Post #7389 by the75stingray on Sun, Sep 1, 2002 10:47 PM

Hey, thanks for the pics! My original profile pic back in the old Yahoo! days had a pic of me picking the colorful tiki's nose or something...I know Alvins Island(s) well.

We've discussed the artistic rip off thing before and of course, they do say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery or something like that...don't they?

Good lord, where do I start with this?!

Personally, I think Palm Tikis stuff is great. I have a 4' one in my room and we just love him! Charlie Knight is a really down to earth guy who will walk away from his carving and BS with you for a few. You don't get that from many people...anywhere!
And, don't get me wrong here, he isnt just trying to sell you something. He offers great deals, but is genuinely a nice guy.
If you don't like his stuff, he tells you who else carves in the area. He tells you the difference between this palm and that wood and the other... He tells you who he has worked with (and for the life of me, I can't remember!) and says openly that this is where he adopted his style.

Many painters imitate Shag - why? I do not know. His work has never really done that much for me. Original, yes. Appealing? Not really. Are these other painters & artists ripping him off, or simply his style?

Artists sometimes get their inspiration from other artists or their partuicular style. Throughout history this has been happening.

Say you go into a Museum Store in the mall, you love this mini statue of Venus...so you buy the little statue and sit her proudly on the pedistal in your living room. Now, is she any less a work of art because she was not actually fashioned by the hands of her original artist, but rather by a mass-producing machine in Korea somewhere?
No. Not to you. Because you will never have that original sculpture. To you, she is the perfect imitation for your lifestyle and home. She is still a work of art because this imitation (that someone is making money off of and it's not Michealangelo!) represents the perfection of the original.

Just my two cents. And while I agree that 'artists' that put their stuff on ebay with a certain style reference to intentionally miss-inform a buyer are wrong on many levels, I think the carving styles from one to another (be it handed down or adopted) just as sculpting styles are done in the same fashion, are not "rip offs". If that were the case, then everyone who has carved a tiki or totem pole from 1950 on would be guilty of "ripping off" their styles from another. Tiki's, as a whole, are NOT original. They are adopted styles.

And before we start bashing artists unjustly, I think we should realize that style is simply a way of doing things. A way of learning and a way of being taught to do things. It's art. It's how they make their living. It is a liveleyhood for some. So to say "Don't support them" is in and of itself a lame comment to make.
You don't know these people! They don't CLAIM to have something original - they are trying to ad their own touches to something that has already proven successful. That IS, by the way, "Trying".

Botton line is that I'm just jealous that with all of my artistic talent, all of my awards, all of my skills - I don't have a FRACTION of the skills, creativity and drive that these artists have.

And I have the balls to say it. If anyone of you could quit your lame assed jobs today and live in a nice quiet area and make tikis and make friends all day, my guess is that you would probably do it.

So, why don't you? Certainly you could do better because you would at least "try"...am I right? Surely YOU would be creative enough to have something original...right?

CardCheat, tell me, what in the hell do you know about "trying" to carve original tiki's?

Next time I see you along side the road selling your tiki trinkets to feed your family, I'll be sure to tell you how lame your stuff is and how you don't even try.

But don't worry CardCheat. I'll still buy one or two. If only to keep the "tiki dream" alive.

That is what I thought this was about people! Supporting those who are making the effort to keep that vision going.

Or, maybe I've missed the whole damn tiki boat here. Obviously it's just "my" vision.

-C.