Local artists and supporters of the arts, including several Native Hawaiians, are outraged over what is described as the “desecration” of a photograph in the collection of the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Francis Haar’s 1968 photograph of kupuna ’Iolani Luahine, a major cultural figure in the islands, was improperly appropriated from the HSFCA’s collection without permission from the Haar estate or Luahine’s family. 

What’s worse, the black and white photo — titled “Iolani at Halemaumau” — was altered for use in marketing materials to promote Hawaii Fashion Month, held in October. The hands and head of Luahine were cropped from her body, which was used to adorn promotional posters, tote bags, T-shirts and coffee mugs.

Annelle Amaral of the Native Hawaiian Civic Clubs told the HSFCA Board of Commissioners Wednesday morning that the club was “shocked and horrified” to learn of what happened. She wondered whether the SFCA intended to “humiliate us and do harm to our culture.”

Maile Meyer, owner of Native Books / Na Mea Hawaii, called the foundation’s actions “painful” and demanded that the HSFCA “reset” the legacy of the institution. Its mission, as stated on its website, is “To promote, perpetuate, preserve and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawaii.”

“Artists need to be protected — Hawaiians need to be protected,” Meyer said, emotional at times.

‘Desecration, Debacle’

The misuse of the Haar photo is one of several recent incidents raising concerns about Hawaiian culture and art.

In September, a mural displayed at the Hawaii Convention Center was covered up for two weeks after a Native Hawaiian complained that the artwork was offensive because of how it depicts ancient bones. Iwi are considered by many Hawaiians to contain the spirit of ancestors.

In February, state Rep. Faye Hanohano criticized the state’s Art in Public Places program, which is run by HSFCA, for not featuring more Native Hawaiian artists. Hanohano’s use of racial slurs upset many and she was forced to apologize.

Wednesday’s foundation meeting packed the multipurpose room at the Hawaii State Art Museum, where HSFCA has its offices. Many had been alerted about the meeting by Haar’s son, Tom Haar, photographer Franco Salmoiraghi and Duane Preble, an artist who has written extensively about art.

Like Francis Haar, Tom Haar, Salmoiraghi and Preble have works in the Art in Public Places program. With the help of Meyer, the three men emailed out a letter that deemed the photo’s alteration a “desecration” and a “debacle.”

Besides the cropping, the photo was also tilted to adjust Luahine’s posture, and the background was blurred to eliminate her surroundings. Attachments to the email included a PDF showing how the photo had been misused. (It’s reproduced below.)

Meyer distributed a handout at the HSFCA meeting detailing why Luahine was such an important figure. “Iolani at Halemaumau” shows Luahine dancing at the rim of the fire pit of the Mauna Loa volcano; as author Cobey Black explained, those who watched her dance there said Luahine “became a changeling, a creature whose body assumed the human form of nature’s most passionate forces.”

“By using the photograph in this way, the HSFCA administration has violated cultural, legal, and ethical standards and procedures,” wrote Haar, Salmoiraghi and Preble. “Such acts have the potential to break the public’s trust in this institution and could provide grounds for a lawsuit.”

‘Horrible Mistake’

Haar, Salmoiraghi and Preble were at the meeting. Rather than seek legal action, Salmoiraghi explained that they chose to first take the matter up with the commission.

Others speaking out included Kathryn Xian, who has advocated for preventing gender-based violence and advancing female empowerment through arts and education. Xian said the photo’s alteration “objectified, dehumanized and depersonalized” the image of a female kanaka maoli. (Xian is running for the U.S. House this year.)

Barbara Saromines-Ganne, the commission’s Oahu chairwoman, repeatedly admitted that “horrible” mistakes had been made.

“We feel very, very contrite about this situation, and we know that this should never have happened and will never happen again,” she said, at times tearing up.

According to Saromines-Ganne, a contractor hired to work on the HSFCA’s website agreed to do the Hawaii Fashion Month poster pro bono. The contractor — Brandon Dela Cruz, director of marketing at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue — was provided digital images to work with, ones Saromines-Ganne said were thought (mistakenly, it turns out) to be in the public domain.

Saromines-Ganne said Dela Cruz altered the image so that it “popped out for design purposes.” But Haar recognized his father’s work on the SFCA website, leading the foundation to pull the items from shelves and destroy them.

“This was not malfeasance,” said Saromines-Ganne. “No malice was intended. It happened and we need to try and make it pono.”

But the artists and supporters argued that the real problem was that commissioners failed to follow HSFCA’s own collections management policy regarding reproduction of artwork. Their fear is that the commission had allowed to happen the very thing it is designed to prevent.

“That’s just a ‘wow’ to me,” said Meyer, who frequently disagreed with explanations about the photo alteration and related statements made by Saromines-Ganne and Eva Laird Smith, the foundation’s executive director.

Broken Trust

Clifford Kapono, the Hawaii Island commissioner and the only Native Hawaiian on the board, defended Saromines-Ganne. He and Amaral exchanged heated words, and Amaral stood up and left.

Later, several members became upset with state Sen. Glenn Wakai, chairman of the newly created Senate Committee on Technology and the Arts. Wakai said he found it “troubling” that some were looking for “heads to roll,” and he defended Smith for following legislative mandate to put the Art in Public Places collection online.

In fact, the collection is online, and Wakai was shouted down for not being aware.

One thing both sides agreed on is the need to move toward regaining trust, something that might take time and effort, judging by the disconnect between the HSFCA and its critics who nonetheless want the institution to succeed.

“This incident has damaged the confidence of both the Hawaiian and the arts communities that overlap,” said Preble. “It’s a confidence-breaking event when people feel they can’t trust.”

Saromines-Ganne said the commission would take the matter up in executive session and report back later.

“There will be resolutions so you can trust us again,” she said.

After the meeting, Haar told Civil Beat, “It’s really in the hands of the executive committee, because they are at fault. They need to study the situation carefully.”

Images of articles misappropriated by the HSFCA on their website.