Post #371967 by bigbrotiki on Sun, Apr 6, 2008 11:25 AM

That one on the left is actually based on the rootball Tiki at the Palm Springs Tropics Motel. (Or the "Caliente" Tropics, a name which I refuse to use because it is the only bad thing left of the new owners ill-conceived plan from the early 2000s to turn the whole complex into yet another generic Spanish revival place..a plan that was happily averted by them being given a copy of the Book of Tiki!) Yes, the swirls and the "Tiki" inscription are bad, otherwise it's passable.

The one on the right is cool in its simplicity, and based on an actual old Hawaiian carving. Which does point at the fact that there are exceptions to the rule.

And then there is the argument why one could not accept the Poly-Asian wave as yet another facet of the evolution of Tiki style. To me its simply a bastardization that muddles up the original aspects of Poly pop Tiki art: Ancient Polynesian style--Primitive art-- Modern art--Cartoon art. These are the 4 cultural origins of American Tiki style. Asian swirls, Buddhist forms and other naturalistic elements just don't fit in there. To me, the naturalism of that rootball version's tongue (as compared to the original) is already too much.