Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 5, Number 5, 1 May 1988 — Exterior Sculpture for Maui's Hoapili Hale [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Exterior Sculpture for Maui's Hoapili Hale

Keaukaha-Born Sculptor Gets Commission

By Deborah Lee Ward, Assistant Editor Ka Wai Ola O OHA Symbols in Hawaiian history that represent the mana of the alii are the inspiration for a new work by Sean Kakamakupa'a Lee Loy Browne, a partHawaiian sculptor from Keaukaha, Island of Hawaii. Browne has been awarded a $150,000 commission from the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts for an exterior sculpture at Hoapili Hale, the Wailuku, Maui Judiciary complex. The sculpture will be installed in front of the new courthouse across from the State Office building. Browne was selected from among 12 nationallyknown artists who were invited to compete for the commission. Completion of the white marble sculpture is scheduled for 1989. Browne, a professional sculptor since about 1981, now lives in Honolulu. He is the hanai son of Dr. Robert and Mrs. Mieko Browne. His parents are Genesis and Elizabeth Lee Loy. He graduated from Kamehameha Schools in 1971, and received his bachelor's degree from the University of Redlands, California, in 1975, majoring in studio art. Following graduation, he took a year off and

traveled in South America, studying sculpture and architecture of the Incas. In 1977 he returned to Hawaii and entered the master of fine arts in sculpture program at the University of Hawaii. During his study he spent a year with his wife, the former Mary (Dodie) Bacon, studying marbleworking in Pietra Santa in central Italy. Mrs. Browne is the daughter of George and Pat Bacon. He returned completed his MFA degree at UH in 1983. Browne now teaches sculpture at the University of Hawaii Manoa campus and at Kapiolani Community College. Several of his commissioned works for the SFCA ean be seen at Keaukaha Elementary School, Maui Community College, and at Kapiolani Community College Diamond Head campus. Others are in the SFCA's relocatable art collection. For his Maui design, Browne sought inspiration

from symbols in Hawaiian history to represent justice and strength. His three-element sculpture echoes the coat of arms and seal of the Kingdom of Hawaii, to represent the ancient themes of taboo and refuge, and the mana of the alii. In Browne's research, he found that one of the two chiefs on the state seal is believed to be Kameeiamoku, father of Hoapili, whose name the judiciary complex bears. Hoapili succeeded his father as trusted advisor to Kamehameha the Great. Browne selected a white arabescato marble, streaked with grey, to harmonize with the gray color of Hoapili Hale, and to symbolize the 'aina, or enduring strength. The sculpture will be carved by a team of master craftsmen directed by Browne, in Pietra Santa, Italy, a town known for its marble and sculpting traditions. He will be in the Italian town to supervise the work this summer.

Sean Browne