Herb Kawainui Kane
American 1928 -

Born in 1928, Herb Kawainui Kane (pronounced KAH-ney) holds a masters degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Chicago. Past clients have included the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, the National Park Service and National Geographic magazine. Kane's work also includes six postage stamps for the United States and four for French Polynesia. As a design consultant, Kane has worked on resorts in Hawaii and the South Pacific, and a cultural center in Fiji. In 1984 he was elected a Living Treasure of Hawaii. In the 1987 Year of the Hawaiian Celebration, Kane was one of 16 persons chosen for outstanding accomplishment as Po'okela (Champion). "I'm a storyteller," says Kane. "My work carries the same discipline as a historian but instead of words I work with pictures." One of Kane's critics noted, "He has the respect of native Hawaiian society because of his own respect for that society, a respect that has led him to create a body of artistic and historical research which has contributed greatly to the world's understanding of Polynesian culture."