Post #774983 by bigbrotiki on Tue, Apr 11, 2017 9:46 PM

Sounds like what a lot of proprietors are saying that want to re-invent Tiki. Basically, they don't know what they are talking about.

This is not an isolated occurrence: All the lingo here has repeated itself again and again. More and more, especially since the craft cocktail revival, places open whose owners are aware that Tiki is a "thing", but who generally have a very vague idea of what defines the style. They only know it's "fun", but also know it's complicated and daring in taste terms. So they shy away from investing into something they see as risky. What they are NOT aware of is that by using the term Tiki but not fulfilling its promise they misinform the public into believing it to be something that it is not. Eventually, That way, Tiki will become identified as a generic island style the way it was in the 70s, and fade away the same way. They're not aware of that (or care) - but we do!

Their ignorance is based on the one-sided belief that Tiki is kitschy = ironic. Yes, Tiki is all about artifice, but to me artifice is an art form. It can be as great as the original. Yes, what some American artists did in the mid-century might seem funny to us now, but they did it with an amazing amount of skill and creativity. They took something old and made it new, made it their own, creating a genre of its own that deserves recognition. People cannot wrap their head around the fact that something can be in-authentic and authentic at the same time.