| Laka Morton |
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Laka Morton grew up in Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i. Family weekends and vacations were spent in Ha‘ena where Laka developed his love of seashells, becoming the youngest member of the Hawai‘i Malacological Society at around nine. Laka absorbed the art of life from the personalities surrounding him, rather than from formal art study. After finishing high school, he spent six months studying French at the University of Strasbourg. Afterward, he immersed himself in European culture before returning to Hawai‘i via Tahiti. By then he had a deep interest in Pacific anthropology which took him to Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, New Caledonia as well as French Polynesia. Laka had always made drawings, particularly of the Hawaiian and Polynesian faces that struck him. It was during his last semester in oceanography and anthropology at UH-Manoa that he decided to become an artist. He moved back to Kaua‘i and opened the burgeoning Gallery Hanalei which, unfortunately, was robbed. Done with the gallery business, Laka’s art continued to blossom. Dozens of exhibits and awards followed. For ten years, he was in-house artist and museum director for the Native Hawaiian Trading and Cultural Center. The Kaua‘i Museum commissioned a series of paintings of ancient Kaua‘i rulers. Laka now lives in Volcano where his home is a work of art in itself. In 2003, two of his paintings were finalists in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s fierce competition for a vision of Pele. |
