TIKI MODERN: Apologies, Comments, Critique and ...questions - General Tiki

M Megalodon Member 4 8 15 16 23 42 Joined: Oct 16, 2009 Posts: 8	M Megalodon Posted posted on Mon, Nov 23, 2009 3:55 PM I don't have much to add, I just felt like chiming in and saying how much I dig TIKI MODERN. I got it abut 2 weeks ago, and wow, what a feast for the eyes. I'm only a novice collector, and seeing all that Witco stuff really blew my mind - they really pushed the envelope almost into self-parody with their later stuff. I also really enjoyed the photos of Barney West's work, I love his stuff. I really like how the book widens its focus in a couple of chapters, to show how the Tiki movement fit into the Mid-Century Modern style, as well as how it was influenced by Modern Art. (a lot of the visuals in this chapter, along with some of the Witco sculptures, brought to mind the paintings of Richard Powers, who was a prolific sci-fi paperback illustrator of the 50s & 60s...he was very inspired by surrealists such as Yves Tanguy). I think my favorite chapter though was on Sex and the Tiki...just 'cause I'm a red-blooded guy, I guess, and can't get enough of the wahines. Looking forward to Sven's future projects, he sets a very high bar, quality-wise. Mahalo! I also got the book "Arts of the South Seas" that same week (the 1946 book published by MOMA). Sven mentioned it in The Book of Tiki, and the recent Miguel Covarrubias thread inspired me to order it...another fantastic book. Very informative - seeing the styles of New Guinea, the Maori, Hawaii, etc., side-by-side was extremely eye-opening. [ Edited by: Megalodon 2009-11-23 16:09 ]

I don't have much to add, I just felt like chiming in and saying how much I dig TIKI MODERN. I got it abut 2 weeks ago, and wow, what a feast for the eyes. I'm only a novice collector, and seeing all that Witco stuff really blew my mind - they really pushed the envelope almost into self-parody with their later stuff. I also really enjoyed the photos of Barney West's work, I love his stuff.

I really like how the book widens its focus in a couple of chapters, to show how the Tiki movement fit into the Mid-Century Modern style, as well as how it was influenced by Modern Art. (a lot of the visuals in this chapter, along with some of the Witco sculptures, brought to mind the paintings of Richard Powers, who was a prolific sci-fi paperback illustrator of the 50s & 60s...he was very inspired by surrealists such as Yves Tanguy).

I think my favorite chapter though was on Sex and the Tiki...just 'cause I'm a red-blooded guy, I guess, and can't get enough of the wahines.

Looking forward to Sven's future projects, he sets a very high bar, quality-wise. Mahalo!

I also got the book "Arts of the South Seas" that same week (the 1946 book published by MOMA). Sven mentioned it in The Book of Tiki, and the recent Miguel Covarrubias thread inspired me to order it...another fantastic book. Very informative - seeing the styles of New Guinea, the Maori, Hawaii, etc., side-by-side was extremely eye-opening.

[ Edited by: Megalodon 2009-11-23 16:09 ]

Post #495390 by Megalodon on Mon, Nov 23, 2009 3:55 PM