Herb Kawainui Kāne and Jerry Benson
“When this dear man (Herb) indicated to us that he had a (brilliant) idea for a Honu design, and would be involved in the project, I must have paced my studio in a daze for quite a length of time, simply repeating to myself, “Wow, wow, oh my goodness, wow.” Weeks later, we find this daze just does not go away. If you are familiar with all that he has done (his illustrations, murals, canvases, sculptures, the Hokule’a, his books), or even just a little, you may understand. If you are not familiar with the name, you are in for a gigantic treat.” Karen, Honu-ette
Hawaiiʻs Living Treasure
Herbʻs words about “Itʻs a Honu World”:
“I believe that the surprise appearance of fifty five-foot whimsically painted sea turtles could spark an almost electrical “charge” of fun, excitement, and community identity to the Island of Hawaii.
“My co-artist will be Jerry Benson, worlds greatest fiberglass guy, builder of canoes and fine furniture. We used to build fiberglass canoes together so now the Kane-Benson team is reassembled.” -Herb Kane-
Herb Kawainui Kane (pronounced KAHney)...
...is an artist-historian and author of his native Hawai’i and the South Pacific, with paintings in many private and corporate collections, including the State of Hawai’i and the National Park Service.
His art and articles have appeared in books and major magazines, including five assignments from National Geographic. He has designed postage stamps for the U.S. Postal Service and several Pacific island nations.
Research on Polynesian voyaging led to the building of the sailing canoe Hokule’a, of which he was the first captain. The canoe has made a number of round trips to the South Pacific as far as New Zealand, navigated without instruments.
Elected a Living Treasure of Hawai’i, he was also one of 16 selected as Po’okela (Champion) in the 1987 Year of the Hawaiian Celebration. He resides in rural South Kona on Hawai’i Island (Peleʻs domain). His book, Voyagers includes 140 reproductions of his art in color.
More about Herb Kane and his treasured works can be found here.
