The Contemporary Museum – Makiki Heights
2411 Makiki Heights Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822
Main: (808) 526-1322; Exhibition Info: 526-0232; Café Reservations: 523-3362
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release May 1, 2009
Contact: Charlie Aldinger, Director of Museum Advancement;
Ph: (808) 237-5231; Fax: (808) 536-5970; E-mail:
caldinger@tcmhi.org
Web Site: http://www.tcmhi.org
TCM JOINS SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE MUSEUM DAY
September 26, 2009
Honolulu, HI…. The Contemporary Museum (TCM), Hawaii’s only
museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art, will join
museums across America participating in Smithsonian
Magazine’s Museum Day promotion on Saturday,
September 26, 2009. Free admission cards admitting the bearer
and one guest free of charge will be available in the September
2009 issue of Smithsonian Magazine or downloaded easily at
www.smithsonianmagazine.com/museumday
later this summer.
Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day celebrates the
country’s cultural offerings, allows the dissemination of
knowledge, and brings Americans together. Last year over 450
museums and cultural institutions nationwide participated in the
effort, which emulates the Smithsonian’s Washington, D.C.
year-round free admission policy. The complete list of
participating museums across the nation will soon be available
at
www.smithsonianmagazine.com.
The Museum Day Admission Card is good for
one-day use only on September 26, 2009 at TCM and other
participating museums in Hawaii and across the nation. The
admission card will be collected upon entry and is redeemable
for general admission for the presenter and one guest. Only one
admission card per household is allowed. The Museum Day
admission card may not be used with any other offer and
no rain checks will be offered.
On view at TCM’s Makiki Heights galleries on September 26,
2009 will be Yoshihiro Suda, an exhibition of
exquisitely fragile wood-carved flora. Well-known in Japan and
Europe, the TCM exhibition is Suda’s second solo museum
exhibition in the United States. Yoshihiro Suda is
organized by TCM and curated by James Jensen, Deputy Director
for Exhibitions and Collections. Support for this exhibition is
provided in part by The Hara Museum Fund and the Andy Warhol
Foundation for the Visual Arts. Japan Airlines International and
Waikiki Parc Hotel are providing in-kind contributions in
support of this exhibition.
Japanese artist Yoshihiro Suda (born 1969) is internationally
known for his installations of delicate carved and painted
wooden plant life. Suda's sculptures of indigenous Japanese
plants and flowers, including camellias, magnolias, and roses,
as well as common weeds, are meticulously created with
surprising realism and in true-to-life scale that at times
borders on the miniscule. The artist carves these fragile pieces
from magnolia wood before hand-painting them with traditional
Japanese pigments to produce exact replicas of these natural
flowers.
As works of installation art they are modest, effacing, and at
times nearly invisible. Yet these carvings have an overwhelming
presence that dominates their surroundings. His manner of
exhibiting works in unexpected locations urges the viewer to
rediscover the work's surrounding environment and architectures
with fresh eyes and to experience spaces anew. As such there is
a temporal, even performative, aspect to his artistic practice.
Ultimately Suda locates significance in the moments of encounter
between the environment, the sculpted form, and the viewer.
The exhibition remains on view through October 25, 2009. Both
the TCM Café and Gift Shop will be open on Museum Day.
The fabulous Nu’umealani Gardens will also be available for
exploring. The TCM Café will be offering its Lauhala and Lunch
picnic service. Call (808) 523-3362 to order a picnic basket for
two packed with a choice of salads or sandwiches, dessert bars,
and beverages. The picnic basket is $30 for two persons and
includes the loan of a lauhala mat for picnicking in the gardens
or on the great lawn. For more information about
Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day, call (808) 8526-1322
or visit
www.tcmhi.org. Or go to Smithsonian
Magazine’s web site at
www.smithsonianmagazine.com/museumday.
-end-
General Information:
The Contemporary Museum - Makiki Heights
Entry: One-Day Membership Pass - $8 Adults; $6 Students & Seniors; Members & Children 12 and
under are free. (Cost of a one-day pass may be applied to the cost of an annual membership on
the day of issue.) It is always free to visit the Museum Shop or The Contemporary Café. Third
Thursdays are free entry days! Museum and Shop Hours: Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.;
Sunday from Noon to 4 p.m.; Closed Mondays and major holidays. The Contemporary Café Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Sunday from Noon to 2:30 p.m. Café
Reservations: (808) 523-3362. Docent Tours: Tuesday-Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Cades Library Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m.; or by special appointment. Parking: Free. On The Bus: #15
to Makiki Heights Drive-stops in front of the Museum. Address: 2411 Maikiki Heights Drive,
Honolulu, HI 96822. Exhibitions/Events Line: (808) 526-0232. Tours/Administration: (808)
526-1322; Web Site: www.tcmhi.org. Membership: (808) 237-5219.
The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center: Entry: Free. Hours: Monday-Thursday from
8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Closed on weekends and banking holidays;
First Fridays: 7-9 p.m. Docent Tours: Third Thursdays at Noon. Parking: TCM Members enjoy
validated parking at FHC. Address: 999 Bishop Street, Honolulu, HI 96813.
For all press inquiries, please contact Charlie Aldinger, Director of Museum Advancement, at (808)237-5231
or via e-mail at caldinger@tcmhi.org.
