Features

Pow Wow art packs a punch

By Gary C.W. Chun
Feb. 24, 2013

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
"King Kalakaua," by Madsteez (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Roids (London) is one of many Pow Wow art festival murals, located at Lana Lane, off Auahi Street.

Now in its third year, the Pow Wow Hawai‘i street art festival that uses the walls of Kakaako businesses as canvases continues to make an impact.

Even though aerosol paint graffiti is the main form of expression, the 100 local and internationally known artists who participated in the weeklong event that began Feb. 9 included those with fine art, illustration and graphic and tattoo design backgrounds.

A walking tour through the area reveals a dizzying and ambitious array of mix-and-match styles ranging from the surreal to studied illustration and portraiture. The street art has been creating buzz in a once-neglected commercial and light industrial neighborhood and helping Kakaako evolve into a lively and cutting-edge residential and business community.

"It’s great to see such a fresh group of young people creating art in this old industrial area," said Jim Hayes of the Tropical Blends surfboard shop. His business moved into Kakaako just three months ago, and Hayes went out of his way to welcome the local MOK crew to paint away on his building.

"I dig the exchange with the community," said visiting artist Sam Rodriguez of San Jose, Calif. "We get to chat with people who are passing by. I feel like a performance artist."

Another visiting artist, Nicholaus Schuller (aka Nychos) of Vienna, called Pow Wow Hawai‘i "the best-organized (festival) I’ve ever been to, and that includes the festivals in Europe."

Fashion designer Anne Namba, who has her business in Kakaako, said "the walk-through foot traffic through the area has been tremendous."

Namba helped coordinate a fundraiser for Pow Wow Hawai‘i to help her nephew Kamea Hadar, a lead organizer of the annual event along with Jasper Wong. "This has helped bring awareness to what Kakaako could be, and you can feel the artistic energy," she said.

Put on some sunscreen and a pair of comfortable walking shoes and experience it for yourself.

MORE PHOTOS, MAP
Honolulu walking tour of Pow Wow murals

POW WOW MURAL SITES

#1 Vibe Asylum, 816 Queen St.
"Untitled," by Faith47 (Cape Town, South Africa): An exploration of human connections to animals and nature

#2 Fresh Cafe, 831 Queen St.
(storefront) "Shark vs. Panda," by Shark Toof (Los Angeles) and Woes (Kaneohe/L.A.), aka Angry Woebots: Depicting a primal head-to-head battle between the iconic animals most identified with the artists

(adjacent parking lot) "Keaomelemele, Goddess of Oahu," by Mark Bode (San Francisco), Prime and Estria (Oahu), Trek6 (Miami, Fla.), Ian Kuali’i (Maui/New York) and Mike Bam (Oakland, Calif.): Nuuanu Valley landscape with mythical Hawaiian figures, hula dancers and the pig god Kamapuaa, who navigates mo’o (lizard) guardian spirits in their ascension to Makalii, otherwise known as the Pleiades star cluster

#3 We Sell Things 4U, 839 Queen St.
"Untitled," by Dal (Wuhan, China): Giant bird created by flowing painted lines

#4 705 Cooke St.
(mauka-facing wall of Tsukenjo Lunch House building)
"Untitled," by Yoskay Yamamoto (Japan, L.A.), Andrea Wan and Jeff Hamada (Vancouver), and Wu Yue (Paris): Sparse, mystical landscape with Asian-influenced and illustrative elements

#5 Cafe Duck Butt, 901 Kawaiahao St.
"Untitled," by Dana Paresa and Lucky Olelo (Honolulu): A karaoke session in space and classic aerosol signature tag featuring Paresa’s painted drawings (pictured) and Olelo’s hip-hop-based design

#6 Upholsterers Inc., 524 Kamani St.
"Creation Story," by Erin Yoshi of Trust Your Struggle Collective (L.A.) and Nikila, aka MamaWisdom1, co-director of 808 Urban youth organization (Honolulu): Depictions of Mother Earth from both a universal and distinctly Hawaiian perspective

#7 330 Kamani St.
Parking lot adjacent to Fiddler’s
"Untitled," by Dabs Myla of Everfresh Studio (Melbourne, Australia), 123Klan (Scien, Klor and 12-year-old twins Tommy & Cleo) (Montreal), Slick (Hawaii/L.A.) and Askew (Auckland, New Zealand): Colorful freestyle graffiti mural with pop-culture references

