Post #573179 by bigbrotiki on Mon, Jan 24, 2011 4:15 PM

When looking at the horn of plenty of esthetic concepts and sculptural styles that native artists employed in Oceania, there is just no reason to again and again repeat the same old toothy frown or grin face Tiki that you see everywhere. That is the opposite of the creative spark that first inspired Picasso and the Moderns, and then American mid-century artists.

And here is another reason why Tiki blossomed in California: Mid-century Tiki style was a marriage of the above mentioned Oceanic art forms AND modernism AND cartoons - both of which also really flourished in California at the time! It was a fertile creative ground.

And yes, Florida WAS a hotbed of Tiki in the late 50s and early 60s: With the Mai Kai and other places like Tiki Gardens as inspiration, dozens of not only restaurants but also Hotels and Motels utilized the motif. Mo-Eye's newspaper archive research recently unearthed a staggering number of previously unknown establishments, sometimes even with their own carvers.

Yet still, measuring by the amount of bars, restaurants, motels, bowling alleys, Luau grounds, and especially the multitude of Tiki apartment complexes, the West Coast and especially Southern California really brought the genre to its fullest expression. The presence of Oceanic Arts and carvers like Leroy Schmaltz, Eli Hedley, Milan Guanko, Barney West, Ed Crissman and all the other guys who worked for O.A. formed a solid artistic force unmatched anywhere else.