Post #566479 by bananabobs on Thu, Nov 25, 2010 9:05 AM

On 2009-10-06 05:46, bigbrotiki wrote:
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...

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 ]

I completely agree, I had the same thought as you and was relieved with your "second thought"
Albeit a clear shot of the paintings would be the best for posterity, I agree that under the acoustical tiles and behind the wares of a drinking establishment, it defines the context of why and where, (especially when we now know that he paid bar tabs with this work)

On 2009-10-06 05:46, bigbrotiki wrote:

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?

I noticed that the faces were different in two of them but there are enough other similarities that show it was the same artist, hands, shading and dimension, I wonder if this could be the reason for subtle differences; most artist evolve and devolve over time. Most keep their overall style but subtle changes can be observed over time. If he indeed paid for his tab with art, it may have been numerous tabs over a extended period of time. It also appears that he found this practice enjoyable as the work and size doesn't appear to be done begrudgingly or under duress. Paintings that large require large amount of expensive art materials and even a fast painter would still have many hours invested, leading me to believe that he enjoyed doing this, a broke artist or someone painting under obligation would not have continually created such grandiose pieces.

Great thread, thank you.