Friday, September 10, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. in the Hamilton Library, Room 301

Presented by Erenst Anip, LIS Graduate Student

In July 2010, Erenst went to Southeast Asia to be the LIS program’s first intern at the National University of Singapore Central Library where he was introduced to the inner workings of a premier university library in Asia. There, he learned about a different library system and organization. In this informal talk story session, he will share his experience in ‘finding a missing librarian’/being a junior operative, the library’s outreach and social media initiatives, KPIs and PMS, and Singapore’s favorite past time of ‘makan’.

Erenst Anip is a 2nd year LIS student from Indonesia. As a future academic librarian, he focuses on digital technologies and social media features to enhance the library’s appeal to the users while keeping abreast of (Southeast) Asia area studies. He is also the project manager of Hawaii’s Digital Newspaper Project, part of Library of Congress’ National Digital Newspaper Project (NDNP). Also, he is currently the treasurer of SLA-ASIST SC.

Wednesday, 15 September at 2:00 pm in Moore 319 (Tokioka Room)
Presented by Dr. Takeshi Kawanaka, Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Developing
Economies

Although the Philippines started the “third wave” of democratization in Asia, its democracy has been perceived as unstable. The country experienced not a few coup attempts, scandals of the Presidents, and large scale rallies on the street. Even elections, a fundamental democratic solution to the conflicts in the society, have not been able to gain the confidence of the people due to various frauds. In the 2010 elections, Noynoy Aquino, son of the two national “heroes” of democratization, was elected new President. Did the 2010 elections bring the hope for democratic consolidation? Or was the same old game merely repeated? We will try to assess the impact of the 2010 Philippine elections.

TAKESHI KAWANAKA is Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Developing Economies, Japan. His research interests are in political institutions and political economy of new democracies. He received his Ph.D. in political science from Kobe University, and conducted research at the University of the Philippines, Stanford University, and Ateneo de Manila University as visiting scholar.

Download Poster | Co-Sponsor – Center for Philippine Studies

9 September 2010 – 9 January 2011 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts

For its major fall exhibition, the Academy highlights its important but little seen collection of Southeast Asian Art. On view will be approximately 150 works of art from Thailand and Cambodia, many of which have never been displayed at the museum.

Visitors will travel through time and regions via three sections: The Neolithic and Bronze ages in Thailand and Cambodia; the Khmer kingdom, which dominated the central Southeast Asian peninsula from the 9th through the 15th centuries; and the Sukhothai kingdom, generally considered the first major Thai kingdom and the progenitor of the modern Thai state, which flourished from the 13th through the 15th centuries. The exhibition will cover the artistic and cultural developments of three important Southeast Asian cultures (Ban Chiang, Khmer, and Sukhothai) over more than 4,000 years, going from vibrantly decorated Neolithic earthenware ceramics to a dazzling gold Buddhist sculpture.

This exhibition is a chance for the public to discover a major resource in Hawaii for the study of Southeast Asia, and it promotes a greater awareness and appreciation of Southeast Asian cultural and artistic traditions in the Hawaii community.

The exhibition and its educational programs are supported in part by a grant from the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.

Lecture series:
Public lectures by University of Hawaii professors Miriam Stark and Paul Lavy will greatly illuminate the works on view in the exhbition. Lectures will be held on Thursdays throughout October at 4 p.m. in the Doris Duke Theatre. Admission is free.

Oct. 7:From Stone to Bronze and Village to City: Southeast Asia’s Buried Past
Presented by Miriam T Stark, PhD; Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Southeast Asia’s earliest archaeological remains date back more than 1.8 million years. Through the millennia, Southeast Asians crafted their lives and shaped their landscapes in ways that ultimately produced kingdoms and empires. This lecture surveys Southeast Asia’s history from an archaeological point of view, and highlights key developments from the Neolithic through the Classical period.

Oct. 14:Vishnu’s Heavenly Realm: Angkor Wat and Ancient Khmer Architecture
Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Angkor Wat (12th century), one of the worlds largest and most complex religious monuments, was built as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and later transformed into a Buddhist sanctuary. This lecture will examine Angkor Wat’s history, architecture, and symbolism and explore its central role in Khmer (Cambodian) culture.

