Post #275560 by Paipo on Fri, Dec 29, 2006 5:00 PM

I'll throw in some other viewpoints here seeing this is a pretty interesting topic.

The simple answer is, it's called "lowbrow" for a reason - Tiki is an art style that essentially serves as window dressing for (and a celebration of) an escapist culture and lifestyle. We also have the slightly less frivolous aspect of study and reproduction of artifacts. Amongst the best practitioners I see it as a homage to the unknown craftsmen of Polynesia who left such an amazing legacy of work in the world's museums. A good example being this thread here, where things come full circle and an artist is able to pass the knowledge back to someone who has been disconnected from the source.

For Tiki to tackle issues and raise questions would defeat the purpose of it all. If I want art that provokes questions I'll go to a big city gallery (and I often do). If I want something that I think looks cool and makes me smile or dream of far-away places, I'll come here. I have much more fun carving tikis and dealing with passionate collectors than I do trying to climb the ladder of the contemporary jewellery / gallery scene here, where everyone wants some sort of deep meaning behind the motivation for your designs. It would be tragic to see the fun sucked out of the whole tiki genre and for it to become yet another ego and bullshit driven facet of the fine art world. I think ideas along the line of the sad tiki outside the demolished A-frame might work, but would risk veering into the realm of 9/11 and Dale Earnhardt tribute style kitsch that ultimately becomes self-parodying.

All that said, there is plenty of art around in New Zealand using tikis from Maori and Polynesian culture to make political or cultural statements, by both indigenous and European artists. But is it "Tiki" as we know it? Some of the art from the US shows I've seen would probably be trashed by political activists if it was shown here (Marcia Brady with a moko springs to mind). Cultural appropriation is a very thorny issue in NZ.

Here's one:

Often Liked, Occasionally Beaten - Wayne Youle 2003

Often Liked, Occasionally Beaten is a suite of multicoloured resin tiki lollipops. This work was inspired by, and made in response to, the blatant use of Maori art forms in tourism, and elsewhere, to express a sense of New Zealand identity as something exotic and different. The six different flavoured tiki are available as individual works or in groups.

We bought these two in Rarotonga:

Hearts That Belong to Te Enua - Mahiriki Tangaroa 2006

When Faith Came to Pass- Mahiriki Tangaroa 2006

Mahiriki Tangaroa - who is currently based in Rarotonga - produced a series which looked at the internal and external influences of being in the islands. Much of her work revolves around this theme when having been raised in New Zealand brings to the foreground a number of social and cultural issues. The traditional beliefs we once held are fast evaporating giving way to the ideas of consumption, media and latest technologies. The work plays between the past and present, reflecting our past beliefs and current value system.

There are literally dozens if not hundreds more examples to be found, as using Maori and Polynesian motifs is very much in vogue at the moment and has been for the last 10 years or so.
So, there is art out there that asks questions or examines issues while having an identifiable tiki component, but it doesn't really have much to do with Polynesian Pop. It has tikis in it, but it's not Tiki!