Should Tiki Central be stripped of any hawaiiana discussions? - General Tiki

B bigbrotiki Tiki Socialite Tiki Island, above the Silverlake Joined: Mar 25, 2002 Posts: 11621	B bigbrotiki Posted posted on Sun, Jan 25, 2009 3:17 PM IN CLOSING (!), I want to mention something that has not come up here: My MOTIVATION for continuously trying to clarify and remind people of the definition of the genre of "Tiki style": It is not because I am a pedantic stickler. It is not because I aim to impose my "rules" on others. It is not because I always want to be right, because I wrote the book, because I initially defined the genre as an art form. It is because I want to preserve what makes Tiki style unique and special and different --which was what inspired people about Tiki in the first place. This worry is not based on some egotistical paranoia about my "baby", but on the very real precedent set in the 1970s and 80s with the devolution and ultimately, the disappearance of Tiki style. Tikis became politically incorrect or simply bad taste, and were thrown away, or painted in garish colors to make them less threatening. By the mid- 90s there were no active Tiki carvers left in the US other than Leroy Schmaltz and Wayne Coombs, and no Tiki mugs worth mentioning manufactured: The art form was dead. Tiki culture today, the Tiki revival, is not as widespread and pervasive, and not threatened in the same way. But as the term "Tiki" is becoming more widely used, and carelessly applied by the media for anything resembling generic tropical party fun (NOT an art form, or architectural and design style), the truly unique mid-century Tiki style (AND the Oceanic originals that inspired it!), are in danger of being forgotten. Calling all kind of things "Tiki" that stylistically are something else means a watering down of the style, eventually resulting in the loss of what made it so special in the first place. Loosing sight of the origins of ANYTHING has always resulted in its destruction. This concern is NOT motivated by an elitist, exclusive club mentality, but by an understanding of what makes "Tiki" a style, and what the tides of time and vagaries of taste will do to an art form. I might not be able to stop it, but I sure as hell will try to curtail the damage, here on this board and in my further work. And I am sorry I was powerless to do something about THIS :D :

IN CLOSING (!), I want to mention something that has not come up here: My MOTIVATION for continuously trying to clarify and remind people of the definition of the genre of "Tiki style":

It is not because I am a pedantic stickler. It is not because I aim to impose my "rules" on others. It is not because I always want to be right, because I wrote the book, because I initially defined the genre as an art form.

It is because I want to preserve what makes Tiki style unique and special and different --which was what inspired people about Tiki in the first place.

This worry is not based on some egotistical paranoia about my "baby", but on the very real precedent set in the 1970s and 80s with the devolution and ultimately, the disappearance of Tiki style. Tikis became politically incorrect or simply bad taste, and were thrown away, or painted in garish colors to make them less threatening. By the mid- 90s there were no active Tiki carvers left in the US other than Leroy Schmaltz and Wayne Coombs, and no Tiki mugs worth mentioning manufactured: The art form was dead.

Tiki culture today, the Tiki revival, is not as widespread and pervasive, and not threatened in the same way. But as the term "Tiki" is becoming more widely used, and carelessly applied by the media for anything resembling generic tropical party fun (NOT an art form, or architectural and design style), the truly unique mid-century Tiki style (AND the Oceanic originals that inspired it!), are in danger of being forgotten. Calling all kind of things "Tiki" that stylistically are something else means a watering down of the style, eventually resulting in the loss of what made it so special in the first place. Loosing sight of the origins of ANYTHING has always resulted in its destruction.

This concern is NOT motivated by an elitist, exclusive club mentality, but by an understanding of what makes "Tiki" a style, and what the tides of time and vagaries of taste will do to an art form. I might not be able to stop it, but I sure as hell will try to curtail the damage, here on this board and in my further work. And I am sorry I was powerless to do something about THIS :D :

Post #430613 by bigbrotiki on Sun, Jan 25, 2009 3:17 PM