Post #486638 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Oct 6, 2009 5:46 AM

Great report, John. Man, I just dunno if I will be able to convince all those bartenders in these places to clean off all the bottles and glasses to get a clean shot of these masterworks...doesn't seem likely, unless I wave some serious moolah under their noses...which I cannot really afford. Another challenge is to photograph the extra wide format of the murals.

I noticed before, and now again in your photos of the Buccaneer, that the brush style on their paintings seems slightly different, the faces are not the same. I wonder if these got retouched when they were moved? Or can you John, having seen the art in the different locations in person, attest that they are all vintage and untouched?

In any case, the contrast of the great rendering of the interior of the pirate pub...

....being butted right up against ugly acoustic ceiling is quite ironic. Acoustic ceiling is really the bane of not only Tiki bars but vintage bars in general.

Although it was invented a bit earlier, it is a sure sign of 70s and 80s Orchids of Hawaii-style Chinese Tiki joints, which to me are examples of Tiki Devolution.

(I fully realize though that this stylistic observation does not matter one iota to the neighborhood folks who simply seek booze and companionship on their turf, and find it under any ceiling, which is a good thing :) )

Hold on: On second thought, even though it would be good to have these murals documented as pure paintings, not shooting them with the bottles and glasses would rob them of their Bar context, which is what really makes them cool. Just like with Tikis, where some folks portray them as art in its own right (which they are, yes), forgetting in the process that they came from the mundane environment of a bar or restaurant -which really is the essence of why Tiki culture is so cool.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2009-10-06 05:58 ]