Politics of Expression: The Contemporary Native Hawaiian Visual Arts Movement

Over the past half-century, Native Hawaiian visual artists have created and exhibited many artworks as a way to resist U.S. colonialism. This paper will spotlight one of these artists, Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) visual artist Kapulani Landgraf and her photographic installation ʻAuʻu exhibited at the Honolulu Museum of Art during the 2019 Honolulu Biennial. ‘Auʻu (to withhold or to refuse) is comprised of 108 black and white photographic portraits of Kanaka Maoli community leaders. Across each oversized aluminum photograph Landgraf superimposed the words “WE ARE NOT AMERICAN HE HAWAII AU MAU AU MAU.” This is a reference to the landmark speech made in 1993 by scholar and poet Haunani Kay-Trask at ‘Iolani Palace during ‘Onipaʻa (immovable, steadfast, firm), the 100-year anniversary protest of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom by agents of the U.S. government. Landgraf’s artwork calls attention to the unlawful annexation and continued illegal occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States, and it sets in motion a critical conversation about Native rights in the face of American expansion and exploitation. Few scholars have investigated contemporary Native Hawaiian visual artists and their contribution to a larger visual arts movement generating commentary and criticism of U.S. occupation in the Pacific.