Contrast Magazine

Contrast Magazine got VIP access to Voluptuous Lines art exhibit by Kamea Hadar at the Pacific Guardian Center last night. There was the full-on spread of fancy pancy pupu and wine by Better Brands. Photographer Paul Kema and I went out to support Kamea who is ushering in a unique genre of art with his sculptural paintings.

“I wanted to take the painting a step further so I added another dimension,” says Kamea. ” What makes a skillful painter is he can fake reality. He can add perspective and shadow to make it look real, but it’s all on a flat canvas. But, when the canvas is curved and not flat it’s adding another dimension. I’ve been calling it the fourth dimension, but some people think it’s cheesy to name it that.”

Phew! The fourth dimension to his work is really cool and helps display the “contrasts” of Kamea’s life. Check it out for yourself at the Pacific Guardian Center tonight when it opens to the public. The following images by Paul Kema will help entice you there…

Enter the Pacific Guardian Center...

Grab a glass of vino from the lovely Shanna Hulme of Better Brands...

Take a long look at the only piece that isn't on a sculpture...

Then talk story with the artist (dude in the lei) and prepare to be infatuated with his work. "This is the debut of my sculptural canvases that I've been developing and experimenting with," says Kamea Hadar who is a 25-year-old artist from Niu Valley. "It involves the classic stretch canvas, but it's over sculpted, warped frames in order to give it a sculptural appeal. It divides the space and it becomes an experience instead of something that just sits on the wall."

Does art imitate life? Or, does life imitate art? What do you think, Shanna? The modern-day Venus.

"A lot of my art deals with the contrast of old and new," says Kamea. "Classic art versus more modern art."

"There's always hints of Hawai‘i in all my pieces because that's where I'm from," states Kamea who graduated from Punahou. After high school, Hadar recieved a bachelor's of fine art from the University of San Diego.

Voluputuous lines, right?

The Green.

Dimes on the wide in Kamea's art.

And, we're out to get a pizza from the V-lounge...

Local artist Kamea Hadar will be displaying his sculptural paintings in a limited exhibition beginning Friday, October 30 at the Pacific Guardian Center, located on at 737 Bishop Street, Suite 100 (Ground Floor, Mauka Tower). The Kamea Gallery exhibition will open from October 30, 2009- January 26, 2010, Monday- Friday from 9:00 a.m. -5:30 p.m. with special showings with the artist available by request on Saturdays. For more info visit www.kameagallery.com.

I know you Contrast Readers are all into digital photography so I just wanted to share my new purchase. I don’t know much about cameras, but I just cop this 2.0 Megapixel Sony Mavica. It’s pretty cool. You don’t even need film! All it requires are those 3.5″ floppy disks. What do you think? Is this good?

so about one year after the release of the Nintendo DSi, which i dont even have yet… They have announced that the Nintendo DSi LL will be releasing on Nov 21st in Japan, i dont think there is a date set for the US yet… the newer model features a bigger screen, 1 whole inch to be exact, a bigger easier to grip stylus that doesnt store in the handheld and about 1 more hr of battery life compared to the DSi… it will also come installed with 3 DSi Ware games, two Brain Age games and an unreleased dictionary program. they say the bigger screen is big enough where people on the side of you can enjoy the screen also. the price is a little more at 20,000yen like $220.. the colorway on this one is nice though… wine red(pictured). it also comes in white and black. it seems more like a luxury thing to me.. not much enhancements other then that its bigger and more expensive. but the wine red colorway is dope! maybe nintendo is just trying to make a buck… but if you dont have one and is planning on buying one, maybe wait for this one…

image from ign.com

info from Nintendo.co.jp and you can compare the DSi and DSi LL HERE

holy fark she is HILARIOUS… a few months back she replied to me on twitter and was gonna do an interview for Contrast… after this she must have everyone in the universe hitting her up… still gonna pursue that interview… Olivia Munn, Artie Lange, and Jimmy Fallon just killing it on Late Night…

more vids on her blog…
via oliviamunn.com

from the 2009 bet hiphop awards…. dj premier…

eminem, mosdef, black thought….

krs-one, wale, nipsey hussle, gsan…

nicki minaj, joe budden, buckshot, crown royyal…

via nahright…

Rasheed Wallace and his RZA x Questlove ‘FroBeard?

