Post #711816 by Tiki Shark Art on Fri, Mar 21, 2014 11:28 PM

"Having a great time in Hawaii, wish you were here."

Aloha Tiki Tribe...

Hey, I was re-writing my Bio.
I thought I'd run it past my hard-core Tiki-Tribe members here.

I am doing a little re-write because many tourists still ask ..ah...dumb questions like..
"What is a Tiki?" and...
"Do they... (they? Ah... Who the heck are "They"?) Do "they" still worship THEM?"

These are real questions. No kidding.

I feel sometimes like giving out WRONG info:
"Oh yeah, Tikis are still worshiped on the outer islands! Of course, it's all illegal; pot smoking, orgies, and the occasional Human sacrifice..."

Heh..

Well I learned today the gift shop, and the Kona Art Gallery keep a few choice old copies of "TIKI MAGAZINE" on hand, and pass them out to certain very thick-skulled tourists to read while they look at the art... it takes a lot of dumb questions out of the conversations afterward..

Anyways, I just learned that today!
So, the re-wrire: Here goes...what do you think?

Ah-hem...

"Appropriation is Appropriate?

I get it. I'm a Haole ( a white guy) painting Tikis.

Should I be painting Tikis?

I've been accused of "appropriating" sacred Hawaiian culture.

My response is, "What do you think Artists do?"

As an Artist, it's my job to "appropriate" culture... Hawaiian Culture, and Polynesian Culture, and Japanese Culture ( I love kabuki theater, bunraku puppets, samurai, Judo, Godzilla films, ninjas...)

Heck, I started my art career paying for collage by editing, writing, penciling, & inking "Tales of the Ninja Warriors" an indy comic book published by a California company, that was owned by Chinese people. (ALOHA Curtis Wong, where ever you are - you were my first, & still one of my favorite "editor-in-chiefs") Anyways, I also drew illustrations for their other publications like "Black Belt Magazine" and "Kung -Fu Magazine", a mag I already subscribed to - being a martial art nut and practicing various martial arts since I was 10 years old. That's when I discovered my first real-life hero: Bruce Lee. Boy, I thought working there was my dream job!

Anyways, I also appropriate American Culture, and Rock-a-Billy Culture, and Kustom Hot-Rod Culture, and European Culture, and POP-Culture, and Ancient Celtic and Druid Culture ... (oh wait, my Grand-mother was Irish, so I guess when I paint "Halloween" stuff It doesn't count? Hmmm.)

... I appropriate everything that stimulates my inner "Art Muse": the world around me - soak it in, appropriate it, but then...I sincerely hope, I give back as well... I filter it all through my psyche and make it into a new vision that is my "Art".

A cultural exchange, you might say. Your Culture, their Culture, Pop-Culture, everyone's culture goes in ...and my Art comes out.

I hope my Art is interesting, entertaining, or at least something that is worthy of comment, or just nice to look at.

I NEVER tell anyone I am creating "REAL HAWAIIAN ART".

I'm not.

I couldn't.

I wouldn't want to even try.

It's been done, and done extremely well by Herb Kane. - Herbert Kawainui Kane (1928 to 2011) He's was, and still is, the very BEST! Really, go look him up on the net. Look at his beautiful historically correct Hawaiian cultural paintings... they are awesome, they are inspiring... but I could Never be that good.

So I don't even try.

I make Art about "Tiki" Culture.

"Tiki Culture" is to "Hawaiian Culture" what "Captain America" comic books are to the real history of WWII.

Nothing wrong with "Captain America" comic books, I loved reading them as a kid. Still do sometimes. But, it's not the real history of WWII. Go read a History book for that. That's good too.

I hope that clears up what makes some people feel uncomfortable, or confused, about my art.

Funny thing is, I have yet to meet an actual person of Hawaiian Heritage that is confused or offended by my art. So far, they all have thought it was fun and amusing, like the "Enchanted Tiki Room" at Disney Land.

A lot of "them" bought prints of my art, and I'm happy, and proud, to know I hang in many real Hawaiian people's homes.

...Of course, not to be cultural-sentric, I am just as happy & proud to hang in "haole" home-made Tiki-Bars in other places like Canada and France, or even now the Middle East. I think it's pretty exciting to consider that the culture that sprouted up on the most remote land mass in the world has reached out and touched almost every other part of the globe; with Surfing, Hula, the sense of "Aloha" ...or even "Tiki-Culture", what-ever that is.

NOW... this brings me to one of the scariest moments in my art career. I was asked by the University of Hawaii to give a talk on "Tiki-Culture"... to a group of university students, many of them were from Hawaiian families, who have lived on the islands for many many generations. So, me..the haole guy, got up and lectured a bunch of Hawaiian students on "Tiki-Culture". Pretty crazy world, huh?

Well, it all turned out great. My fears were all for naught. No one stood up and pointed at me and laughed. The students were very interested, and pleased with what I said, and the art I showed them. Afterward, I got a standing ovation. The University has asked me to be on the list of their favorite speakers. (Whew!) It was an extremely rewarding experience all around, but it really made me think about what I do, and why I am making the Art I make.

Ans since we are on the subject of appropriation:

Aloha!

[ Edited by: tiki shark art 2014-04-24 01:27 ]