Isle Pages

New releases from Hawaii authors

Reviewed by Burl Burlingame
bburlingame@starbulletin.com

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"Aloha Spirit: Hawaiian Art & Popular Design"
by Douglas Congdon-Martin(Schiffer, $49.95)

At first glance this might seem to be another of Schiffer's Hawaiiana kitsch-fests, but a closer look shows that it is logically laid out and pursues a consistent point of view. It grew out of an exhibit at the California Heritage Museum in the late '90s that examined the effect of "Hawaiian" design on decor, and the pages showing the exhibit are fascinating, like your own home reassembled for museological purposes, your junky rattan couch treated with the same reverence as King Tut's tomb furnishings. Don't worry, there's still plenty of collectible kitsch to ogle in well-presented photographs.

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