The task presented to curator Tom Klobe: Sift through more than 6,000 pieces of art, created by about 2,000 different artists, mostly from Hawaii. Then, from those varied works in a broad range of styles and mediums, present a unified and provocative representation of the public art collection maintained by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. And do it with just 130 pieces.

This two-year effort — of Klobe’s and the HiSAM Exhibit Advisory Committee — culminated with the recent opening of “Hawai‘i: Change & Continuity” at the Hawai’i State Art Museum, continuing through June 2017.

The free exhibition, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the foundation, illuminates the depth and breadth of investments this state has made in public art, as a pioneer supporter of it. Hawaii was the first state to create an arts and culture organization, preceding even the federal government’s National Endowment for the Humanities. It also was the first state to enact a percent-for-art program, which mandated that construction costs include public art purchases. Through that Art in Public Places program, artwork became integrated into many locales, including state office buildings, schools and airports.

Klobe, a professor emeritus of art history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and director emeritus of the college’s art gallery, was chosen to lead the exhibit advisory committee on this project, a group that also included Jay Jensen and Allison Wong of the Honolulu Museum of Art (and Inger Tully, formerly of the museum) as well as University of Hawaii colleague Duane Preble, plus Momi Cazimero of Graphic House, Greg Northrup of The Fine Arts Associates, Maile Meyer of Native Books & Beautiful Things and both Kelly Thune and Karen Ewald of Art in Public Places.

Klobe said each member of that group looked at all 6,000 pieces and gave re- commendations on which works should be included. Through monthly discussions they were able to whittle their selections down to about 500, which Klobe took as the corpus of what could be shown. But then he had to decide what would be shown.

“I really respect the Art in Public Places program for bringing art out into the community,” he said. “But when they are out there, the works just sort of stand alone. Sometimes they might just seem like office decorations among the file cabinets. A totally different thing happens when you bring them together in unison.”

Considering historical context and the conversations that could be created by pairing certain works, Klobe said several subthemes emerged, such as ways in which Honolulu has changed during the past 50 years, ways in which nature has affected us, ways in which we have affected nature, and works that reference Hawaii’s sacred places, myths and Asian influences. Artists represented in this show include John Wisnosky, Sally French, Solomon Enos, Kazu Kau‘inana, Gordon Sasaki, Doug Britt, Kunane Wooton and David Kuraoka.

Jonathan Johnson, executive director of the foundation, said this retrospective is the first significant alteration to contents of the museum’s Ewa Gallery since it opened in 2002. The original collection on display was considered a survey of Hawaii’s most prominent artists, while this new show highlights those major artists but focuses on the story of art in Hawaii.

“This is a good look at who we are as a people,” Johnson said. “Arts really help us reflect on ourselves.” Viewing the landscapes created by the University of Hawaii’s Huc-Mazelet Luquiens in the 1930s and 1940s, for example, gains even more meaning when shown next to contemporary artists rendering the same scenes in modern times. “Then,” he said, “it really becomes a commentary on the change in this place over time.”