The painted king : art, activism, and authenticity in Hawaiʻi

203 Pages·2012·3.27 MB·English

by  the Great King of the Hawaiian Islands Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands Kamehameha I, Wharton, Glenn

Art, Activism, and Authenticity in Hawai‘i
the
Glenn Wharton
Te Painted King
T e Painted King
ART, ACTIVISM, AND
AUTHENTICITY IN HAWAI‘I
glenn wharton
UNIVER SIT Y OF HAWAI ‘I PRESS
honolulu
© 2012 University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
Printed in China
17 16 15 14 13 12 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wharton, Glenn.
Te painted king : art, activism, and authenticity in Hawai‘i / Glenn Wharton.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8248-3495-1 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-8248-3612-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Kamehameha I, the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands, d. 1819—Statues.
2. Kapaau (Hawaii)—Buildings, structures, etc.—Conservation and
restoration. 3. Public sculpture—Conservation and restoration—Hawaii—
Kapaau—Citizen participation. I. Title.
NB230.H3W53 2011
730.9969—dc23
2011020891
Published with the support of the Maurice J. Sullivan & Family Fund in the
University of Hawai‘i Foundation.
University of Hawai‘i Press books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the
guidelines for permanence and durability of the Council on Library Resources.
Designed by Julie Matsuo-Chun
Printed by Everbest Printing Co., Ltd.
For Alexander and Paul
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 A Painted King 1
2 Creating a “Pacifc Hero” 16
3 Shipwreck 33
4 Return to Kohala 50
5 Local Style 67
6 How People Tink about Teir Sculpture 76
7 Te Communty Takes Sides 103
8 Decision 124
9 On the Scafolding 142
10 Looking to the Future 164
Appendixes 175
Notes 179
Bibliography 185
Index 193
Acknowledgments
I THANK THE RESIDENTS OF North Kohala, who took this
project to their hearts and developed its participatory aspects within their
community. Among the many people who afected me deeply are Boyd Bond,
Hilton Nalani Cabrera, Stephanie Cabinis, Fred Cachola, Emma Glory, Ran-
dee Golden, Sharon Hayden, Raylene Ha‘alelea Lancaster, Daniel Otake,
Kealoha Sugiyama, Nani Svendsen, and Audrey Veloria. Te special lessons
I learned about Hawaiian culture from Marie Solomon and John Keola Lake,
now deceased, will be with me forever. We could not have conducted the proj-
ect without the guidance and support from members of our project team on
O‘ahu, including Marilyn Cristofori, Lei Ahsing, Mary Tuti Baker, and Mi-
chael Jones.
I interviewed and worked with many people elsewhere in Hawai‘i who
are not mentioned in the book. Tey include Peter Apo, Edward Halealoha
Ayau, Kehau Cachola-Abad, Ross Cordy, Billy Fields, Sahoa Todd Fukushima,
Linda Hee, Kiyoshi Ikeda, Marion Kelly, Downy Manoukian, Jefrey Mel-
rose, Puakea Nogelmeier, Jon Osorio, Kalena Silva, Miriam Stark, Ricardo
Trimillos, and Geof White.
I owe deep gratitude to my partner, Harvey Molotch, for his insightful
advice and tireless support on the home front as I performed lengthy site
ix