2, DECEMBER 2008 THE PARADISE POST
WWW.THEPARADISEPOST.COM
COVER STORY - A Conversation with Hawaiian Artist Rocky Jensen
by David Bennett
Introduction
Rocky Ka'iouliokahihikolo'Ehu Jensen is a
fine arts artist, master carver, writer, illustrator, culturalist and
wood sculptor. He was chosen as Living Treasure by the Hongwangi in the
year 2000 and is credited with promoting and perpetuating Native
Hawaiian art and culture throughout the world. He is the founder of
Hale Naua III, Society of Maoli Arts, the first Native Hawaiian art
organization to have opened the door for contemporary indigenous art
and artists. Upon his recent return from doing shows in New Mexico and
New York, he agreed to meet with me for this interview. I learned that
he embodies restorative life, ola hou, having the ability to revive the
feeling of passion to his people so that they can recover their
kumupa'a, spiritual source, on the road to restoring their culture.
Q: How did this begin?
R: In the late 1960s there
was a renewed interest in restoring one's ethnic identity. This
awareness of ethnicity was used to survive against thoughts of possible
extinction. Ethnic fever began with experiencing the civil rights
movement of the 1950s mainland, quickly spreading to other groups here.
By the early 1970s it was passionately expressed in Hawaii and that is
when I became involved with the Hawaiian Renaissance.
Q:
What about that?
R: The Hawaiian Renaissance began as a
cultural, and an arts-related phenomenon. Needless to say, our people
had lost their sense of identity and in many cases because of this,
their self-confidence, prompted even further by the overwhelming
arrival of different migrational groups and the powerful influx of
western culture. And through this mix Hawaiian pride was reborn and by
1976 we celebrated this with many artistic and cultural events, and the
Renaissance grew. It spilled over to other fields and disciplines.
Q: What happened next?
R: The Renaissance remains
significant to who and what is Hawaiian. When I was about 28, I was
seriously influenced by Herb Kane and because of this enlisted to
attend the Honolulu Academy of Arts. It was Professor Joseph Feher who
encouraged me to get into my Native Hawaiian culture. I began producing
art from that perspective with a spiritual and historical state of
mind, rather than the mundane romantic imagery that was and still is
the signature of most artists depicting our culture. Hawaiian
spirituality is very deep stuff and I wanted to reveal that with
clarity in my work.
Q: Can you elaborate?
R: I call
this spirit connection of consciousness. Those who are popularly called
gods and goddesses are actually our Ancestors and what I like to term
Elementals. My approach to creating art is using my Ancestral genealogy
and the Elementals representing fire, water, earth and air. In this
way, I do honor to all things that came before me. I've also gained an
understanding of archeology to assist me in my work. For us, Akua holds
the meaning of those from the back...those who came before us. The
ÔAumakua are really our guide...they are our deceased who through
ritual might represent the mana or power of the shark, owl, hawk, dog,
or volcanic matter. A symbiotic relationship exists. We did not harm
the family 'Aumakua, it became the clan "totem", guiding the family
through dreams, visions and spiritual callings.
Q:
Fascinating. What else?
R: We believe that we hold within
us a Spirit and Soul cluster called Wailua. It is made up of the
'Unihipili, the Òsoul that clings,Ó and the 'Uhane, Òthe voice that
speaks.Ó The 'Unihipili is the fledgling within my subconscious. The
'Uhane is the Òvoice,Óthat at one time we were trained to listen to.
Imagine this voice speaking through my work. That then, travels beyond
my work creating an intuitive communication between the observer and
the art being observed. That's why the body of my art is representative
of that which was used in rituals, the concept just as important to me
as the work itself. If you feel or ÒhearÓ something, it's because all
those from before brought it to this moment. If you enter this
dimension as I have, it then becomes your kuleana, your responsibility
to use it to benefit others.
Q: Who believes this?
R: I think all Hawaiians believe in basic spiritual values such
as mana which is our inherent strength. But, as a people there is still
so much more that we must bring back into our consciousness. We
Hawaiians emanate from three perspectives: the Modern, Traditional and
Ancient. That's how I see it. There are those like myself who believe
100% in our Ancient culture, philosophy, the foundation of who I am. I
don't piecemeal. On the other hand, the Traditionalist believes in some
of the things that I do whether it be carving, hula or other signature
aspects that visually identify them as Hawaiians. Most popular is the
Modern view which relates the Ancient and Traditional perspectives only
through knowledge aboutthem. Our living culture for them is merely
historical and irrelevant.
