Post #333635 by Koolau on Thu, Sep 20, 2007 1:07 AM

I still love Shag's work - I just shelled out $300 for a print of "An Extraordinary Evening". For me, that's a lot for a print, but it's a terrific image that means a lot to me personally. When I first saw it a couple of years ago, I recall saying "Hey, that's an Orchids of Hawaii R-3!". Suddenly, I realized I was deep into tiki.

We may think of him as a icon, but most people have no idea who he is nor have ever laid eyes on his work. I have "The Raft of the Medusa" print in my office, and most visitors think it's cool, but stare blankly when I tell them it's by Shag. You never get that reaction with a Nagel (except with the under 25 crowd), who's work penetrated far into the general culture. Maybe Shag needs to do an album cover for Kanye West.

My point is that Shag appreciation still has a tremendous growth potential. The real question for Shag is how much appeal do Mid Century / Tiki images have with the general public?