Artists Jasper Wong and Solomon Enos recently shared their artistic talents and experiences with Punahou students, as part of a new visiting artists program designed to nurture creativity.
Wong, who founded the international POW! WOW! arts organization, spent a week on campus in November, helping students create a wondrous mural in the Learning Commons in Cooke Library. The mural features a bookshelf populated with colorful creatures, an idea that emerged after Wong met with an Academy Visual Storytelling class.
Students across campus then drew spirit animals to represent themselves, and a selection was included in the mural. “Within the first day, we had hundreds of submissions,” Wong said. “This project shows how interested students are in art. When given the opportunity, kids want to draw; they want to create.”
Academy Art Department Head Ralph Pascucci said he was happy to connect his students with Wong. “Part of the way that artists learn is often from a master to an apprentice,” he said. “These young artists got the opportunity to apprentice with Jasper.”
Wai’anae artist Solomon Enos – a multitalented muralist, painter, book illustrator, comic strip creator, educator and visionary – also spent time on campus this winter as an artist-in-residence.
For K – 1 students, he demonstrated landscape painting. For middle school and Academy students, he focused on portraiture, doing live portrait drawings of students. “In all venues Solomon was inspirational, thoroughly engaging and knowledgeable,” Pascucci said.
Enos’ work touches on themes of ancestry and identity, the human relationship with the Earth, and the future of Hawai’i, its people and resources. His recent work includes commissions for public buildings in Hawai’i; graphic novels on climate change for the Marshall Islands; augmented reality murals at Google’s California campus; and futuristic waʻa for an upcoming show in Seattle. He also recently had a sculpture exhibit at Kirsch Gallery.
The artists’ visits were funded by the Marcine Lichter ’53 Friedman Endowed Fund for Visiting Artists. See a related profile about Friedman, a dedicated arts philanthropist.
POW! WOW! FOUNDER VISITS PUNAHOU
Jasper Wong, founder of POW! WOW!, brought his artistic talent and collaborative mindset to Punahou, working with students to create a mural in the Learning Commons in Cooke Library.The whimsical mural was unveiled on Nov. 19, 2018.
ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: SOLOMON ENOS
Wai’anae artist Solomon Enos – a multitalented muralist, painter, book illustrator, comic strip creator, educator and futuristic storyteller – came to Punahou as an artist-in-residence, working with students throughout the School.
