T
Joined: Oct 17, 2004
Posts: 336
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T
When I originally saw Sven’s post my first thought was; finally someone is addressing THE issue and my second was he is going to kill this thread because no one will respond to all this harshness. But it is a genuinely important subject if you are really into Tiki and maybe (HINT) this should be a thread all its own instead of hijacking this one.
That having been said, when I first met Sven he really stressed the importance of knowing all the original styles, imbuing the idol with mana and taking off on your own path. It’s the mana part that I think many are missing and it is not a tongue in cheek type phrase. All great carvings have a depth or energy all their own, the Polynesians were the only “primitive” culture that I know of to have this concept. When creating a piece it is not about putting something in, it’s about bringing something out. When you look at a true carving it has a feeling like the thing inside can’t be contained by the material, but when you see a bad copy it just lays flat, it lacks something you can’t put your finger on. All the pieces that should be there are, after all it still looks “nice”. There are very seemingly simple or crude carvings which can convey volumes when you look at them, but the more you look the more complex they become.
Also this is not to suggest slavishly copying an original, those pieces usually look quite stiff or uninspired, no matter how well they are technically. If you understand the idea you are after often it can be done with a few quick lines, there is a vitality that is hard to explain in these pieces.
The ideal is taking a concept to the next level not just making changes just for the sake of change, or because it would look cooler with bigger teeth, three eyes, a mile of tattoos or more whatever.
The future of Tiki depends on you so go make something good, no pressure.
My very best alohas,
Bosko
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