Tikiland ~ a new San Diego store? - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Tue, Feb 22, 2005 11:10 AM Very interesting. I like the way they offer different finishes, and that they do not go beyond white teeth and eyes in their colorization. As a "purist" (and mostly vintage Tiki collector) I regret that this container ware from Bali/Phillipines appears to be the way nouveaux Tiki is going, the American carvers just can't beat those prices. Trader Vic's is doing it, even O.A. is trying to sell some Poly-Asian carvings, though they concede that there is always something slightly off with the design, like in this case the long legs of the Hawaiian Tikis. You can tell that the carver has no connection to the tradititon. The craftsmanship is great, the wood fine, but there often is a tinge of Asian in there that strikes me as wrong. Californian carvers of the 50s and 60s interpreted traditional Tikis in their own way too, but you can tell that they poured over Oceanic Art books, knew Polynesian culture in general and added their American whimsy to the stuff. It was Polynesian Pop, whereas this new generation of imports should be dubbed Poly-Asian Pop. This is purely a statement of personal opinion and taste, of course.

Very interesting. I like the way they offer different finishes, and that they do not go beyond white teeth and eyes in their colorization.

As a "purist" (and mostly vintage Tiki collector) I regret that this container ware from Bali/Phillipines appears to be the way nouveaux Tiki is going, the American carvers just can't beat those prices. Trader Vic's is doing it, even O.A. is trying to sell some Poly-Asian carvings, though they concede that there is always something slightly off with the design, like in this case the long legs of the Hawaiian Tikis. You can tell that the carver has no connection to the tradititon. The craftsmanship is great, the wood fine, but there often is a tinge of Asian in there that strikes me as wrong.

Californian carvers of the 50s and 60s interpreted traditional Tikis in their own way too, but you can tell that they poured over Oceanic Art books, knew Polynesian culture in general and added their American whimsy to the stuff. It was Polynesian Pop, whereas this new generation of imports should be dubbed Poly-Asian Pop.

This is purely a statement of personal opinion and taste, of course.

Post #142530 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Feb 22, 2005 11:10 AM