Post #561689 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Oct 26, 2010 1:31 PM

On 2010-10-26 12:09, oni_baba wrote:
There had actually been reservations by a couple people who thought that the inclusion of tiki-pop was a distraction to the event. However, Santi Hitorangi-- the rapanui representative who will be speaking at this event-- stepped up and wanted to include those whose art payed tribute to the indigenous peoples' work.

That is wonderful to hear. I understand the reservations, for the general populace often confuses indigenous art and American Tiki culture, but I wholeheartedly agree that Polynesian Pop is a TRIBUTE to Polynesian culture, however shallow and trivial it may seem to some Polynesians. The key factor to me is that I believe that American Tiki was primarily inspired by a LOVE for Polynesian history and culture, and not by any colonial, chauvinist or racist beliefs, and that it created a previously unrecognized body of creative work, no matter its lack of depth and understanding of its origins.

The Moderns like Picasso, Man Ray and Andre Breton did not really study the religious background of the African and Oceanic art pieces that inspired them to change the face of Western art, but it is clearly to the credit of these indigenous art forms that it happened, and proof of their power, and a sign that an intermingling of cultures leads to new realizations and insights.

Also, in terms of Tiki Pop, I believe that a sense of humor regarding a culture and a sense of respect towards it do not necessarily exclude each other.

Grand Kahu, thank you for your information regarding Frank Lloyd Wright not accepting his work as part of Mayan revival style. I am sure that as soon as he learned that there were other architects dabbling in Mayan and Aztec design (especially crazies like Robert Stacy Judd) he carefully avoided to be thrown in the pot with them, insisting on it all being completely his own ideas. But his sources and the synchronicity of it all are undeniable. :)