Post #297873 by bigbrotiki on Mon, Apr 9, 2007 12:42 PM

...but back to the PRE-TIKI to TIKI style evolution:

Early 20th Century Polynesian pop drew its image vocabulary from a slew of South Sea icons: The palm tree, the native hut, the outrigger, the tropical flowers, the ukulele, and most prominently, the Hula Girl. Primitive art in the form of Tikis also surfaced sometimes, but very rarely. One of the most convincing, uncanny examples for that evolution can be found in my Trader Vic chapter in the BOT. The Trader's first bar guide, and all his menu covers before and during WWII wallow in the typical South Seas iconography mentioned above (his classic 1947 menu is known to everyone), and not until the late 50s does the Tiki become more prominent in Trader Vic's graphics and, in his mug and glassware. Though both, Don The Beachcomber and Trader Vic, because their aesthetic was rooted in the Pre-Tiki period, never went as full-tilt Tiki as for example the Luau/ Kon-Tiki chain, and other, 1950s/60s Tiki establishments. I still believe Tiki Bob's was the first place to use the Tiki as a logo, together with the Luau in Beverly Hills, who introduced its Tikis in its menu text.

Why? There is a nice German term for it, "Zeitgeist", or "spirit of the times". In my upcoming tome "Tiki Modern" I am elaborating on how not until after WWII the avantgarde's appreciation for "primitive art" reached the middle class, making it de rigeur to have a piece of African or Oceanic sculpture in your otherwise modern home. The Tiki's appreciation paralelled that development in recreational pop culture.

The Tiki gave Polynesian pop an edge, providing the darker side of paradise, which in pre-Tiki times had sometimes been occupied by the figure of the Zombie. I also see a paralell to the monster aesthetic of Movie Monsters like Frankenstein, and the creations of Big Daddy Roth. Why did they become "cool" at the same time than the Tiki, around the late 50s/early 60s? There simply was a need for something edgier, weirder than the usual Ken and Barbie stuff.

Also in the 50s, the popularity of Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki undoubtedly led to the term becoming better known, and helping Tiki to take its prominent place in the Poly pop theater. As I said before, in its heyday, the term "Tiki style" did not exist, but occasionally people the time referred to Polynesian style as "Kon-Tiki style."

A Zeitgeist is always a result of multiple influences, and so the question of WHY Tiki became Polynesian Pop's figurehead in the 50s/60s is complex. Any other suggestions are welcome.