Why Tiki = Tacky, yet African and Asian is traditional - General Tiki

G GatorRob Member Orlando Joined: Aug 20, 2004 Posts: 1784	G GatorRob Posted posted on Wed, Apr 30, 2008 7:02 AM On 2008-04-30 06:27, Swanky wrote: It's just a huge disrespect for a culture. Correct me if I'm misunderstanding you, but what culture? Mid-century tiki was pop culture. How can one show direspect for a pop culture that was little more than an entertaining diversion for most people of the day? All of us here have latched onto it so deeply because it strikes a chord with us, but I think we'd be deluding ourselves to assume that product designers today, not to mention the general public, have any clue what Polynesian Pop is or what it should look like. We're a tiny group holding onto something that most everyone else has forgotten, or more correctly, never knew in the first place. I don't mean this to sound harsh, but Africa and Asia are big places with many cultures that designers can rightfully or wrongly draw from. Mid-century tiki culture, apart from true Polynesian cultures, is rarely going to be used as inspiration by mainstream designers. For that matter, I doubt true Polynesian cultures are drawn on much either. I mean, how many people (us excluded) would want a Papua New Guinea mask hanging in their living room? They'd rather have a giraffe carving. Try giving a PNG mask to your mom for Mother's Day and see what happens. :wink:

On 2008-04-30 06:27, Swanky wrote:
It's just a huge disrespect for a culture.

Correct me if I'm misunderstanding you, but what culture? Mid-century tiki was pop culture. How can one show direspect for a pop culture that was little more than an entertaining diversion for most people of the day? All of us here have latched onto it so deeply because it strikes a chord with us, but I think we'd be deluding ourselves to assume that product designers today, not to mention the general public, have any clue what Polynesian Pop is or what it should look like. We're a tiny group holding onto something that most everyone else has forgotten, or more correctly, never knew in the first place.

I don't mean this to sound harsh, but Africa and Asia are big places with many cultures that designers can rightfully or wrongly draw from. Mid-century tiki culture, apart from true Polynesian cultures, is rarely going to be used as inspiration by mainstream designers. For that matter, I doubt true Polynesian cultures are drawn on much either. I mean, how many people (us excluded) would want a Papua New Guinea mask hanging in their living room? They'd rather have a giraffe carving. Try giving a PNG mask to your mom for Mother's Day and see what happens. :wink:

Post #377184 by GatorRob on Wed, Apr 30, 2008 7:02 AM