Report Title:

Works of Art Special Fund; Playground Equipment

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, young children tend to experience art in a direct, physical way, particularly through their sense of touch; and

WHEREAS, there are currently relatively few opportunities for children in Hawaii to experience works of art in a hands-on manner, as most museums and galleries generally prohibit such contact; and

WHEREAS, the acquisition of outdoor sculptures is one way to increase children's understanding and appreciation of art, since many sculptures can be touched and climbed upon by children. Examples of outdoor sculptures and sculpture gardens are found in many major cities around the globe; and

WHEREAS, for example, one sculpture garden of note is the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which opened in 1974 in Washington, D.C., as the Smithsonian's public showcase for modern and contemporary art. The Hirshhorn is one of sixteen museums of the Smithsonian and one of its eight art museums; and

WHEREAS, a self-made millionaire, financier, and mining magnate from the New York area, the Latvia-born Joseph H. Hirshhorn (1899-1981) was an avid collector of modern art who had amassed holdings of more than six thousand works over a forty-year period, who agreed to give his collection to the Nation to serve as the nucleus for a museum established by legislation of the United States Congress; and

WHEREAS, the Hirshhorn collection, which contains some twelve thousand works of art, has one of the most comprehensive collections of modern sculpture in the United States or abroad. The collection's other strengths include contemporary art, European painting since World War II, and American painting since the late 19th century; and

WHEREAS, in addition to lectures, symposia, and tours, including a "touch tour" for visually impaired visitors (with script read by a sighted companion) using thirty-five sculptures inside the museum, docents and staff travel to outlying areas to provide classroom presentations for secondary-school children and lecture services for adult groups; and

WHEREAS, ongoing workshops at the museum help elementary- and secondary-school teachers use art to teach other disciplines such as history, math, and social science. In another community program, docents use art objects to help students with learning disabilities develop language skills; and

WHEREAS, family programs, such as the monthly "young at art" programs, use storytelling, dramatic improvisation, and object making to bring exhibitions and objects in the collection alive for children ages six to nine and their parents; and

WHEREAS, another internationally famous sculpture garden, and one of the artistic highlights of Norway, is the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, which contains one hundred ninety-two sculptures with more than six hundred figures, all modeled in full size by Gustav Vigeland, who was born in 1869 in the south-coast town of Mandal in Norway; and

WHEREAS, the initial point of the park sculptures was the Fountain. A model was presented in 1907 to the city counsel and Gustav Vigeland was commissioned to make a Fountain. But as the time passed and not enough money was raised yet, Vigeland added many more sculptures to the project, including granite sculptures that eventually were placed around the later monolith; and

WHEREAS, in 1924, the City of Oslo decided that the entire project should be fulfilled in the Frogner Park, later called Vigeland Park. For the rest of his life, Vigeland continued to model new sculptures for the park until his death in 1943; and

WHEREAS, while these and other sculpture gardens in both the United States mainland and other countries provide a focal point for communities to experience works of art in their daily lives, there are relatively few sculpture gardens around Hawaii, and virtually none in children's playgrounds; and

WHEREAS, combining artistic works, such as outdoor sculptures, with the functionality of playground equipment, would allow children to develop an appreciation of art at a very young age in a direct way, while giving them hands-on equipment for climbing; and

WHEREAS, in Act 80, Session Laws of Hawaii 1999, the Legislature stated that the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts "can and must be the premier entity in cultivating art ... and extending its reach to the youngsters of this State. From a humanitarian perspective, studying the arts not only broadens a child's perspective of the immediate environment, but also creates a heightened sense of awareness and connection with the past and present occupants and stewards of this world..."; and

WHEREAS, the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and the State Comptroller are responsible for deciding on the specific art objects to be acquired for the works of art special fund, as created by section 103-8.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, into which is transferred one per cent of all state fund appropriations for capital improvements designated for the construction or renovation of state buildings; and

WHEREAS, that law further provides that the selection of, commissioning artists for, reviewing of design, execution, and placement of, and the acceptance of works of art are the responsibility of the Comptroller and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts in consultation with the affected agency or department; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to ensure that Hawaii's children are given the opportunity to experience and appreciate works of art at an early age; combining this goal with the acquisition of outdoor sculptures that can also be used as playground equipment for elementary school students adds a degree of functionality to this purpose; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Comptroller and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts are requested to use moneys in the works of art special fund to acquire outdoor sculptures that can be used as playground equipment for elementary school students; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Comptroller and the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts are requested to report their progress in acquiring outdoor sculptures that can be used as playground equipment to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Comptroller and the Executive Director of the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.