Christopher K. Ho Reimagines Hawaiian Hotel Legacy at Bronx Museum
Artist Christopher K. Ho has renamed the Bronx Museum's outdoor space the 'Don Ho Terrace' for his exhibition Aloha to the World at the Don Ho Terrace, on view through 6 January. The show reinterprets the demolished Miramar hotel in Waikiki, Honolulu, built in 1961, through an 11.5-meter banner displaying a pixelated image of its facade. This banner features a ceramic mosaic of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, originally crafted by an Italian for the hotel's Chinese-style eaves, highlighting cultural hybridity aimed at American tourists. Inside, a grey acrylic vitrine holds memorabilia like Don Ho's vinyl records, hotel menus, and kitsch objects, evoking nostalgia for early globalization. Faux-granite-and-coral speakers play erhu music, amplifying artificiality. Ho draws parallels between the hotel and contemporary art institutions as liminal contact zones, critiquing their shift toward commercial operations amid funding cuts. The exhibition reflects on multiculturalism in America during the 1960s and 70s, when singer Don Ho's hit Tiny Bubbles (1966) promoted Hawaiian leisure. Ho, often mistaken for a relative of Don Ho in childhood, uses this personal connection to explore themes of simulation and marketability in postmodern export art.
Key facts
- Christopher K. Ho's exhibition Aloha to the World at the Don Ho Terrace runs through 6 January at The Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York.
- The outdoor exhibition space is renamed 'Don Ho Terrace' after Hawaiian singer Don Ho, known for the 1966 hit Tiny Bubbles.
- An 11.5-meter banner depicts the demolished Miramar hotel in Waikiki, Honolulu, built in 1961, with a pixelated image of its facade.
- The hotel's facade included a ceramic mosaic of the Bodhisattva Guanyin, crafted by an Italian for a Chinese-style design to attract American clients.
- Inside, a grey acrylic vitrine displays memorabilia such as Don Ho's vinyl, hotel menus, an ashtray, and kitsch items.
- Faux-granite-and-coral speakers pipe erhu music, enhancing the sense of artificiality and cultural performance.
- Ho explores parallels between the hotel and art institutions as liminal zones where cultures converge, critiquing their commercialization.
- The exhibition references early globalization and multiculturalism in America during the 1960s and 70s, with Hawaii as an accessible arcadia.
Entities
Artists
- Christopher K. Ho
- Don Ho
Institutions
- The Bronx Museum of the Arts
- ArtReview
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Bronx
- Honolulu
- Hawaii
- Waikiki
- Hong Kong
- China
- Los Angeles
- Gobi Desert
- Dunhuang