Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art
Set to be released this summer, Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art explores the pieces collected by the owners of Mauna Kea Galleries in Honolulu, Hawaii. Authored by Adrienne L. Kaeppler and published by the University of Hawaii Press, Polynesia offers a glimpse into one of the world’s greatest private collections of Polynesian art. Covering a vast geographical area, all Polynesian art is linked by common artistic conventions and intentions. The collection presented in Polynesia comes from New Zealand, the Austral Islands, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Futuna, Hawaii, Malden Island, Easter Island, Rennell Island, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, and the Tuamotus, among other locations. Many of the pieces featured in the Mark and Carolyn Blackburn collection have significant historical links, which Kaeppler endeavors to explore in full. For example, Polynesia: The Mark and Carolyn Blackburn Collection of Polynesian Art presents items associated with an 18th century Captain Cook voyage and material associated with Dupetit-Thouars and the Marquesas. Previously undocumented, these items are laboriously documented and annotated with the collector and scholar in mind. The collection includes paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs, essays, and artifacts, all of which are presented in their cultural and historical context. Kaeppler takes care to respect the aesthetic, social, and religious traditions associated with all pieces of the collection, making them easily comprehensible for the modern reader. An invaluable look at a significant collection, Polynesia takes a complicated, widespread, and powerful genre of art and makes it accessible to the casual reader while maintaining an appeal for the dedicated scholar or knowledgeable collector.
