Kane Hula - Male Hula Dance

Hula dancing evolved from the ancient Hawaiian dancers who performed the dance as part of religious ritual.  It was a uniquely Hawaiian dance, unlike other styles of dance that were imported from other Pacific Islands.  Performed by both men and women, the Hula told the story of people, places and nature.  The Hawaiian culture did not have a written language and all of their history has been passed down from generation to generation through song, dance and 'talk story'. The Hula is a celebrated art form that thanks to King Kalakaua, was resurrected from near extinction in the 1800's as missionaries forbade native islanders from performing this 'devilish' dance.  Each year, the Merrie Monarch festival in Hilo on the Big island of Hawai'i, is the focal point and catalyst that supports and draws together an extensive network of instructional hula studios, hula masters, instructors, researchers, professors of Hawaiian studies and students of all ages who are committed to the perpetuation and advancement of the Hawaiian history and culture of dance.

"Hula is the Language of the Heart and therefore the Heartbeat of the Hawaiian People" from 

Merrie Monarch Festival Website.

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"How to Save a Life" A Tribute To Our American Soldiers

This is a beautiful and poignant tribute to the men and women in the service. Enjoy "How to Save a Life"

performed by The Fray.


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Hawaiiana and Vintage Hawaiian Art

Vintage Hawaiian Art is one of our favorite things to source here in Honolulu when decorating our Honolulu period era properties in a traditional Hawaiiana Style. Here is a link to a site that has an amazing amount of Hawaiian "stuff" or 'Hawaiiana' as it is known by in. This site has inexpensive and reproduction goods mostly, but it is a fantastic gift source, or can give you decorating ideas from a Kid's Room to a 1960's style Basement Rec Room...to get you through the cold winter days. Of course we like the real stuff, vintage and authentic but it is much harder to find in good condition. This link to Hawaiian Days will give you huge inventory to choose from, ranging from prints to furniture and lamps.   Plus its a great idea site if you don't know what's available.  Its all here. We'll be doing an "Art"  post on each of these Hawaiian artists later.  

John Kelly

Eugene Savage

Gill

Frank Macintosh

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His Final Decades in Hawaii: Jean Charlot 1897-1979

Although he was born and raised in France, Jean Charlot spent the final decades of his prolific career in Hawaii. In fact a 1966 retrospective exhibition of his art was held at the Honolulu Academy of Art. We have collected Charlot original prints and incorporated the collection into the decorating of our Home in Montecito.

Jean Charlot, 'LOEA HULA', Oil Painting of Iolani Luahine

Image Courtesy of  Charlot Collection at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Library

Jean Charlot studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris before serving in the French Army during World War I.  His mother, with her French, Mexican and Jewish lineage, introduced him to Mexico in 1920, where he sketched for archeologists excavating Mayan ruins.  He became enthused with his Mexican heritage, as evident in a series of mural paintings in Mexico City assisting Diego Rivera and other members of the Syndicate of Painters and Sculptors.  Charlot is credited by Rivera for reviving and refining the fresco technique that he used.  After working from 1929 with lithography printer George Miller in New York, Charlot began a lifetime collaboration in 1933 with Lynton R. Kistler, master lithography printer in Los Angeles, reputedly making the first stone-drawn color lithographs in the United States.  Charlot devoted himself to themes of family and the working class, revealing the universality of human nature. Bio from,  Toby Moss Gallery, Los Angeles.

Jean Charlot, "The Spear Thrower" Original Silkscreen, 1974

During his career Jean Charlot received major awards from the Guggenheim Fellowship and Yale University. In 1966 a retrospective exhibition of his art was held at the Honolulu Academy of Arts and in 1968 a similar exhibition took place at the Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City. Today, major collections of Charlot's prints are found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Smithsonian Institution, the San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts and at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Jean Charlot, LAUHALA, KAPAKAHI STREAM, KAAHALA OAHU, Serigraph, 1978

Jean Charlot, 'Hala Grove, Kahuwai, Hawaii', serigraph , Hawaii State Art Museum

For Additional information on Hawaiin Art.

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Crazy for Coconut ! Halekulani Coconut Cake with Chocolate Sauce

We are going to the Halekulani Hotel tonight to see  Kanoe Miller Hula Dance at House Without a Key. Then we are having the Hotel's famous COCONUT CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE!!!!  Tomorrow I'll be climbing Koko Crater for a butt burner, but it will be worth it. I called the hotel and Chef gave us the recipe, included below.