Q: Is there more to this?
R: I feel perspective is
about choice and making a conscious effort to unbind the shakles that
have enslaved us for 200 years. Although a long time coming, look what
the Hawaiian Renaissance started - I'm finding that the young
generation are studying not only Hawaiian history and all of its
cultural components, but are also excited about concepts like 'Aumakua
and Wailua, Makahiki and Kau Wela. These kids don't want to duplicate
the past but are willing to embrace the same values of our Ancestors
wherever possible. It is my hope and others who share my feelings that
this growth continues - only then can we be one people again.
Q:
What is Makahiki?
R: The Makahiki celebrates the change of
'hot season,' of Kau Wela into the 'wet season' of Ho'oilo. In essence,
the Mahahiki, through the celebration of Ke Au Makali 'i, which occurs
in November, celebrates the rebirth of nature and all that it houses.
In ancient days, Hawaiians marched the perimeter of the island in
processions with priests carrying Akua Loa,a tall image of Lononuiakea,
consisting of a staff with palapalai ferns, feather leis and skins of
the ka'upu birds fastened to a cross piece. These represented the
clouds upon which Lono made his arrival in the guise of rain. The
procession circumnavigated the island collecting tributes for the Ali'i
Nui and also recycling all the produce, it being distributed evenly. It
was a religious festival honoring Lono. During this time, war became
kapu and the time of Kunuiakea was suspended - the Luakini temple
closed. it was a time of renewal for all and all things.
Q:
Do you feel that belief is missing today?
R: What's missing
today is the 'ike or the knowing of things past - knowing these things
in their proper light. If you don't know they existed, you go through
life without a certain level of reverence of who we were and could
again be. We Hawaiians used to revere our ancestors, celebrate the
Night Marchers and dance with the Spirits of those who came before us.
No longer are any of these things done. Yet imagine what one can
accomplish in their life if they were to be open to the suggestion that
they could utilize the thoughts, emotions and experiences of their
Ancestors. Not give lip-service to the concept, but actually believe we
each carry inside us, be it in our hearts or subconscious mind, the
wisdom of the ages, of the people who emanate from all our genealogies.
Q: How do you do it?
R: I find it easy in utilizing
this belief. It gives me joy when I experience crossing over this
threshold. Our people need to remember that this was our way of life,
we need not fear that which belongs to us.
Q: Is ritual
relevant?
R: Of course, because rituals replenish one's
spiritual power, our mana, it is a conduit to the Ancestral Collective,
it creates the visualization that is needed for reality to take hold.
I've believed in the old Hawaiian craftsman'svalues, his ano, of doing
quality work that honors the memory of the Ancestor who honed the
talent through the ages, I create my art through ritual. I create
images and ritualistic artifacts in order to convey a message through
visualization like the Akua Loa I described earlier. The story or myth
is made alive when participants believe and are revitalized. That
motivates me. The ritual transforms the believer, he or she becomes the
Speaker. The result is a higher consciousness with spirit transcending
reality as we know it.
Q: What motivated your art?
R: There were no fine art's carvers in 1970. Woodworkers were turning
bowls. At the time I became a bit obsessed with Polynesian history,
especially Kahiki, the Ancient Places. I learned that Fiji was the
first island group settled, then came Tonga, then Samoa and from there
the diaspora. Later the Polynesians advanced southeast to Easter
Island, north to Hawaii and southwest to Tahiti and from there to New
Zealand. For many thousands of years they were out there in the oceans
like the nomads of the desert. Learning that was the beginning for me
and I know I did something right in echoing their work by creating
imagery in their honor.These are displayed in museums around the world.
Q: Can you sum up your direction and works?
R: I've
displayed work throughout the mainland, Taiwan, Japan, Paris, New
Zealand and Austria, produced more than 150 fine art exhibitions
featuring and introducing many Hawaiian artists and have carved and
illustrated more pieces than I can count. The images of my art come
from the Kupuna, from the Ancestors, from the Po. I speak for those who
cannot speak. I work with the Spirit. The great spiritualist Mornah
Simeona told me that, 'we take up where we left off in the previous
lifetime.' I have the skill of my Ancestors, it is then my kuleana and
responsibility to continue their work, they will come in dreams and ask
what I am doing with it and if I am not following the rule, I'd better
have a good reason. Use your skill to inspire others, as it is all
about connecting. I live it and you can too.