Post #342744 by bigbrotiki on Thu, Nov 8, 2007 10:07 AM

On 2007-11-08 04:20, cheekytiki wrote:
Looks like you are having fun Sven.
Whilst I dont know how many actual Tikis you may come across in S.A....

But Jamie, you should know that WHEREVER I go I will find Tikis:

These were standing around at a prop house we are renting decor from.

Not bad for painted Styrofoam!

But I do not need to find actual Tikis per se, there are many other interrelated details that the curious urban archaeologist might discover, one just has to stay open to new influences. I am writing my books to inspire people to see things in a new light, and discover that mundane things can become art....not so they slavishly copy redneck middleclass lifestyles of the past.

Today's Tiki revival has become stuck in a cycle of pretty uninspired repetition to some degree, because people do not look further than their own backyards. But there is so much more to discover in the exotic make-believe worlds of Western armchair explorers!

Yes we have to stay true to Tiki for it to retain its particular character, but the popular Tiki style of the mid-century was informed and inspired by many more aspects than just Polynesian culture...as one can see in TIKI MODERN.

But back to Capetown: Since I am staying at an apartment on the ocean in a neighborhood called Sea Point, I found this sign as a funny new interpretation of the familiar-to-us concept:

And I photographed another sign curiosity on the door to the backstairs of my apartment building:

Would you trust a fire escape marked as Brand (which is German for "Burn") Trap? (which must mean fire escape in Africaans)

How about the amazing amount of South African ATM machine language choices:

Cool, isn't it?

Last night I watched a local TV show that was similar to "America's Funniest Home Videos" in that it consisted of amateur videos sent in by the viewers...except it was all footage from rare and seldom witnessed animal behavior observed in the African bush! Shown here is a video of two rhinos fighting to the blood:

And finally, from the "It's a small world after all" department: I had to go and see a Nose and Ear doctor because I got a nasty sinus infection from all the plane riding, and the production company referred me to their doctor, a Dr. Woermann. Just a coincidence, I thought.
But upon meeting him it was confirmed that he indeed was the grandson of ship owner/ primitive art trader Karl Woermann, who I quoted in the Book of Tiki with "Once you have seen them, they will haunt you like a feverish dream!"

Here is an old calendar from Woermann's East Africa Line:

Unfortunately the good doctor had not inherited Karl's Tiki fever, or anything else but that calendar, it seemed. Still, an amazing chance encounter!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-11-08 10:13 ]