Happy Fourth of July to all!! This has always been a favorite holiday of mine as it marks the real kick off of the summer...so when I was asked by my friends/clients of mine to create a poster for the Lahaina Fireworks I was excited by the prospect. This painting titled "Celebration Integration" is the result.
I had recently been back east to NYC to the Whitney Museum where I saw Jasper John's "Three Flags" painting. Here he stacks three rectangular canvases of the American Flag. I liked the idea of dimension so I did this with a painted drop shadow. Here in Hawaii we sometimes feel separate because we are not contiguous. My intention for this piece was to unify the two flags and show our state symbolically as a floating flag/island. I was very excited about the piece.
I proceeded with the poster design with the help of my very talented friend Rachel Mallon of Ironwood Design Studio, and we created a beautiful poster for the fireworks. However, when the Maui Chamber of Commerce saw it they became concerned about creating discord among the native Hawaiians here. There is a feeling of not wanting to be a part of the USA by some people. Well, my poster never saw the light of day, but most everyone who has seen the painting has had a favorable reaction.
So here is my controversial painting. It was not my intention to offend anyone. I must say though that I feel a good piece of art should evoke emotion of some kind. So I guess I did my job too well.....this painting is available for purchase in this our 50th anniversary year of statehood.
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