Oct. 21:Cultivating the Image of Compassion: Power, Propaganda, and the Statuary of Ancient Angkor
Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Hindu and Buddhist sculpture was central to both religion and politics in ancient Angkor. This lecture will investigate the intersection of politics, religion, and art at the peak of Angkors power during the reign of its most colorful king, Jayavarman VII, a ruler who cleverly utilized unusual Buddhist art to express both his personal piety and political ambitions.

Oct. 28:Walking with the Buddha: The Art of Sukhothai
The kingdom of Sukhothai (13th-15th centuries) was the first major Thai kingdom and it is often regarded as the Golden Age of Thai civilization. This lecture will provide an introduction to the art of Sukhothai and explore the symbolism and style of Sukhothai Buddha images, renowned worldwide for their elegance and distinctive stylistic qualities.

Teacher Workshop
All teachers are invited to attend a teacher workshop on September 25, 2010 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM in the Museum Lecture Hall. For reservations, please call Betsy Robb 532-3666. This teacher workshop is fully sponsored by the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.

more info

National Foreign Language Resource Center Fall 2010 Demos and Discussions
Wednesday, October 13, 12:00 pm in Moore 258
Presented by Pia Arboleda, Assistant Professor of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures

Literary texts and films are excellent tools for teaching language and culture. However, for heritage learners, Tagalog texts and Filipino films without subtitles are incomprehensible. Thus, there is a great need for translation and subtitling in order to produce bilingual materials. But the process of translation itself can be used as a tool to teaching Philippine language and culture. This presentation will explain the course design and method of teaching Filipino 435: Translation Theory and Practice. In this course students are asked to transcibe the original text in Filipino. This process hones their listening skills. Next, student conduct research on the historical and cultural background of the film or text they are translating. The process of translation allows them to apply the translation theories they have learned and to exercise critical and creative thought in order to produce an accurate and effective translation.

The presentation includes samples of bilingual materials like film clips, song adaptations, and digital storybooks and how they are used in the classroom.

contact Jim Yoshioka @ sltcc@hawaii.edu | more info

Dr. PIA ARBOLEDA is assistant professor of Filipino and Philippine Literature at the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures where she teaches ‘Translation Theory and Practice,’ ‘Philippine History and Culture,’ and ‘Philippine Folklore.’ She received her doctorate degree in Language and Literature from De La Salle University, Manila. Prior to joining University of Hawaii at Manoa, she taught Philippine Literature, Language and History at Osaka University for four and a half years. She has translated and subtitled Raymond Red’s “Sakay” and Jon Red’s “Ilusyon.” Dr. Arboleda is now working on the translation and subtitles of Eddie Romero’s “Noli Me Tangere” 13-episode TV series. She is also a poet and creative writer. Her works have appeared in ‘Forbidden Fruit: Women Write the Erotic,’ ‘Kung Ibig Mo: Love Poetry by Women,’ and ‘Essays on Women’, among others.

The entire staff of CSEAS at the University of Hawaii at Manoa welcomes all new and returning students to the fall 2010 semester! We hope you have a prosperous semester and continue to check out the CSEASHAWAII.com website for all your Southeast Asia news. Next week we will begin our popular SEA Film Series and be on the lookout for the announcement of our Fall 2010 Speaker Series. As always, let us know what you think of the site and how we can improve your online experience! Mahalo!

With the arrival of the new fiscal year and a new four-year NRC grant to manage, we would like to take a moment to salute our outgoing director, Barbara Watson Andaya, for her seven years of service to the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

During her tenure as director, Barbara oversaw a seismic shift in Center development as we moved into the digital age. Barbara’s vision of our mission has always been to create a place that is truly a “national” resource for the study of Southeast Asia. With the renewal of our four-year grant, we believe that our efforts under Barbara’s leadership kept us on point toward that goal despite increasingly difficult fiscal times. Those of us who work with Barbara on a daily basis marvel at her amazing energy and willingness to roll up her sleeves to get something done. What is truly remarkable is that she continued to publish and present her academic work, served on every imaginable committee, and still looked after the welfare of her students as one of her top priorities as an educator. We hope Barbara will enjoy the new found free time, but knowing her, she will find more activities to do to fill those rare moments.

As we continue this transition in leadership, we welcome Stephen O’Harrow [Professor of Vietnamese, Dept. of Indo Pacific Languages & Literatures] back to the director’s office. This will be Steve’s second tour of duty as center director. In the new grant, he has initiated an ambitious set of programs to be carried out over the next four years, and we look forward to working with him to bring them to fruition.

