Please identify this stone tiki - General Tiki

UT uncle trav Tiki Socialite Kalamazoo Joined: Apr 27, 2005 Posts: 2465	UT uncle trav Posted posted on Sun, Jun 21, 2015 3:02 PM A great number of the iconic Tiki images were created by a designer or artist's imagination. Were the tikis made to represent real gods from Polynesian legend? No. As long as they looked primitive and mysterious and created a feeling of escaping the everyday grind of the urban jungle they filled the bill. I don't think these carvings are botched. They represent a totally fake world that came to a head in the late fifties and into the sixties. A world that allowed everyday folks to become savage and escape the real world for a few hours. Many threads here on TC tell the story of how this fake world came to be as well as many of the Polynesian legends and stories that so many drew on for inspiration to build that world and make some serious cash while they were at it. The best way to start digging into the history of this is with reading any or all of Sven's books.

A great number of the iconic Tiki images were created by a designer or artist's imagination. Were the tikis made to represent real gods from Polynesian legend? No. As long as they looked primitive and mysterious and created a feeling of escaping the everyday grind of the urban jungle they filled the bill. I don't think these carvings are botched. They represent a totally fake world that came to a head in the late fifties and into the sixties. A world that allowed everyday folks to become savage and escape the real world for a few hours. Many threads here on TC tell the story of how this fake world came to be as well as many of the Polynesian legends and stories that so many drew on for inspiration to build that world and make some serious cash while they were at it. The best way to start digging into the history of this is with reading any or all of Sven's books.

Post #745319 by uncle trav on Sun, Jun 21, 2015 3:02 PM