2009.4x6.5+Obama+graphic+ok_1_1_1_1.jpg)
A few weeks back I had written a slew of city officials and anyone I could find online in OBAMA CITY Japan to inquire about their interest in exhibiting the Obama in Hawaii Show.
TODAY I got in my inbox an email from an excited Mr. Fujihara of Obama City saying they would welcome a show there and...
He'll be in Honolulu in exactly 9 days so we can discuss in person the show details!
His town's hula girls are coming to the Honolulu Festival to perform hula in the Parade, at a huge shopping mall, and for the State Senate as well! He'll accompany them, we'll meet him, and the Obama in Hawaii show will go to Obama City!
"Obama" means "little beach" in Japanese and it is small seaside town whose main industry is lacquer chopsticks! Tourism is a close second I am sure with a name like Obama!
Now if we can line up about 10 shows in Japan Susan can travel there and tour Japan for the first time!
March-ing On... Palm Springs Gallery set!
It's March here in Hawaii. The Obama Show in Chinatown was extended a couple more weeks!
One of the many gallery customers was a Hawaii writer named Rob who introduced himself as the creator of the website "Obama's Neighborhood" - he was so excited about the show that we wants to offer it via his popular website in some form so we'll explore that.
Make sure and view his site to learn some fundamental and biographical information about Obama's upbringing here in Hawaii. The url is www.obamasneighborhood.com
ALSO
It's now official: June 2009 will be the start of the Obama Show in Palm Springs CA at The Exposures Gallery! Check out Rich Young's website and we will update as more details become available. www.exposureps.com
One of the many gallery customers was a Hawaii writer named Rob who introduced himself as the creator of the website "Obama's Neighborhood" - he was so excited about the show that we wants to offer it via his popular website in some form so we'll explore that.
Make sure and view his site to learn some fundamental and biographical information about Obama's upbringing here in Hawaii. The url is www.obamasneighborhood.com
ALSO
It's now official: June 2009 will be the start of the Obama Show in Palm Springs CA at The Exposures Gallery! Check out Rich Young's website and we will update as more details become available. www.exposureps.com
One Thing Leads to Another
Our show at NEX was so well-received that we started to wonder where else we could share the exhibit. People kept saying things like "We've never seen pictures of Barack like this before" and "These really show he's from Hawaii." We started thinking that it would be nice to have the show travel at least to each island.
On the day before the last day of the show, a gentleman named Franklin came up to us and said he worked with a gallery in Chinatown (one of Honolulu's better known arts districts) and asked if we would be open to moving the show to the gallery the first week of February. We said sure let's talk with the owner and work out the details -- couple days later it was set! "The Aloha President" was on the move!
808 Gallery
Joann at 808 Gallery was very excited to have Obama in Hawaii for her February show. In addition, we came to find out that we would be sharing her space with an artist Nicole Buffett, who is the granddaughter of one of Obama's financial advisors, Warren Buffett. Interesting coincidence!
Getting ready for an actual Gallery showing is a bit more labor-intensive than a short show at NEX, so Susan swung into action and we honed in on our web presence as well. We created the slideshow www.thecolorsofhawaii.com/obama and sent out our huge email campaign.
Some pictures from the Opening Night in Chinatown February 6, 2009 (all taken by Susan Benay):
2009.4x6.Obama+show+bw_5538.jpg)
2009.4x6.Obama+show_5501.jpg)
And one more for good luck:
That last one is a Chinese Dragon to which you make an offering and you get Good Luck!
We got good luck for sure! After this show we got word about the possibility we would move the show across the Pacific 3000 miles away -- to Palm Springs, CA!!
On the day before the last day of the show, a gentleman named Franklin came up to us and said he worked with a gallery in Chinatown (one of Honolulu's better known arts districts) and asked if we would be open to moving the show to the gallery the first week of February. We said sure let's talk with the owner and work out the details -- couple days later it was set! "The Aloha President" was on the move!
808 Gallery
Joann at 808 Gallery was very excited to have Obama in Hawaii for her February show. In addition, we came to find out that we would be sharing her space with an artist Nicole Buffett, who is the granddaughter of one of Obama's financial advisors, Warren Buffett. Interesting coincidence!
Getting ready for an actual Gallery showing is a bit more labor-intensive than a short show at NEX, so Susan swung into action and we honed in on our web presence as well. We created the slideshow www.thecolorsofhawaii.com/obama and sent out our huge email campaign.
