Customer Reviews

Pacific Arcadia: Images of California, 1600-1915

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Someday, when the historians and sociologists of the future try to dissect the late 20th Century, they will make snide comments and rude remarks about the rampant "political correctness" and revisionist history that infected so much of the 1990s -- and they will use the text of this book as "Exhibit A." It entirely misses the essence of what actually happened here during three hundred fascinating years.

"Pacific Arcadia : Images of California, 1600-1915" ought to be a wonderful book; the history of California is full of fizz and sizzle, a place where spectacular things happened and superb artists were present to record them. The images in this book are indeed wonderful -- but they are accompanied with a commentary that commits a historian's cardinal sin, applying the manners and morals of the present to a time and place in the past. The author simply can't accept that the artists who recorded their views of California back in the 18th and 19th centuries actually liked the things she abhors today. Here's just one small example:

" . . . The repeated instances of animals under restraint - tethered horses in the field, rearing horses dominated by Spanish riders, cattle corralled by the presidio walls - serve as metaphors for the involuntary servitude of the native laborers and refer to the often unwilling role of Indians in the 'encomienda' system. Furthermore, the pointed wedge [in one painting] of the garrison walls that cuts so imposingly into the fields where the Indians work also hints at the frequently hostile relationship between the settlers and indigenous tribes. ..."

Well, if you like that kind of stuff, there's plenty more of the same. It is really rather tragic, too, because the book includes some really delicious painting, drawing, photography, and engravings that deserve better. The illustrations are generally subordinate to the text; reproductions are often a bit too small to see clearly, and captions provide only minimal information. The author of this book has obviously spent a great deal of time studying the people of California's past; it is unfortunate that she didn't seem to learn much about them.

It is rare that one comes across an art historian who is broad enough in their perspective to be accessible to a general audience. Ms. Perry knows her history and is able to place art in a fascinating historical context. As one other reviewer has well stated, anyone interested in the history of California and the United States would be well advised to read this book. The choice and quality of the reproductions are outstanding. Bravo to the author and Stanford University!

For anyone who is interested in the history of California and art, this is a very interesting book.