Post #329857 by GatorRob on Mon, Sep 3, 2007 11:35 AM

On 2007-09-03 09:22, Loki wrote:
We don’t have a right to tell the Mai Kai how to their job. I don’t see Kern on this site begging the TC ohana for business ideas.

Chris, man, maybe you read something into these posts that I didn't, but I didn't hear anyone suggesting that we tell the Mai-Kai how to do their job. Or that they should somehow consult us before they do anything. They run a business. It is theirs. And we are patrons of said business and, other than Hukilau, we represent a tiny fraction of their revenue stream. (Although Pablus has obviously been skewing that statistic lately.) All that I hear Sven suggesting, and I am in agreement with him, is that we encourage those who are doing creative work for the Mai-Kai to do some research before doing that work. I'm not suggesting Will hasn't done some research. Obviously, he has. I think Sven is just suggesting that he, and anyone else who does creative work for them, to maybe dig a little deeper in that research. If you're painting a tiki, fine. Paint a tiki. But ask yourself "why am I painting this tiki?" or "what colors might Leroy Schmaltz or Barney West have originally used?". To answer those questions, you have to look into both the history of original Polynesian art and mid-century Poly pop art.

I've heard some here argue that it doesn't really matter. The general public doesn't know or appreciate the difference. I've also heard the argument that the original tiki is blue, so I'm going to paint this one blue too. But if we dig a little deeper, we may find that the original wasn't blue at all and that it was painted blue 20 years after it was installed. Some still might say "So what?". And since the Mai-Kai is a business and not a museum, as was correctly pointed out, that is a valid response. The Mai-Kai could decide to paint all the tikis pink if they wanted to and they would have that right because they own them. We have no right to tell them what to do. I just feel that as a person who wants to see the Mai-Kai as a whole and the individual works of art preserved as they were originally conceived, I feel an obligation to at least make an attempt to persuade them in that direction. That's an obligation I put on myself. No one else has to feel that obligation if they don't want to.

Since I don't consider myself an expert in this, I wouldn't tell the Mai-Kai that this or that should be this or that color. I would look to those who have spent years studying such things. Sven is one of those people. And I also heard him say that he would be happy to volunteer his time to providing materials to back up any creative decisions that must be made, such as painting tikis.

I've learned a few things from this thread:

1. I'm glad that we all have a place such as the Mai-Kai that we can all be passionate about. It draws us together even if we don't agree on details.
2. I'm glad that there are people like Will who are willing to put their time and money where their mouth is, even if we all don't agree on this or that detail.
3. I'm saddened, but not surprised, that Mirielle Thornton has moved away from active involvement in the running of the Mai-Kai and I'm concerned that certain quality aspects might slip, but hopeful that that won't happen.
4. I will continue to visit the Mai-Kai regularly even if the garden tikis are glow-in-the-dark orange. (But I'll have a bigger smile on my face if they're not.)
5. I will never support historic status for the Mai-Kai. I've said that before and I'll stick to that. This is a business, not Abe Lincoln's log cabin. The same family has kept the doors open for over 50 years and I won't support anything that hampers them and their ability to maintain their business in a way that they see fit.
6. Tiki Kiliki posted something that she obviously regreted about 10 minutes later. Speak up girl! You are an authority on all things Mai-Kai! :)

Peace.