Some pictures from the Opening Night in Chinatown February 6, 2009 (all taken by Susan Benay):
2009.4x6.Obama+show+bw_5538.jpg)
2009.4x6.Obama+show_5501.jpg)
And one more for good luck:
That last one is a Chinese Dragon to which you make an offering and you get Good Luck!
We got good luck for sure! After this show we got word about the possibility we would move the show across the Pacific 3000 miles away -- to Palm Springs, CA!!
The First Exhibit - January 19-23, 2009
Because our retail location is inside a Federal facility, the Navy Exchange Pearl Harbor (or NEX as it is known), we decided to wait until the week of the Presidential Inauguration to unveil the images of Obama in Hawaii.
Our facility managers Kim and Frank, graciously and excitedly agreed to give us a choice exhibition area - an expanded area in which we could actually hang many pieces.
Susan was "assembling" the digital images and getting them developed and she started seeing that she actually a wide variety of unusual and very expressive images. She thought many of the images would resonate with the servicemen and women - after all, Barack would become Commander in Chief that week.
The weekend before the exhibit was full of the usual frenetic and last minute activity that all of our art shows have, so Susan was hard at work choosing images and actually matting and framing everything.
I had read an article in the local paper about a native Hawaiian who was currently residing in Manassas, VA (near Washington DC) and who had written what in Hawaii is known as a "name chant" for Barack Obama. I thought "We've got to play this chant at the opening this week." So I emailed him (his name is Manu Ikaika) and the next morning he emailed me the link to the audio file of the chant and gave his permission to play it and hand out the lyrics to as many people as we could! This was an awesome addition to the show and we insist on it playing wherever we display the images. Here is the link to his website page that describes the chant and also tells about his hula halau (group) in northern Virginia.
The area Navy newspaper, Navy News, called to say that they would be sending out a reporter to cover the exhibit so we were excited about that as well. Blair the reporter did an awesome job. (Read their story "Artist's brush with Obama inspires art show".)
The firstever showing of the Obama in Hawaii images was a total success. From an art event perspective it had everything: conversation, emotion, inspiration, excitement, and a big thing, sales! The images spoke to people of the historic nature of the Obama Presidency and the artful compositions that Susan used to portray her experiences of being with Obama brought out for many people a new appreciation of Obama himself and of the Hawaiian aspects of Obama as well.
That Inauguration week was a great sendoff for this exhibit and having it on a military facility with servicemen and women and their families enjoying it and being the first to view it made it that much more meaningful.
Our facility managers Kim and Frank, graciously and excitedly agreed to give us a choice exhibition area - an expanded area in which we could actually hang many pieces.
Susan was "assembling" the digital images and getting them developed and she started seeing that she actually a wide variety of unusual and very expressive images. She thought many of the images would resonate with the servicemen and women - after all, Barack would become Commander in Chief that week.
The weekend before the exhibit was full of the usual frenetic and last minute activity that all of our art shows have, so Susan was hard at work choosing images and actually matting and framing everything.
I had read an article in the local paper about a native Hawaiian who was currently residing in Manassas, VA (near Washington DC) and who had written what in Hawaii is known as a "name chant" for Barack Obama. I thought "We've got to play this chant at the opening this week." So I emailed him (his name is Manu Ikaika) and the next morning he emailed me the link to the audio file of the chant and gave his permission to play it and hand out the lyrics to as many people as we could! This was an awesome addition to the show and we insist on it playing wherever we display the images. Here is the link to his website page that describes the chant and also tells about his hula halau (group) in northern Virginia.
The area Navy newspaper, Navy News, called to say that they would be sending out a reporter to cover the exhibit so we were excited about that as well. Blair the reporter did an awesome job. (Read their story "Artist's brush with Obama inspires art show".)
The firstever showing of the Obama in Hawaii images was a total success. From an art event perspective it had everything: conversation, emotion, inspiration, excitement, and a big thing, sales! The images spoke to people of the historic nature of the Obama Presidency and the artful compositions that Susan used to portray her experiences of being with Obama brought out for many people a new appreciation of Obama himself and of the Hawaiian aspects of Obama as well.
That Inauguration week was a great sendoff for this exhibit and having it on a military facility with servicemen and women and their families enjoying it and being the first to view it made it that much more meaningful.
