Post #397890 by tikigreg on Thu, Jul 31, 2008 4:10 AM

On 2008-07-30 23:57, bigbrotiki wrote:
In my opinion, this is an example of too much human-like naturalism in Tiki sculpture. The essence of original Polynesian and other primitive art is abstraction in the cubist and modernist style, while maintaining a physical dynamic.

I agree with Bigbro's assessment as it relates to tiki in the wild. However, since this is a "Farm-raised®" tiki, it is subject to hybridization and other anomalies of breeding.

In a post on the Collecting Tiki forum, Bigbro provided this quote:

The Skull -- Mortality Unmasked
"The opposite of the mask is the skull. The face of the person is a fleshy skin worn between the two. People who deny the person as made in the image of God directly, and individually created and loved by Him, will seek either of these exits to being truly human -- the mask which covers the mortal man or the skull which is left after mortal man has departed..."

I feel King Konga represents this mortality, and the head incorporates both the mask and the skull. It is a low-brow interpretation of the duality of the primitive soul, supported and embraced by the human form.

I'd get one.