Panel(s): Southeast Asian Cinema
Deadline: 15 July 2010

The Center would like to identify scholars interested in presenting papers on Southeast Asian cinema at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Conference in Honolulu – March 31-April 3, 2011 (even if you have already submitted a paper to AAS…we’d like to know about people working on SEAn film!). With the AAS looking to expand their range of topics and noting that a larger convention space will allow for a greater number of panels, we are interested in organizing panels on SEA cinema themes to include (but not limited to) Vietnamese film, women filmmakers, films adapted from works of literature, translating SEAn film, and Islam in film.

If you or someone you know is interested in being included on such a panel(s), please contact us at cseas@hawaii.edu and include your name, institutional affiliation, and proposed paper title and short abstract (please include “SEA Cinema-AAS”in the subject bar). Since the deadline for paper submission to AAS is August 5, please send us a statement of interest no later than July 15. This is an organizational effort only. Sadly, we are not offering travel subsidies at this time. Thanks for your interest in Southeast Asian cinema. We look forward to seeing everyone in Honolulu in 2011!

A 35th Anniversary Presentation Featuring Dances Created and Performed by Garrett Kam
Wednesday, 21 July at 5:00 pm at Earl Ernst Lab Theatre, Kennedy Theatre, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
Free admission

In 1975, an art student at the University of Hawai’i began studying Javanese dance.
Thirty-five years later he shares his choreographies that reflect his life.

Puspayoga (2006; 13 minutes)
Based on Javanese classical dance in the Yogyakarta style, this refined male solo honors all teachers past, present and future. It was inspired by a supernatural visit in Bali from Garrett’s late dance teacher, Sasminta Mardawa, at the exact moment of the earthquake on 27 May 2006 that devastated Yogyakarta. The solo song warns about being boastful from acquiring knowledge and advises to listen to the inner voice for guidance. The title means ‘Blossoming Meditation’ with Javanese vocal and gamelan music from the sultan’s palace in Yogyakarta.

costume change interlude (“Hamachijuyaa” played by Gamelan Sanga, Okinawa)

Oki-Jawa Journeys (2007 and 2008; 14 minutes)
Inspired by historical and cultural links between Okinawa and Java, these three dances blend movements from these two islands. “Hi, Sigh!” is a word play on the Okinawan “Haisai!” (Hello!) and Indonesian slang “Hai, sayang!” (Hey, sweetie!); a Javanese dance scarf is manipulated like an Okinawan flower garland using gentle female style dance. “Eisaa-ruu” blends movements from lively Okinawan eisaa dances done to welcome ancestral spirits with Javanese monkey dance; saaruu in Okinawan means ‘monkey’. “Fan-tasy” uses two fans which are manipulated like a Javanese dance sash and uses refined male movements. The musical pieces are by the groups Hae (Okinawa), Ukwanshin Kabudan (Hawaii), and Banjar Teretai Capung (Bali and Java), with interludes by Singaporean composer Dzul Rabul Jalil and Okinawan pop group Nenes.

costume change interlude (“Ashimizu Bushi” played by Gamelan Sanga, Okinawa)

Wayang Sampur-na (2010; 40 minutes)
In Javanese, sampurna means “ideal, perfect, pure”. A sampur is a long cloth sash used in Javanese dance to accentuate and extend movements. In this wayang (performance), dance sashes are used in different ways for presenting some of the most important scenes from the Ramayana, the eternal epic of devotion, separation and reunion. Masks and puppets of characters are created on stage with different colored sampur, animated and then pulled apart as the story unfolds with short narration between episodes. Mostly danced in the Javanese court style from Yogyakarta with some new interpretations, the performance includes elements from other parts of Indonesia (Bali and West Java), Okinawa, Taiwan, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma, India and Sri Lanka, as well as some improvisation and contemporary movements. This also is an autobiographical work of places visited and cultures studied by Garrett since 1975. A short Javanese dance introduces the four major character court styles of ogre king Ravana, monkey warrior Hanuman, refined hero Rama, and princess Sita. Narrative scenes are danced to traditional Javanese and Balinese melodies arranged for Western instruments by Canadian ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee, with opening and closing scenes using Asian inspired film music by Australian composer Elizabeth Drake.