Back up a month or two!
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves with shows and news, I wanted to give a history of "The Aloha President" show up until now.
The Images
My wife Susan Benay is an artist and photographer living in Lanikai and Kailua Hawaii for the past 9 years. She is one of the topselling and best-loved photographers in the islands with her images gracing books, calendars, and websites and countless retail stores and galleries on all the islands.
Her website www.thecolorsofhawaii.com is where to go to see her artistic and colorful images of Hawaii. Her work is steeped in the island's energy and seeming infinity of beauty and natural wonder. You will be hard-pressed to find one photographer with as wide a variety of visual material on contemporary Hawaii.
8-8-08
Painting is her first love, though. So that said:
On August 8, 2008 she set out to go hear and photograph Barack Obama at his very special and one and only Hawaii rally at Keehi Lagoon, which was very near her main retail store at the NEX Pearl Harbor! Her intent was to capture images and then paint large paintings from those images.
The morning of the rally she got in line early and was luckily right up front. The rally was very very short (about 15 minutes) and it was thrilling.
She was totally absorbed in the excitement of the event and the almost tangible energy that Barack exuded. The crowd was "fired-up!" So was she. She took what
she calls a "tropical suite" of photos under the intense heat of the Hawaiian sun. At the end of the rally, she met Barack and Michele briefly. She was struck by their genuineness and great hearts!
That meeting and the day's events ignited a true creative inspiration in her.
Fast forward to December...
Barack Obama had won the election and word was spreading that he was coming back to Hawaii one more time before Inauguration. Where would he stay? That was a subject of great conjecture. In the town of Kailua where he stayed in August was the assumption but no one knew for sure.
On December 19th, my wife called me from our home on the canal at the north end of Kailua Beach. "He's staying right across from us!" she said. She could see barricades going up and another neighbor had confirmed: Barack Obama was going to be staying right across the canal from us for 12 days!
As you can imagine it was a scene beyond belief for 12 days at our house and neighborhood. My wife took in all that was happening while she continued with the passions and details of her daily life. Sometimes she would set up an easel and paint in our back yard on the water in what she called "plein-canal" painting. On Christmas she painted "Mele Kalikimaka" on the bottom of our kayak and set it on the canal bank to extend Christmas wishes to the very many of the president's party and entourage of press and security as well as our neighbors on the other side. She painted the bottom of a standup paddleboard with a Happy New Year's message and placed it next to the kayak on Dec. 31 as well.
Many a morning we would wave at him as he sped by to go to the nearby Marine Corps Base. Often he would wave back and flash a big smile.
The entire island of Oahu which we live on underwent a complete electrical blackout for over 12 hours one evening while Barack was here. Not too many public outings by the Obamas but enough to make news around the world.
And my wife was able to tastefully document what she witnessed from her vantage point. She did not follow him around town, but rather noted the details and moments that energized our neighborhood due to his presence. The images tell an interesting story of the goings-on in a quiet, scenic neighborhood with a very special guest. From canoe paddlers to surfers to Christmas carolers to well-wishers bringing macadamia nuts and chocolate to relaxed press corps to routine security
measures to protesters to wild weather, rainbows, and glorious sunrises -- and so on. Each day offered something uniquely new.
Brush with History
So, the images from "Being in Paradise with Obama: An Artist's Brush with History in Hawaii" (aka "The Aloha President") draw from the two time periods mentioned above - one, when she "went to him" at the 8-8-08 rally and two, when he "came to her" across from her home from 12-20-08 to 1-1-09.
I think it's easy enough to see why she was inspired to create this show and offer it to the world. We hope you find it interesting and it leaves you wanting to learn more about Hawaii and perhaps Barack himself. It is the President in his hometown under the Hawaiian sun on the cusp of making history, on the cusp of changing things around a bit in our country and the world...
Again, here's the link to the show and enjoy:
http://www.thealohapresident.com
Oh, yeah. The paintings she had wanted to do originally from the photographic images she got on 8-8-08... those are coming too!!!
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves with shows and news, I wanted to give a history of "The Aloha President" show up until now.
The Images
My wife Susan Benay is an artist and photographer living in Lanikai and Kailua Hawaii for the past 9 years. She is one of the topselling and best-loved photographers in the islands with her images gracing books, calendars, and websites and countless retail stores and galleries on all the islands.