Yeah, this is Anderson Varejao’s standard look, but his Sideshow Bob x LMFAO still deserves a vote.

Mike Miller’s commercial stand-in for “Meth…Don’t Do it!”

OR Ron Artest’s Bi-Lingual Billboard head?

Honorable Mention: Baron Davis’s Kimbo Slice x Cody Chestnutt uku-beard (Thanks Luke)

My experience with the 2009 Honolulu International Film Festival lets me know that I’ve been blowing it for the past five years. Since moving back home from San Diego, Calif. four years ago, I never found my wat to HIFF for one reason or the other– weak sauce on my part. This year’s film festival was an incredible event and an indicator of the tremendous amount of creativity that Hawai‘i attracts and produces. Although I only saw two films (Barbarian Princess and The Drifter), I still relish my experiences at HIFF and vow to watch, cover and critique even more films next year at HIFF. I’m also still bummed that I missed More Than A Game, but I’ll be alright. Here’s a couple of observations I made from viewing Barbarian Princess and The Drifter:

"You think you're quite the dandy, don't you?"–Princess Ka‘iulani in Barbarian Princess. iPhone image by Rachel Loo.

Seven things that stoked me out in Barbarian Princess …

1) Q’orianka Kilchner does an amazing job as Princess Ka‘iulani despite not being Hawaiian.

2) If this is the way that the world will learn about the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy then so be it.

3) Beautiful imagery in this film. Props to the DP.

4) Awesome costumes.

5) A very powerful story that had my Hawaiian friend tearing up on the side.

6) Lorin Thurston looks like the biggest asshole in the world because he was. Great job, Barry Pepper.

7) Loved it when the characters spoke in Hawaiian and there were English subtitles.

Seven things that bummed me out on Barbarian Princess…

1) The shell collecting. Apparently, as a Hawaiian, I’ve been collecting shells for 28 years for the wrong reasons.

2) The love story. Clive is a fictitious character that seems to be in the movie for commercial reasons. The producer admitted that Clive is a compilation of nine different haole dudes that was linked to the princess.

3) Q’orianka Kilcher didn’t think any of my jokes were funny when were taking the picture above.

4) I’ve never come across anything in history books or lectures that lead me to believe that Sanford B. Dole was sympathetic to Hawaiians. Dole was NOT a reluctant antagonist like he’s portrayed in the film. Lame!

5) I wish the Hawaiians protesting the title of the film would let everybody make a decision for themselves instead of calling out other kanaka maoli for watching the movie. I’m a well-educated, critical thinker, brah!

6) Hawai‘i Theater stopped serving beer when the movie started. What? No intermission?

7) The title of the film still sucks.

Sitting down with The Drifter (Rob Machado) in the newly renovated Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Image by Jason Shibata.

There was nothing about The Drifter I didn’t like. Excellent story. Humorous. Heart-warming. Amazing footage. Beautiful cinematography. Killer soundtrack. Epic surfing. Outstanding. Captivating. Motivating. It’s hard to tell if this film is a surf video, documentary or feature movie, but whatever it is it’s freaking awesome! Look for a story about The Drifter in the Travel issue of Contrast Magazine. This movie made me want to surf, go to Bali and dig a well for a village all at the same time while drinking shroom juice.

Most of you Polaroid lovers know that the company stopped making instant film for their discontinued cameras sometime last year or the year before. Heartbreak…until now. Polaroid lovers now have something to look forward to. Summit Global Group, the licensee of the Polaroid brand plans to re-launch some of the most popular Polaroid instant cameras in 2010 and have commissioned The Impossible Project to manufacture film for these cameras!