#8 Thomas Calvert & Associates Seafood Brokers
Corner of Pohukaina and Ahui streets (mauka wall next to Heiko, 517 Ahui St.)
"Untitled," by Meggs and Phibs of the Everfresh Studio (Melbourne and Sydney): Tribal-influenced mask duality

#9 Otis Elevator Co. office, 506 Ahui St.
"Untitled," by Orly Locquiao and Sam Rodriguez of Cukui Clothing (San Jose, Calif.): Polynesian tribal tattoo design juxtaposed with abstract female portrait

#10 Tropical Blends surf shop, 810 Pohukaina St.
"Untitled," by the MOK crew (Honolulu): Fantastical animation-inspired work

#11 ABC Stores office, 766 Pohukaina St.
(fronting Pohukaina) "Find Your Own Balloon," by Kris Goto (Honolulu): Falling babies on white background outlined in black, some supported by colored balloons

(Diamond Head wall) "Untitled," by Askew (Auckland): A portrait of Maori activist Tame Iti based on a photo "by my good friend Jos Wheeler"

(Ewa wall, pictured) "Untitled" by Rone of Everfresh Studio (Melbourne): Partial portrait of a woman

#12 Friends of the Library of Hawaii, 690 Pohukaina St.
(Bookmobile) "Bookworm," by Scribe (Kansas City, Mo.): Known for whimsical anthropomorphic art, the artist plays with the book theme

(front wall) "The Healer," by Ekundayo (Honolulu): Symbiotic mix of nature and human anatomy

(Diamond Head wall, left to right) "Chasing the Sun," by Erik Otto (San Francisco): A triptych inspired by Hawaii

"Untitled," by Ckaweeks (Waipahu), Eric Marcinizyn (Middletown, Del.), Scribe (Kansas City, Mo.), Jim Mahfood (L.A.), Bible1 (Oahu) and Eukarezt (Wahiawa): Freestyle mash-up of skate-inspired graphics, classic graffiti name tagging, Scribe’s animal work, Mahfood’s "visual funk" and Eukarezt’s Filipino culture

(mauka of aerosol piece on corrugated door, pictured) "Untitled," by Justin Park (Honolulu): Wildebeest skull surrounded by vibrant colors in a work inspired by artist’s stay in Taos, N.M., and Georgia O’Keeffe

#13 Fisher Hawaii, Pohukaina Street
"Untitled," by Apex (San Francisco) and Poesia (San Jose, Calif.): Colorful, abstract crystal-formation landscape

#14 Boca Hawaii, 330 Cooke St.
"Healthy Land, Healthy Ocean, Healthy People," by Solomon Enos (Oahu), with help from Sousou Luteru Jr., Kai’ili Kaulukukui and sisters Robin and Tricia Fifita: Pacific island-themed painting of woman giving birth to life in the form of fish (opelu), octopus (he’e), breadfruit (ulu) and taro (kalo)

#15 BikeFactory Hawaii, 740 Ala Moana Blvd.
"Untitled," by Kahi and Cory (Honolulu): Skater as a comic book superhero

#16 Parking alley between Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships, Auahi Street and Ala Moana Boulevard
"Untitled," by Aloha Family, EV crew and Explicit Visuals (Oahu): Collection of classic-styled graffiti tags

#17 Lana Lane, off Auahi Street
"King Kalakaua," by Madsteez (Newport Beach, Calif.) and Roids (London)

#18 Jackson Volvo Service, 704 Ala Moana Blvd.
"Untitled" and "Off the Grid" (mauka wall on Auahi St.), by East3 and Vers, aka Matthew and Roxanne Ortiz (Oahu): "Pyrobolic kanji" on the left and an idyllic, sustainable playground on the right

#19 679 Auahi St./331 Keawe St.
Next to The Whole Ox Deli
"Untitled," by Katch1, Rone and Wonderlust of Everfresh Studio (Melbourne, Australia), with help from Team 808 Urban: Whimsical townscape (pictured) and "Kakaako" scripted in blue and pink with female portrait

#20 458 Keawe St., corner of Pohukaina Street
"Untitled," by Nychos (Vienna) and Jeff Soto (Riverside, Calif.): Soto’s box jellyfish tentacles encircling a human skeleton inside Nychos’ anatomical diagram of shark

» Take a virtual tour of Pow Wow Hawai’i street art locations at bit.ly/powwow2013tour and find additional coverage at honolulupulse.com.

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Pow Wow art packs a punch

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