship with Norman and introduced her to fresh subject matter. In the late 1930s, more than one critic had written that they were getting tired of her Southwest images. O’Keeffe’s three-month sojourn in Hawai‘i was at the invitation of the New York advertising agency N.W. Ayer. Ayer executive Earl Thomas, who had arranged an honorary doctorate for O’Keeffe from William and Mary College in Virginia, sent the artist to Hawai‘i on the Matson oceanliner S.S. Lurline. The Ayer company had previously commissioned Charles Sheeler to photograph a Ford plant and Edward Steichen to photograph the oceanliner itself for Matson. Dole Company was the client that underwrote O’Keeffe’s expenses in exchange for a painting of a pineapple.

During her stay, O’Keeffe traveled around Oahu, Maui, and Hawai‘i. She painted landscapes in the Iao Valley, numerous flowers, including bella donna, hibiscus, plumeria, ginger and lotus, surreal pictures of fishhooks, and formations of black lava. These paintings were featured in the Academy’s 1990 exhibition Georgia O’Keeffe: Paintings in Hawai‘i.

While in Hawai‘i, O’Keeffe met many prominent local figures including Atherton Richards and Richard Pritzlaff, Hana Plantation manager Willis Jennings, and painter Robert Lee Eskridge, to whom she gave her paints when leaving the islands.

Photographs of O’Keeffe smiling broadly are evidence of her own assertion that she considered Hawai‘i one of the most beautiful and remarkable of places. When the Hawaiian paintings were exhibited at An American Place in 1940, her exhibition statement was no less emphatic:

If my painting is what I have to give back to the world for what the world gives to me, I may say that these paintings are what I have to give at present for what three months in Hawai‘i gave to me.”

(Above notecards from Honolulu Academy of Art Giftshop. They also have a print of one of her mountain scenes)

Hana Coast

.."Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like having a friend takes time..." Georgia O'Keefe
An Orchid Painting by Hawaii resident Kerrilyn Joy ,influenced by Georgia O'Keefe


A young local artist also influenced by Georgia O'Keefe (image from the local Newspaper)

Historical Information about Ms. O'Keefe taken from information about the 2006 exhibition on the Honolulu Academy of Art website. www.honoluluacademy.org/

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Pineapple: Ananas comosus, Bromeliaceae

Hawaii and Pineapple -images inspired by the iconic pineapple fruit
Hawaiian Pineapple Quilt

Four Seasons Koele Lodge on the Island of Lanai, the Pineapple Island

Hawaiian Pineapple Quilt Pattern

Vintage sterling souvenir spoon
vintage pin
vintage pineapple cut bakelite brooch
vintage sterling souvenir spoon Hawaiian Quilt Pattern Jewelry
Vintage gelatin mold
vintage pineapple
Vintage milkglass vase

Vintage pin
Vintage lanternsGucci Pineapple Shoes!!
18k earrings La Zahav,Miami
In Chinese culture, wearing gold jewellery is believed to bring lots of good luck. And when the item includes auspicious symbols in the design, then the luck is multiplied. Wear an auspicious symbol in 18K gold to maximize your good fortune. These specially crafted gifts of gold make excellent statements of our love for those we care about.

In Chinese, the pineapple is known as "Wong Lei", which means "wealth luck comes to you".



Pineapple pendant,Maui designer
"Pineapple top" gold and pearl earrings
Nantucket basket with pineapple clasp
New England

Whalers would bring back pineapples to Nantucket on their return from the Pacific.

Pineapple chair
Cannery workers,Hawaii


Women Workers in Hawai‘i’s Pineapple Industry

Pineapple cannery foreladies dressed in their white uniforms

Foreladies at Hapco (Hawaiian Pineapple Company) cannery, ca. 1930. (Photo courtesy Mabel Kozuki.)

Hawai‘i’s pineapple industry, begun on a commercial scale in 1903, has historically been one of the largest employers of women.

“Because I got a chance to work for this company, my husband and I could support our children and educate them, and they are where they are now. I’m very thankful because it’s a honest-working job, good-paying job, too.” —Liiko Nouchi

Copyright 2002 © University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Social Sciences


Water Tower
Pineapple workers
Dole Cannery,now a tourist spot
Ceiling medallion









several images from the wonderful blog www.peakofchic.com

loved the pineapple post!!!!
Pineapple cake