GARRETT KAM was born in Hawaii but has lived in Southeast Asia for nearly 25 years, mostly in Java and Bali. He received his bachelor’s degree in Textiles and Asian Art History in 1976, and his master’s degree in Southeast Asian History and Asian Theatre in 1987 as an East-West Center Grantee (Institute of Culture and Communication, 1985-1987) from the University of Hawai’i. Garrett studied Javanese dance from 1975 to 1979 at the University of Hawai’i, and from 1979 to 1982 learned under master court teachers of the sultan’s palace in Yogyakarta, especially Sasminta Mardawa (KRT Sasmintadipura), Raden Sunartomo and Bambang Pudjasworo. Garrett was the first non-Javanese to regularly perform in the professional group of Mardawa Budaya and Pamulangan Beksa Ngayogyakarta schools of court dance and had his own troupe in Hawaii. As a Fulbright Grantee from 1987 to 1988, Garrett researched ritual in Bali where he has resided since then and is curator of the Neka Art Museum. He also serves as the only non-Balinese ritual assistant and offerings maker at one of the island’s most important Hindu-Buddhist temples.

Garrett has taught and performed Javanese dance in Hawaii at the University of Hawai’i, East-West Center, Mamiya Theatre, Leeward Community College, Kapi’olani Community College, Bishop Museum and Lyman House Museum; University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Center for World Music at California Institute of the Arts in San Diego and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Lewis and Clark College in Oregon, Dartmouth College in New Hampshire; in Thailand at Chulalongkorn University, The Joe Louis Traditional Thai Puppet Theatre, The Siam Society, The James H.W. Thompson Foundation and Patravadi Theatre; in Cambodia at the Royal University of Fine Arts, Sovanna Phum Khmer Art Association and The Khmer Arts Theatre; in Japan at Okinawa Christian University, Okinawa Prefecture University of the Fine Arts and Meio University; in Korea at the National Centre for Traditional Korean Performing Arts in Busan; in Indonesia at Pondok Pekak Art Center and Setia Darma House of Masks and Puppets in Bali, and The Japan Foundation in Jakarta; in Singapore at the Chinese Opera Institute, Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Peranakan Museum, LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts, National Institute of Education at Nanyang Technological University, Centre for the Arts at the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Maya Dance Theatre and Esplanade Theatres; in Taiwan at the Asian Cultural Council of Taipei and Lin Liu-Hsin Puppet Theatre Museum; and in Sri Lanka at the University of Peradeniya in Kandy.
In addition to arranging and choreographing Javanese court dances, Garrett also performs Okinawan dance which he studied from 1982 to 1987 in Hawaii. In 2007 he created a blend of it with Javanese dance called “Oki-Jawa” to show the historical links and similarities between the two cultures which he has presented in Singapore, Hawaii, Okinawa and Indonesia. As a Rockefeller Grantee, he collaborated with dancers and musicians from different countries for the Asia Pacific Performance Exchange program at UCLA in 2000, and served as cultural advisor for UCLA’s Art of Rice Traveling Theatre in 2002 and 2003. “Wayang Sampur-na” is his latest work created in 2010 using masks and puppets made from Javanese dance sashes with performance elements of different traditions. Garrett has also authored many books, articles and catalogs mostly on Southeast Asian visual and performing arts. His Ramayana in the Arts of Asia (Select Books, Singapore; Asia Books, Bangkok, 2000) is the most comprehensive and complete illustrated survey of the diverse literary, performing and artistic traditions of this epic. In addition, Garrett has served as curator and organizer for art exhibitions in Indonesia, the USA, Japan, Australia and Singapore. He has assisted with several UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage projects and a dance education program in Yogyakarta.

July 8-October 10, 2010 at the John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Gallery
Catharine E.B. Cox Award Exhibition

Sanit Khewhok is the 11th recipient of the prestigious Catharine E. B. Cox Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts. Born in Trang, Thailand, Khewhok received his undergraduate degree in Fine Arts: Painting, Sculpture, and Printmaking from Silpakorn University in Bangkok. He was then awarded a Masters in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome with a specialization in painting and restoration techniques. For 30 years, he has worked as a curator, collections manager, and a conservator at museums in Thailand and Honolulu.

