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.
2009.4x6.5+Obama+graphic+ok_1_1_1_1.jpg)