Her website www.thecolorsofhawaii.com is where to go to see her artistic and colorful images of Hawaii. Her work is steeped in the island's energy and seeming infinity of beauty and natural wonder. You will be hard-pressed to find one photographer with as wide a variety of visual material on contemporary Hawaii.
8-8-08
Painting is her first love, though. So that said:
On August 8, 2008 she set out to go hear and photograph Barack Obama at his very special and one and only Hawaii rally at Keehi Lagoon, which was very near her main retail store at the NEX Pearl Harbor! Her intent was to capture images and then paint large paintings from those images.
The morning of the rally she got in line early and was luckily right up front. The rally was very very short (about 15 minutes) and it was thrilling.
She was totally absorbed in the excitement of the event and the almost tangible energy that Barack exuded. The crowd was "fired-up!" So was she. She took what
she calls a "tropical suite" of photos under the intense heat of the Hawaiian sun. At the end of the rally, she met Barack and Michele briefly. She was struck by their genuineness and great hearts!
That meeting and the day's events ignited a true creative inspiration in her.
Fast forward to December...
Barack Obama had won the election and word was spreading that he was coming back to Hawaii one more time before Inauguration. Where would he stay? That was a subject of great conjecture. In the town of Kailua where he stayed in August was the assumption but no one knew for sure.
On December 19th, my wife called me from our home on the canal at the north end of Kailua Beach. "He's staying right across from us!" she said. She could see barricades going up and another neighbor had confirmed: Barack Obama was going to be staying right across the canal from us for 12 days!
As you can imagine it was a scene beyond belief for 12 days at our house and neighborhood. My wife took in all that was happening while she continued with the passions and details of her daily life. Sometimes she would set up an easel and paint in our back yard on the water in what she called "plein-canal" painting. On Christmas she painted "Mele Kalikimaka" on the bottom of our kayak and set it on the canal bank to extend Christmas wishes to the very many of the president's party and entourage of press and security as well as our neighbors on the other side. She painted the bottom of a standup paddleboard with a Happy New Year's message and placed it next to the kayak on Dec. 31 as well.
Many a morning we would wave at him as he sped by to go to the nearby Marine Corps Base. Often he would wave back and flash a big smile.
The entire island of Oahu which we live on underwent a complete electrical blackout for over 12 hours one evening while Barack was here. Not too many public outings by the Obamas but enough to make news around the world.
And my wife was able to tastefully document what she witnessed from her vantage point. She did not follow him around town, but rather noted the details and moments that energized our neighborhood due to his presence. The images tell an interesting story of the goings-on in a quiet, scenic neighborhood with a very special guest. From canoe paddlers to surfers to Christmas carolers to well-wishers bringing macadamia nuts and chocolate to relaxed press corps to routine security
measures to protesters to wild weather, rainbows, and glorious sunrises -- and so on. Each day offered something uniquely new.
Brush with History
So, the images from "Being in Paradise with Obama: An Artist's Brush with History in Hawaii" (aka "The Aloha President") draw from the two time periods mentioned above - one, when she "went to him" at the 8-8-08 rally and two, when he "came to her" across from her home from 12-20-08 to 1-1-09.
I think it's easy enough to see why she was inspired to create this show and offer it to the world. We hope you find it interesting and it leaves you wanting to learn more about Hawaii and perhaps Barack himself. It is the President in his hometown under the Hawaiian sun on the cusp of making history, on the cusp of changing things around a bit in our country and the world...
Again, here's the link to the show and enjoy:
http://www.thealohapresident.com
Oh, yeah. The paintings she had wanted to do originally from the photographic images she got on 8-8-08... those are coming too!!!
The Beginning...
Aloha from Hawaii!
We offer this blog as a way for you to learn about and follow the exhibit "Being in Paradise with Obama - An Artist's Brush with History in Hawaii by Susan Benay."
In the meantime, please visit the following website to view the show:
We offer this blog as a way for you to learn about and follow the exhibit "Being in Paradise with Obama - An Artist's Brush with History in Hawaii by Susan Benay."
In the meantime, please visit the following website to view the show:
http://www.thealohapresident.com
Mahalo (Thank You),
Patrick and Susan
All images and text on this blog are ©2009 Susan Benay. All Rights Reserved!
Patrick and Susan
All images and text on this blog are ©2009 Susan Benay. All Rights Reserved!
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