A practicing artist for more than 34 years, Khewhok is known for his small-scale works that invite us to engage with them on a personal level.

“I have felt comfortable with smaller sizes because when you look at the small-scale works there is an intimacy—the work is more personal,” says Khewhok. “A large-scale work for me seems heroic and monumental. I am not interested in that.” His statement speaks to the humble, soft-spoken Khewhok as a person and an artist.

Academically trained, Khewhok references art-historical traditions—especially from the Italian Renaissance—in his subject matter, style and handling of media. Artists such as Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), Francisco Goya (1746-1828), and Edvard Munch (1863-1944) are major influences, and some of his pieces directly reference well-known masterworks. For example, two paintings in his Envelopes series borrow from Man Ray’s Le Violon d’Ingres (1924) and Edouard Manet’s Olympia (1863), juxtaposing a Marilyn Monroe postage stamp with Manet’s Olympia to draw a visual analogy between the two iconic women. He also draws upon contemporary history and prominent cultural figures, such as the the Vietnam War or President George W. Bush.

Khewhok’s personal experiences and inner circle also inform his art. For example, Untitled 2-4 are composed of fish bones collected on a walk along the beach, and Untitled 1 incorporates two fish that he ate for dinner one evening. Humor and personal stories underlie Khewhok’s art, whether as inside jokes or something more overt. Sharp-witted and always playful, his works will catch you off guard, mysteriously drawing you in.

A turning point in Khewhok’s artistic career came when he was ordained as a monk in 1985 and spent 100 days at a Thai monastery. As a traditional rite of passage into adulthood, all Thai men were expected to become ordained at the age of 21; however, Khewhok was a little older when he entered the monastery. There, he learned and practiced meditation. One afternoon, while walking in the woods to clear his mind, he absentmindedly picked up a stick and created a sculpture. Prior to this moment, Khewhok had felt confined and restricted by the academic training he had received in Thailand and Italy. Through the simple act of creating a sculpture out of a stick, he realized he had taken his next step as an artist.

As It Happened embodies Khewhok’s past and present and invites viewers to witness his evolution as an artist. His work eloquently synthesizes the various cultures and traditions he has straddled so far in life.—Rui Sasaki, Assistant Curator Special Projects, Department of European and American Art

more info | read the Honolulu Advertiser interview with Sanit Khewhok

27 June – 3 October 2010 at the East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, HI

In honor of the East-West Center’s 50th anniversary, the Gallery will feature a selection of some 35 works rarely seen by the general public, including sculpture, prints, paintings, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, wood carvings, and photographs.

Since its founding in 1960, the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, has been the recipient of hundreds of gifts of art, architecture, and artifacts reflecting the richness and diversity of the Asia Pacific region, including the United States. In keeping with the Center’s mandate to promote better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the region, the objects in the Permanent Collection serve as educational tools—as well as inspirational works of great beauty.

Included in this special exhibition are works by David Becker, Dalounny Carroll, Paul Chesley, Alonzo Davis, Rupert Garcia, Aisha Ghasnavi, Milton Glaser, R. C. Gorman, I Nyoman Gunarsa, Hokusai, Jose Joya, Erica Karawina, Da Tan Ke, I Nyoman Lesug, Meleanna Meyer, Mayumi Oda, Mary Pritchard, Sano Tankyu, Pak No Soo, Michael Tom, Hatano Tae, Mohammad Yasin, Noguchi Yukoku, and Cong Zhiyuan. Also included is a video projection art work, by Ben Wood and Michael Schuster, based on the flagship Charlot and Affandi murals in Imin Center-Jefferson Hall.

All in the EWC Gallery, admission free, except as noted.

Sunday, June 27, 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Opening festivities including reception and presentation of 8-minute video art piece, Wisdoms of the East and West, accompanied by live music by Made Widana and Anna Reynolds at 2:00 and at 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 11, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Illustrated talk by Jeannette ‘Benji’ Bennington on the development of the EWC’s Permanent Collection of art works.

Sunday, August 29, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
“Influences from Hawai‘i,” illustrated talk by Mayumi Oda, former EWC Artist-in-Residence, and Hawai‘i Island resident.

Sunday, September 12, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Illustrated talk by Meleanna Aluli Meyer, former EWC Arts Program Intern. Meyer, a well known Hawaiian artist, curator, and arts educator speaks about past and current work.