Post #296164 by Tiki Shark Art on Sun, Apr 1, 2007 6:08 PM

Hey TC!
It totally sucks that the great parking lot sale is going on at Tiki Farm right now, and I'm stuck her in Hawaii!

Okay, it doesn't suck. But I still miss being w/you all at it. Hope it's the best ever!
SAM-alllmost done... I'm just trying to get to that amazing perfection that your work is. No visible brush strokes! Your work is flawless!
Hiltiki- Thanks so much!
Hewey-YEAH! Paint slinging! Just like Web Slinging Spidey! I'm gonna' make "paint slingers" and attached them to my wrists and shoot paint at the canvas that way! Great idea! Yea? (Actually my middle name is Peter, and I'm a scrawny little nerd, so I'm darned close to being Peter Parker!)
Sneakytiki-thanks man! You mystic-art-shaman! Your shapeshifting witch doctor paintings are a-freaking-mazing!
LLT-Thanks Obewan! What next? Good question! I got all kinds of things whirling around my sun drenched brain. I'm not sure exactly what's gonna ooze out of my paint slingers yet though. Meaning? Meaning. You mean it's more than just a picture of a tiki and a puppy?
Grog-Wow, you DID go to art school! I feel like I just totally didn't charge enough to the sweet little old lady who commissioned this piece!

Here's what my hero Todd says about the meaning of his art...

Todd Schorr: "The viewer of an artwork does not necessarily have to be versed in the symbols an artist has used from his or her culture to make an emotional connection with the work. When viewing the sculpted deities of Hindu India you don’t have to know anything about the religious significance of the piece to appreciate its visual power. Truly engaging art always strikes directly with one’s innate human curiosity. It’s in our genetic makeup to always pick out the different, the odd, the unusual. Certain symbols are universal, a skull (OR A PUPPY) for instance, but when mixed with reference points from a person’s own popular culture, especially when it is foreign to others, it only enhances the mystery surrounding the artwork. When a thing, such as a painting, is imbued with an element of mystery, that becomes much of it’s fascination. As a mystery becomes solved that fascination tends to diminish quickly. So if my work, which already has been carefully staged and planned out, retains an element of puzzlement for the viewer, I am delighted. My use of symbols from the popular culture I grew up in merely serves as a means to an end. I use this vocabulary to tell the tales that unfold on my canvas."

Well, I guess the meaning is going to be different for each viewer. And if there's part you can't quite figure out, all the better.

Alllllllmost finished! Just the Freaky Tiki left to do! (oooohhh the bestest part!)
Thanks for watching!