Ka Leo O Hawaii

Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Mixed Plate

Media Credit: Courtesy of Bron Solyom Hawaiian Folkways, a 5 x 24 ft. mural at McDonalds in Kaneohe, depicts over 100 proverbs and is the cover of his recent book.

Martin Charlot is a bit of a mystery. He is definitely local, yet worldly and sophisticated, as demonstrated in his wide range of work - from children's storybooks to films, and most famously, his murals.

His most well-known mural, located in the Kaneohe McDonalds, appropriately depicts his hometown, the Windward side of Oahu. It was recently published in his book "Local Traffic Only."

Charlot seeks to create a "portrait of a village," he writes in his book. But he does more than that: embedded within his expansive "Hawaiian Folkways" mural are proverbs. The biblical, Hawaiian, and Samoan proverbs, as well as a few philosophers' sayings, are depicted in each mural, acted out by Charlot's characters.

However, these characters are not fictional; they are the people of the community that Charlot depicts: his friends and family, as well as the strangers who inspire him.

For example, Charlot portrays his father with a picture of a wise man. The wise man has a stream flowing in and out of him and is appropriately accompanied by the proverb: "A wise man's words express deep streams of thoughts."

Charlot is the son of Jean Charlot, a famous muralist and former UH art professor whose artwork is scattered throughout the UH Mānoa campus.

Many of Charlot's father's murals also depicted life in Hawai‘i. "Martin is so distinct, but I think in philosophy and practice much has been absorbed from observations of his father at work," said Bron Solyom, curator of the Jean Charlot Collection at UHM.

What makes his work different from his father's is the "script" attached to the mural, Charlot said. "One of the unique things is, because it's focused around proverbs, it is like the mural has a script. Paintings are usually very silent; there's no tape recorder behind it playing music. But because so many words are involved ... there's a lot of noise."

Perhaps Charlot inherited his father's "deep streams of thoughts" as well. A self-described "mulling kind of guy," Charlot grew up without a television. His lifestyle involved learning under his father, hence his love for contemplation. It's no wonder that his mural is filled with his thoughts and values, communicated through a local community.

"Mainly I wanted to communicate the feeling that we are all in this big adventure of going through life together. No matter where we are in the world, we are a part of this human experience," said Charlot. "A lot of the proverbs came from ancient times, and you can see that people back then are the same as they are now."

Charlot asked the people he painted for their favorite proverbs and then used those proverbs to depict them in the mural. "I was hoping our messages would twine together," Charlot said.

These values are what attracted his publisher. "A lot of the projects we do are inspirational and feature what's special about Hawai‘i," said Dawn Sakamoto, director of sales and marketing at Waterhouse Publishing. "They communicate a spirit of aloha. Charlot's mural illustrates and epitomizes Hawai‘i life and how to live a good life, and that's what we would like to share."

Not to mention all the interpretations attached to each of the murals, and Charlot welcomes these interpretations. "From my father, I learned the concept of 'art for the people,'" Charlot said. "This means if things are cultural, you don't have to be somebody who goes to school to enjoy them. You can be a laborer, a farmer, anything, and still be able to enjoy art. I wanted to put it out so people could respond to it and enjoy it."

Yet, with all these proverbs and the research that goes into such a project, Charlot can think of many more he would love to paint. "I have so many ideas, it would take me so many lifetimes to do them," Charlot said. "It's not, What can I do next? But, I hope I can find the time and money to do that!"

"Hawaiian Folkways" also holds a deeper meaning for Charlot, who did the painting while raising his four children. "It's about that moment in my life when my kids were small," he said. "It's an incredible snapshot of how life was back then. The nice thing about being an artist is that I get to live a track."

See Martin Charlot in person at his book signing for "Local Traffic Only," based on his mural "Hawaiian Folkways."
When: Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 3:30 p.m.
Where: Eugene Yap Room (Hamilton Addition A153)

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