By Stacy L. Kamehiro
The Arts of Kingship deals a sustained and designated account of Hawaiian public paintings and structure in the course of the reign of David Kalakaua, the nativist and cosmopolitan ruler of the Hawaiian nation from 1874 to 1891. Stacy Kamehiro presents visible and old research of Kalakaua’s coronation and regalia, the King Kamehameha Statue, ‘Iolani Palace, and the Hawaiian nationwide Museum, drawing them jointly in a standard historic, political, and cultural body. each one articulated Hawaiian nationwide identities and navigated the turbulence of colonialism in specified methods and has persevered as a key cultural symbol.
These cultural tasks have been a part of the monarchy’s concerted attempt to advertise a countrywide tradition within the face of colonial pressures, inner political divisions, and declining social stipulations for local Hawaiians, which, together, posed severe threats to the survival of the kingdom. The Kalakaua management counseled photographs that boosted diplomacy and appeased international agitators within the state whereas addressing indigenous political cleavages. Kamehiro translates the pictures, areas, and associations as articulations of the complicated cultural entanglements and inventive engagement with overseas groups that ensue with lengthy colonial touch. Nineteenth-century Hawaiian sovereigns celebrated local culture, heritage, and modernity through intertwining indigenous conceptions of more suitable mainly management with the apparati and emblems of Asian, American, and ecu rule. The ensuing symbolic types communicate to cultural intersections and historic procedures, claims approximately specialty and commonality, and the ability of items, associations, and public demonstrate to create that means and let motion.
The Arts of Kingship pursues questions concerning the nature of cultural trade, how precolonial visible tradition engaged and formed colonial contexts, and the way colonial paintings informs postcolonial visualities and identities. it will likely be welcomed by means of readers with a common and scholarly curiosity in Hawaiian historical past and artwork. because it contributes to discussions approximately colonial cultures, nationalism, and globalization, this interdisciplinary paintings will entice artwork and architectural historians in addition to these learning Pacific historical past, cultural and museum experiences, and anthropology.