I found this great article by the by the New York Times 36 Hours in Honolulu and this beautiful photo of Kanoe MIller by Cory Lum for the New York Times...

HALEKULANI COCONUT CAKE 
with Chocolate Sauce


8 Servings

INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE SPONGE CAKE:
3/4 cup Cake flour
1/3 cup Sugar
1 tsp Baking powder
1 pinch Salt
2 Tbsp Salad oil
1 each Egg, large, whole
2 Tbsp Water
4 each Egg whites
1/4 cup Sugar
1 pinch Cream of tartar


- Preheat oven to 350°. In a small bowl, sift together the cake flour, 1/3 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Reserve.
- In a separate bowl, combine salad oil, whole egg and water. Add to sifted ingredients to form a batter, and mix until a smooth consistency is obtained.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and cream of tartar. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar and continue to whip until a stiff meringue is formed.
- Fold meringue into the batter and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the batter into an ungreased 9" spring form pan and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan, cool upside down on a cooling rack.


INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE PASTRY CREAM:
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 each Vanilla bean, split in half
1/3 cup Sugar
3 tbsp Flour
4 each Egg yolks
1 1/4 cups Coconut flakes


Method:
- Bring the milk and the split vanilla bean to a boil. Reserve and let cool.
- In a mixing bowl combine the sugar, flour and egg yolks, whip together.
- Remove the vanilla bean from the cooled milk and add 1/3 of the milk to the egg mixture, mix well.
- Pour the egg mixture into the pan of remaining milk. Over medium heat, continue stirring until mixture begins to bubble and thicken.
- Remove from heat, cover with aluminum foil and stir occasionally to prevent crusting. When completely cool, add coconut flakes.


INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM:
1 ½ cups Whipped cream
3 tbsp Sugar
1 ½ cups Coconut flakes


- In a mixing bowl, combine the whipped cream, sugar and 1/2 of the coconut flakes.


Half of this mixture is to be folded into the pastry cream and the remainder is to be used to frost the cake. The remaining half of the coconut flakes is to be used for coating the frosted cake.


INGREDIENTS AND METHOD FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
1 cup Milk
3/4 lb Chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup Heavy cream
1 tbsp Butter
1/4 cup Sugar


- In a sauce pan, combine the milk and chocolate, bring to a boil. Add the cream, butter and sugar and again bring to a boil. Remove from heat and keep warm.

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TO ASSEMBLE & SERVE:
- Cut the cooled cake into 3 layers.
- Spread pastry cream atop the bottom two layers, assemble the cake.
- Frost with the whipped cream and sprinkle with coconut flakes to finish.
- Slice the cake into desired portions and serve with warm chocolate sauce.

Island Exotica - Sexy Sounds of the South Seas

A bit of south seas trivia...from early 1950's and 1960's Martin Denny lived in our  Black Point Property in Honolulu.  This property has been a design project in which we worked to create a luxury home reminiscent of a bygone era where luxury travel and traveling to Hawaii in particular was an exotic destination and a privilege of few.

  

Many of Martin Denny's billboard top ten hits of the fifties and sixties were written at his piano in the living room of this home, overlooking the 7 miles of Kahala coastline to Koko Head.  We worked to keep the original architecture from the homes origin in 1930 and updated its interior design with art and artifacts that showcase local art and Who is Martin Denny and why should we know about him?  He was a media phenomenon in the post war years in the US and abroad.  He was a young bandleader who became entranced with the south Pacific and with his unique and innovative music sounds, blended them into a unique genre that became Exotica and started a music movement that is rooted in Hawaii and has inspired many, many artists.  
In January 1954, Don the Beachcomber brought Denny to Honolulu, Hawaii for a two-week engagement, this began his lifestyle in Honolulu, and the beginning of Exotica.  The Exotica album was recorded in December 1956 and released in 1957. In 1958, Dick Clark hosted Denny on American Bandstand. "Quiet Village" reached #2 on Billboard's charts in 1959 with the Exotica album reaching #1. 
Here's an Apple iTunes link to a playlist of Martin Denny, thanks to our friend Brian's suggestion at Maximum Value Group.


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Vintage Hawaiiana Up Next off to Hawaii Today!

We're off to Honolulu today to work on two Vintage 1930's Hawaiian homes we have there. Rental Seasons is upon us and we have some work to do. We will be posting this week about Hawaiiana and Hawaii, favorite places, hikes, shopping. Aloha and Mahalo!

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