oral history

In 2001, British artist Jeremy Deller received a residency from the CCAC Wattis Institute in San Francisco. He applied his honorarium toward a used Jeep and five acres of land in the Mojave Desert for $2000, thereby staking his own claim upon the Golden State. His fellowship resulted in an unorthodox but compelling guidebook tracing California’s history from the 19th century mining boom to the post-dot-com recession, as found along its dusty highways and in its roadside museums.

This is a famous historical work documenting Hawaiian oral traditions, originally written by Davida Malo in the 19th century. Malo's “Hawaiian catechism” not only documents indigenous Hawaiian myths and genealogy, but also describes cultural norms and taboos, rituals considered essential to well-being, and native Hawaiians' deep connections with their islands through names. While Ka mo'olelo Hawaii has been in print on-and-off for more than 150 years, this edition benefits significantly from the efforts of translator and editor Malcolm Nāea Chun.