Stacy L. Kamehiro
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824832636
- eISBN:
- 9780824868864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824832636.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Pacific Studies
This chapter argues that ‘Iolani Palace underscores the critical and conditional relationships between local subjectivity, indigenous agency, and global dynamics in the production of visual and ...
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This chapter argues that ‘Iolani Palace underscores the critical and conditional relationships between local subjectivity, indigenous agency, and global dynamics in the production of visual and spatial cultural forms. Addressing the inadequacy of interpreting colonial architectural production and cultural change as simply reactive rather than active and deliberate responses to historical and colonial processes, this chapter suggests that through the designated functions and purposeful location of his palace, as well as its design, embellishment, and technological innovation, Kalākaua projected his vision of himself as both an internationally recognized ruler (to counter colonial threats to Hawaiian sovereignty) and an exalted political and religious authority in Hawaiian terms (to address political divisions internal to the Native Hawaiian chiefly community). In ‘Iolani Palace, he fashioned a modern Hawaiian space and structure.Less
This chapter argues that ‘Iolani Palace underscores the critical and conditional relationships between local subjectivity, indigenous agency, and global dynamics in the production of visual and spatial cultural forms. Addressing the inadequacy of interpreting colonial architectural production and cultural change as simply reactive rather than active and deliberate responses to historical and colonial processes, this chapter suggests that through the designated functions and purposeful location of his palace, as well as its design, embellishment, and technological innovation, Kalākaua projected his vision of himself as both an internationally recognized ruler (to counter colonial threats to Hawaiian sovereignty) and an exalted political and religious authority in Hawaiian terms (to address political divisions internal to the Native Hawaiian chiefly community). In ‘Iolani Palace, he fashioned a modern Hawaiian space and structure.
Stacy L. Kamehiro
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824832636
- eISBN:
- 9780824868864
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824832636.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Pacific Studies
This book offers an account of Hawaiian public art and architecture during the reign of David Kalākaua, who ruled the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1874 to 1891. The book provides visual and historical ...
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This book offers an account of Hawaiian public art and architecture during the reign of David Kalākaua, who ruled the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1874 to 1891. The book provides visual and historical analysis of Kalākaua's coronation and regalia, the King Kamehameha Statue, ‘Iolani Palace, and the Hawaiian National Museum, drawing them together in a common historical, political, and cultural frame. These cultural projects were part of the monarchy's effort to promote a national culture in the face of colonial pressures, internal political divisions, and declining social conditions for Native Hawaiians. The book interprets the images, spaces, and institutions as articulations of the complex cultural entanglements and creative engagement with international communities that occur with prolonged colonial contact. Nineteenth-century Hawaiian sovereigns celebrated Native tradition, history, and modernity by intertwining indigenous conceptions of superior chiefly leadership with the apparati and symbols of Asian, American, and European rule. The resulting symbolic forms speak to cultural intersections and historical processes, claims about distinctiveness and commonality, and the power of objects, institutions, and public display to create meaning and enable action. The book pursues questions regarding the nature of cultural exchange, how precolonial visual culture engaged and shaped colonial contexts, and how colonial art informs postcolonial visualities and identities.Less
This book offers an account of Hawaiian public art and architecture during the reign of David Kalākaua, who ruled the Hawaiian Kingdom from 1874 to 1891. The book provides visual and historical analysis of Kalākaua's coronation and regalia, the King Kamehameha Statue, ‘Iolani Palace, and the Hawaiian National Museum, drawing them together in a common historical, political, and cultural frame. These cultural projects were part of the monarchy's effort to promote a national culture in the face of colonial pressures, internal political divisions, and declining social conditions for Native Hawaiians. The book interprets the images, spaces, and institutions as articulations of the complex cultural entanglements and creative engagement with international communities that occur with prolonged colonial contact. Nineteenth-century Hawaiian sovereigns celebrated Native tradition, history, and modernity by intertwining indigenous conceptions of superior chiefly leadership with the apparati and symbols of Asian, American, and European rule. The resulting symbolic forms speak to cultural intersections and historical processes, claims about distinctiveness and commonality, and the power of objects, institutions, and public display to create meaning and enable action. The book pursues questions regarding the nature of cultural exchange, how precolonial visual culture engaged and shaped colonial contexts, and how colonial art informs postcolonial visualities and identities.
Glenn Wharton
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824834951
- eISBN:
- 9780824871260
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824834951.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Pacific Studies
This chapter discusses the commission of the monument of King Kamehameha's in the Hawaii State Archives in Honolulu. The handwritten letters between the artist and the commissioning body are mixed in ...
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This chapter discusses the commission of the monument of King Kamehameha's in the Hawaii State Archives in Honolulu. The handwritten letters between the artist and the commissioning body are mixed in with photographs, newspaper articles, and other papers that have been accumulated since the late nineteenth century. These articles help reveal how the heated politics of the day fed into the monument's design, by explaining topics such as Thomas R. Gould's neoclassical obsessions as a sculptor, and Walter Murray Gibson's personal ambitions to align himself with the struggling Hawaiian monarchy. Moreover, these articles are stored in an underground vault on the grounds of ʻIōlani Palace.Less
This chapter discusses the commission of the monument of King Kamehameha's in the Hawaii State Archives in Honolulu. The handwritten letters between the artist and the commissioning body are mixed in with photographs, newspaper articles, and other papers that have been accumulated since the late nineteenth century. These articles help reveal how the heated politics of the day fed into the monument's design, by explaining topics such as Thomas R. Gould's neoclassical obsessions as a sculptor, and Walter Murray Gibson's personal ambitions to align himself with the struggling Hawaiian monarchy. Moreover, these articles are stored in an underground vault on the grounds of ʻIōlani Palace.
