Many private print collections on Guam center around authentic Japanese woodblocks including a sizable patronage of French artist Paul Jacoulet. Jacoulet worked out of Japan with master woodblock carver, Kazuo Yamagishi, in the early 1930s and created a body of work based on Pacific cultures, Korea and Japan. Some of his subject matters were Pacific island natives of Micronesia, which provided an affinity with many local collectors on Guam.
The CHamoru expression inafa’ maolek (making it good for each other) expresses a core CHamoru value. A life of harmony is taken to be the highest form of human achievement by the CHamoru people.
Photography as an art form is relatively new on Guam. There have been visiting photographers on Guam since the early 1900s. However, the evolution of photography as a form of artistic expression of the island residents has only happened within the last half a century.
The work of some of Guam’s contemporary painters can be found right off the tarmac as travelers arriving or departing through the AB Won Pat International Airport will discover what is probably one of the largest collections of paintings produced by some of the island’s most established artists.
Taotaomo’na, the people of before, refers to ancestral spirits that inhabited the earth along with the living. Ancient Chamorros/CHamorus believed the world around them was full of spirits who provided both daily protection and assistance in their tasks, but also created dangers and problems.
Although a relatively new form of art, graphic arts on Guam became a common medium for cultural and artistic expression as modern technology became more accessible to the general public. Ancient Chamorro paintings, or pictographs, found in caves depict their lives and offer a glimpse of how the ancient island people viewed and interpreted the world around them.
Interpretive essay: Striving for harmony is the foundation to CHamoru culture. The phrase inafa’ maolek (pronounced e-na-fah mao-lek) describes the CHamoru concept of restoring harmony or order. The literal translation is ‘to make’ (inafa’) ‘good’ (maolek).
Inafa’maolek: Striving for Harmony Read Post »
Though it is still relatively small, filmmaking is growing on Guam as both an art form and an industry. On an island that values story-telling, community, and preserving history and traditions, film is a natural fit as an arts medium and technology is only expected to help it continue to flourish.
Nina (patlina) and Ninu (patlino) , meaning godmother and godfather in the Mariana Islands, respectively, are borrowed terms from the Spanish padrina and padrino. These terms are derived from Spanish Catholicism and describe the relationship between the godparents and their godchild.
Kumpaire or pari’ is a religious and social term used to describe the relationship between parents and their child’s godfather. The word kumparie was borrowed from the Spanish term compadre adapted and appropriated into CHamoru cultural tradition.
