Post #485634 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Sep 29, 2009 11:45 AM

Great news about the saving of the Beverly Hills neon signs and Tiki, that was (is!) one the coolest Trader Vic's neons ever, from 1955. Glad to see the company cares about the old stuff.

Which brings me to this:

On 2009-09-28 17:23, Coco Loco wrote:
I would like to commend you on your patience and restraint in reference to some of the posts which frankly were very rude and I'm sure offensive. Your integrity and passion for Tiki is impressive!

Here's the skivvy, the stuff is beautiful, it is authentic, it is mostly OLD, and they absolutely have origination and artist receipts to verify it. Michellie personally went over to Berlin to HAND pick all items. Anyone who says differently regarding authenticity or location derivation, I suggest you call them directly to inquire and confirm before posting assumptions on a public forum. They are honest straight shooters and will gladly answer any questions.

I looked through the thread and could not find any posts that were rude and offensive, merely questioning. If wondering about the age and origin of certain Tikis (instead of writing a gosh/golly fan boy post) is being marked as offensive, what purpose does this board have? Only to sell Tikis? I must conclude that the fact that I voiced my doubts about that Barney West STYLE mask being a Barney West MADE mask (which were confirmed by Kier and Michellie) was taken as such blasphemy. My aim was to inform.

I would like to point out that A.) I am the biggest supporter of Trader Vic's, and B.) that I in no way doubt Kier and Michellie's dedication and love for what they do. But I am also an impartial observer, and one with 20 years experience in the field of American Tiki style, which was not recognized as an art form (even by Trader Vic's, mind you) until my research and books defined it. If I see a something being called something that I believe is something else, I like to share my expertise. Please let me know if this is not wanted anymore.

I guess it comes down to how one defines "authentic" and "old". It is very easy to argue that "ALL American Tiki is not authentic, so who cares".
Well, some do, some don't. Which is fine. I am not telling anyone how THEY have to decorate their Tiki Room, just sharing what I know and like. The argument of ALL Polynesian pop Tiki being in-authentic does not stick, because;

The term "authentic" is usually applied to the best examples of a style or art form, pieces that were created during a certain period that can be called the art form's or culture's heyday. When an idea is new, it creatively blossoms for a number of years, until it becomes repetitious and self-referential and finally disappears. This is true for Greek, Renaissance or Art Nouveaux as it is for Tiki style, the way I discovered it: The heyday of American Tiki Style was from the mid-1950s to the late 1960s, definitely petering out by the early 70s. Anybody disagrees? So: Examples from this period would rightfully be called "authentic" Tiki style.

When I look at the photos in this thread, my experienced Tiki eye tells me that the majority of them is NOT from that period, but rather from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Not ALL, but a large percentage. WHO is gonna tell me different? So what makes them "authentic" and "old"? I guess everyone's individual interpretation of these terms. I know mine, but what is yours? I simply prefer a vintage boomerang ashtray to an 80s or 90 reproduction, but hey, there is lots of room to philosophize if they are really different things.

Now again, this is not to diminish the joy of the buyers or the appreciation of Trader Vic's and the warehouse girls efforts to bring these items, ANY items from their restaurants, to the Tiki-loving TC public. That is all good. I just thought some folks care to know what is what, and now I know that some don't. C'est la vie. :)