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Voyagers
Author and illustrator Herb Kane brings back into print the classic edition of Voyagers, a beautifully illustrated chronicle of Hawaii and Pacific history and legends. Long awaited since the first edition, this revised release contains over 140 paintings and drawings, with extremely interesting and well researched text.
160 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 21, 2018
Liked the non traditional mix of the artist's biography, notes on how he plied his craft and the history represented in his paintings. Interesting anecdotes and asides that provide good flavor of Hawaiian history/culture.
September 29, 2019
The intersection of art and history: Art is not therapy: History as story telling:Fun Hawaiian facts.
Painting as Time Travel pg 42
If an artist cannot get excited about his work, no one else will. A painting or sculpture is a statement, a tangible expression of an idea. The artist's enthusiasm in the performance may affect forever the attitudes of viewers. An artist may have talent and training, but if he has nothing interesting to say or is intimidated by critics, or is overly concerned about what happened to be "hot" in New York last week, then neither he nor his work will long survive. ...
But history has no value to society if its findings are not communicated, and many historians have difficulty communicating, except among themselves. ----The great historical writers, knowing that the historian's task clearly includes both a high quality of research and the art of communication, have regarded telling the story of history as an art. Although this is conventionally done with words, I believe that painting has the power to create a sense of history beyond words.
Chinese painters observe a saying: "To paint a flower, you must be a flower; to paint a tiger, you must be a tiger," which is to say that an artist must empathize with his subject. Depicting people of another time and culture requires such empathy. Without it, the figures cannot come alive on the canvas; they either appear as either curiously wooden or as depictions of the artist's models-modern persons in period costume.....The artist can bridge his (cultural) chasm of differences only insofar as he can bring himself to see the world of his subjects through their eyes.
....Such empathy cannot be achieved by those enchanted by romantic or sentimental sympathy. Historians who succumb to emotional partisanship can never gain a clear view of their subjects. All peoples indulge in romantic nostalgia; the making of myths and moral judgments about the past is a universally popular pastime. Such myths may reveal fundamental truths about those who made them, but they can also blind us to the truths of history. As the historian peels away the accretions of romantic fancy that obscure the past, he may well be rewarded with the nuggets of truth that lie beneath.
The invisible artist pg 47
Within a few seconds after going on stage, a skilled actor can disappear, transforming himself into the character of his role. His own personality becomes invisible. This is not self-expression. It is interpretation based on the actor's ability to discover the essential personality of the subject. Similarly, a painter can empathize with his subject only by opening himself to it, striving to keep his own personality out of the way, and allowing the subject to speak to him about how it should be painted.
Such invisibility comes from looking outward rather than inward. The popular theory, however, is that art must be the unfettered expression of the inner creative self. Self-expression through art has become the theme of children's art programs and psychological therapy. Art students, too, are led to believe that only through the agonies of introspection can they find themselves, develop their own unique, personal style, and drink the dark wine of genius. Taken seriously, this stance means that the artist himself becomes the subject of the painting. ....A unique and distinctive style, that nagging worry of many artists today, is best achieved by simply not fretting about it; for just as everyone's handwriting is unique, every artist will lay down his brushstrokes in a unique way. If the painter has achieved empathy with his subject, style will take care of itself.
Fun tidbits I didn't know.
The Mo'ikeha Saga pg 63
MUTUAL WIFE:Mo'ikeha, with his brother Olopana and their mutual wife Lu'ukia, had sailed from....to ....
MALE CHASTITY BELT:Furious, Lu'ukia constructed a chastity belt of brained sennit, knotting it so intricately that Mo'ikeha could not undo it. The chastity belt is memorialized as the "Skirt of Lu'ukia" the name of an extremely complicated sennit lashing by which the hulls of Hawaiian double canoes were fastened to connecting crossbeams.
This book will be reissued soon.
Painting as Time Travel pg 42
If an artist cannot get excited about his work, no one else will. A painting or sculpture is a statement, a tangible expression of an idea. The artist's enthusiasm in the performance may affect forever the attitudes of viewers. An artist may have talent and training, but if he has nothing interesting to say or is intimidated by critics, or is overly concerned about what happened to be "hot" in New York last week, then neither he nor his work will long survive. ...
But history has no value to society if its findings are not communicated, and many historians have difficulty communicating, except among themselves. ----The great historical writers, knowing that the historian's task clearly includes both a high quality of research and the art of communication, have regarded telling the story of history as an art. Although this is conventionally done with words, I believe that painting has the power to create a sense of history beyond words.
Chinese painters observe a saying: "To paint a flower, you must be a flower; to paint a tiger, you must be a tiger," which is to say that an artist must empathize with his subject. Depicting people of another time and culture requires such empathy. Without it, the figures cannot come alive on the canvas; they either appear as either curiously wooden or as depictions of the artist's models-modern persons in period costume.....The artist can bridge his (cultural) chasm of differences only insofar as he can bring himself to see the world of his subjects through their eyes.
....Such empathy cannot be achieved by those enchanted by romantic or sentimental sympathy. Historians who succumb to emotional partisanship can never gain a clear view of their subjects. All peoples indulge in romantic nostalgia; the making of myths and moral judgments about the past is a universally popular pastime. Such myths may reveal fundamental truths about those who made them, but they can also blind us to the truths of history. As the historian peels away the accretions of romantic fancy that obscure the past, he may well be rewarded with the nuggets of truth that lie beneath.
The invisible artist pg 47
Within a few seconds after going on stage, a skilled actor can disappear, transforming himself into the character of his role. His own personality becomes invisible. This is not self-expression. It is interpretation based on the actor's ability to discover the essential personality of the subject. Similarly, a painter can empathize with his subject only by opening himself to it, striving to keep his own personality out of the way, and allowing the subject to speak to him about how it should be painted.
Such invisibility comes from looking outward rather than inward. The popular theory, however, is that art must be the unfettered expression of the inner creative self. Self-expression through art has become the theme of children's art programs and psychological therapy. Art students, too, are led to believe that only through the agonies of introspection can they find themselves, develop their own unique, personal style, and drink the dark wine of genius. Taken seriously, this stance means that the artist himself becomes the subject of the painting. ....A unique and distinctive style, that nagging worry of many artists today, is best achieved by simply not fretting about it; for just as everyone's handwriting is unique, every artist will lay down his brushstrokes in a unique way. If the painter has achieved empathy with his subject, style will take care of itself.
Fun tidbits I didn't know.
The Mo'ikeha Saga pg 63
MUTUAL WIFE:Mo'ikeha, with his brother Olopana and their mutual wife Lu'ukia, had sailed from....to ....
MALE CHASTITY BELT:Furious, Lu'ukia constructed a chastity belt of brained sennit, knotting it so intricately that Mo'ikeha could not undo it. The chastity belt is memorialized as the "Skirt of Lu'ukia" the name of an extremely complicated sennit lashing by which the hulls of Hawaiian double canoes were fastened to connecting crossbeams.
This book will be reissued soon.
January 31, 2017
I bought this for the awesome, totally 70's art of Herb Kane, whose art in the Jagger Visitor's Center at Volcanoes NP I've long admired. This book collects much of his work related to Polynesian sea voyaging and the Age of Sail, so there are tons of well-researched paintings of various famous sea battles and landings that relate to Hawaii, in addition to many of his Hawaiiana-themed portraits.
Currently reading
June 22, 2008This book is a collection of Herb Kawainui Kane's art depicting the historical times of the Hawaiian People. The explanations and art are colorful!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews