PARADIRAMA : the 1st international tiki exhibition

Hey,

So here's the news : we've been working for a few month on making a exhibition about tiki art.
Well, I mostly helped Cyril (uke player, tiki connoisseur) giving him contacts, helping him organising it with the museum owners.

So, here it is : the museum is at Sète, in the south of France, it is going to be from the 18th of June till the 30th of October (and then, probably in another museum).

There's going to be plenty of tiki art :

• real pre-contact tikis (on wood, stone)
• 2 huge resin moai
• 1 Vanuatu tiki drum
• Papouasian masks and other items
• Tiki poles made by Phil Totem, Karotte
• Tahitians carved ukuleles
• Contemporary Works by Kevin Ancell, Raymond Pettibond, Steicyk...
• Paintings by our own Moritz R, Hasenkamm, Sunny Buick
• Duke Carter will let us have a part of his huge tiki mug collection (about 150), and some velvet paintings he did.
• Otto should let the museum have some of his exhibition paintings
• our british fella Cheekytiki will make a fantastic real tiki bar, he will stay there to work on it for a few days.
• I will let them have some of my personnal collections : Aloha fezzes, Shag prints, ukes, paintings, mugs...
• Cyril's collection
• Film posters

And lots of different surf items, 50's artifacts...

The poster is made by Shag, there will be a catalog in July...

I'm very excited about that, and I really hope some of you could make it this summer.

[ Edited by: virani on 2005-06-20 10:49 ]

VIVE LE TIKI ! (...et le Mai Tai, et le Shag, et le..)

Congrats Virani and Mahalo for spreading the gospel!

Congrats! Sounds like it will be a fun show. Will they be selling the posters? :)

Way to go Virani!!! You've obviously been quite busy. Best of luck to you with PARADIRAMA.

Thanks for the reply

yes, there's supposed to be great quality prints, and Shag is supposed to come the 16th june for the opening to sign those...
Now I don't know yet if we'll be able to sell those online.

Cheers Virani,
I've been waiting for this to be posted for ages.
This is going to be a great show, and I can't wait to get started on our part of it.
Vive la France!

How about some tikis with berets?

Congrats on the exhibition. Tell me, since this is a museum exhibition, is there an art historical, anthropological, archaeological or otherwise academic slant to the exhibition/catalogue? Or is it based primarily on matters of contemporary style/commercial adaptations? I'm interested in how the subject of tiki is handled in museum exhibitions.

Yea... what BettyBleu said.

On 2005-05-13 15:41, BettyBleu wrote:
Congrats on the exhibition. Tell me, since this is a museum exhibition, is there an art historical, anthropological, archaeological or otherwise academic slant to the exhibition/catalogue? Or is it based primarily on matters of contemporary style/commercial adaptations? I'm interested in how the subject of tiki is handled in museum exhibitions.

No, it's all kind of tiki art, we arranged to have collections from Oceanic museum and private collection and we're mixing it with new tiki art and 50's, 60's as well.
It's all the evolution of tiki art in 1 exhibition.

Amy and I are thrilled to be a part of this Tiki exhibit which promises to really be awesome! Virani and Cyril have really gone above and beyond the call to bring Tiki to our European ohana. We just got word that the show will indeed travel to at least one other museum after it closes at MIAM, maybe more. Let's hope we see more Tiki material and exhibits in "serious" venues getting the respect it deserves.

We were in the middle of packing a crate with the stuff we are lending to the exhibit and thought it looked funny to see the sofa buried under a pile of Tiki mugs so we took a picture:

They are all safely boxed up for their long voyage. Next time I'll see them will be in the South of France. Unfortunately, Amy will not get to see the show—she'll be home working on Exotica stuff and taking care of our little dude.

Can't wait to see you in June, Virani, and I hope I have the opportunity to meet many of the European TC contingency.

-Duke

Check out Tiki Quest at http://www.pegboardchicago.com/TCintro.html
Tiki Central members get a discount and a special premium!

[ Edited by: boutiki on 2005-05-18 04:46 ]

Awesome to hear tiki is spreading like wild fire! I was recently informed that a painting of mine that Otto owns is on its way over! I'm very excited to be included!
aLoHa

Good job Virani, spread the Tiki. I hope the mags got to you safely. Would like to talk with you more about the show so we can put it in Tiki Mag.

Nick

Thanks Nick,

Hey, I haven't received the magasine yet. I hope I'll have it soon... and yeah, that would be a good idea to have some of the mag at the museum.

But anyway, I'd be happy to give you more info about the exhibition...and I'll take pics of the opening that could be interesting for you.

[ Edited by: virani on 2005-05-26 11:00 ]

Virani,

My apologies. I'll send more to you today UPS. The mailhouse I went through really blew it. I have a meeting with them next week. Good luck with the exhibit.

Is the catalog offered only in French? Any US(A) venues being considered for the tour?

Bonjour!
I'm writing from here in Sète France where the final touches are being put on the exhibition; and I have to say, it is pretty incredible! This is shaping up to be the largest, and most comprehensive Tiki show to date. So much cool stuff, I can't begin to list it all, I'll just have to share some pictures when I get home. In the meantime, we'll be toasting Tiki here with Cyril, Cheekytiki, Kevin, Virani, Philtotem and everyone.
Au Revoir!
-Duke

Sounds fabulous, we can barely wait to see the photos.
See Ya Soon,
D&C

Well, I've just got home after a nice relaxing 17 hour drive, which I must say was well worth it!
All of the guys involved in the show have done an excellent job, and I'd specially like to say thanks to Monsieur Virani for getting us and the show together and to Duke Carter, without who our part of the exhibition might not have got finished.
I cannot reccomend how much anybody who lives in Europe or is travelling there in the next 4 1/2 months should go, as it has some truely great tiki artwork.
I will post photos when I get them later.

The opening have been fantastic. I had a great time and it was hard to get back to work today.

The Cheekytikis have been doing an AMAZING work on the tiki bar inside the museum, where we stayed most of the time drinking cocktails or wanting to drink cocktails, Duke's collection made me very jealous, and he is a really fantastic guy, we got to met Phil Totem, the french carver ( http://www.philtotem.com/index.php ), the Bonobos Christian and Karotte ( http://paradisretrouve.com ), Kevin Ancell...as well as Tahitian dancers and musicians.

Sète is a nice city by the sea and is worth the visit this summer with the exhibition that presents lots of sides of the tiki art (surf, mugs, shriners, hula dancers, paintings, photos, films, ancient art, music...).

I'm very proud to have been able to contribuate to the museum with some of my collection and to have insisted on having our tikicentral friends working on it as well.

[ Edited by: virani on 2005-06-20 11:11 ]

Any news about the poster (signed or unsigned) or the exhibit book?

The print has been postponed due to technical problems, and the book is not out yet...I'll tell you when.
You'll find some of my pics here :

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeANmrNq1cN2rlY

Cheers Virani,
Those are great pictures.

Nice work on the bar guys (and wahines too!)

I got home late Sunday and I'm still reeling from the trip– not just the jet lag, but everything. The whole experience was nothing short of amazing! France was wonderful and the city of Sete beautiful. The Paradirama show was fantastic; I think it's the largest and most comprehensive Tiki art show to date. There were gorgeous pieces of pre-contact oceanic art, cool vintage stuff including Leetegs, old Tahitian pin-ups, mugs, loads of contemporary work like Kevin Ancell's hula girls and of course Chikitiki's full-on Tiki bar right at the entrance. Cyril really pulled together all the diverse elements that make the Tiki scene so rich and exciting. MIAM did a great job presenting everything and putting together an exciting opening and getting the local and national press to cover the show. It was truly an international collaborative effort.

I feel very fortunate to have been able to participate. I got to hang out with my pal Virani, make great new friends like Cyril, Jamie and Angie of Cheekytiki, Kevin, Pascal, and all the folks at MIAM. I owe them all a big mahalo! I just wish everyone could see what they have put together. If you have the opportunity to get anywhere near the South of France this summer you have to make a trip to Sete, see the show, and soak up the sun!

I took over 350 pictures and as soon as I get those organized, I'll post a few here.

-Duke

Check out Tiki Quest at http://www.pegboardchicago.com/TCintro.html
Tiki Central members get a discount and a special premium!

[ Edited by: boutiki on 2005-06-22 11:41 ]

Here's a few pics from the exhibition
Sorry if they are a bit soft, I realised when I got home there was a big greasy fingerprint on the lens.
The Bar we Built








Tahitian dancers

Duke


Duke & Virani

Anyone know whos board this was?

http://www.cheekytiki.com

[ Edited by: cheekytiki on 2005-06-23 12:58 ]

Love the pictures Cheekytiki, except for that big goofball... who let him in?

Like I said, the bar was gorgeous.

Here are a few of the many pictures I took. I have been trying to get all of mine on shutterfly, but I think there may be too many for one album. Anyone know where you can post and share a whole bunch of pictures easily... like over 300?

Big fern palm Tiki at the entrance to the main gallery

Paradise courtesy of Cheekytiki

Kevin Ancell's army of hula girls

Philtotem's awesome Ku

Virani's vintage score

Kevin adds some sounds to the bar

One of the two huge Moai

Opening night

Amazing Tahitian dancers

One of the beaches at Sete

Duke takes a dip

The artists and thier creation

Some of the mug display

More music and dance

Still more

Virani with the man himself– Cyril

-Duke

Looks great. Is there a chance it will come to the US. Do we need sponsors? It looks very heavy with Tahitian stuff and we maybe able to get a few Tahitian tourist companies involved and get it to the U.S.
Email me at [email protected]

Andy,
It really is a fantastic show and it would be great if it could come to museums in the US as well. My understanding is that it is slated to travel to a museum in the North of France next, and beyond that I believe that there are other museums in other countries that are possibly interested. But I really don't know much. I was just lucky to be a part of the show. The person to talk to is the one responsible for Paradirama happening in the first place and that is Cyril LeFebvre. I will forward him your email address and he can get in touch with you.
-Duke

On 2005-06-23 03:12, cheekytiki wrote:

Anyone know whos board this was?

Lt Col Bill Kilgore or Robert Duvall??

Francis Ford Coppola??

Sure is! "You either surf or you fight."
"Charlie don't surf!"
I would have quoted the rst ,but maybe it's a bit un-PC.

Thanks for that Duke.
On the surf board didnt Martin Sheen steal the board from Robert Duval for Lance?

On 2005-06-24 08:44, Pacific Andy wrote:
Thanks for that Duke.
On the surf board didnt Martin Sheen steal the board from Robert Duval for Lance?

He did in the extended Director's Cut. I can see why the part was cut as it seemed to me to seriously disrupt the flow of the film.

Who loaned the surfboard to the exhibition?

On 2005-06-24 17:07, Kono wrote:

Who loaned the surfboard to the exhibition?

Kevin Ancell, the contemporary artist who made the hula dancers loaned it. Coppola gave it to him at some point.

Aloha
I finally got around to putting pictures from my trip on Shutterfly. I already posted the highlights, but you can see a whole bunch more pictures of Sete and the Paradirama exhibit at:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeAMXDloycM2z2A&open=1&x=1&sm=1&sl=1

-Duke

Your pics are excellent Duke...thanks a lot for sharing those

Thanks for sharing your photos Cheekytiki & Boutiki!

Virani - all I can say is !!!!WOW!!!!
Well done! I wish I could have attended the opening, has the show been well received so far? I wish you success and hope you can bring it to North America!

Can someone please make Teleportation possible so I don't have to keep on missing these amazing Tiki events???

Hey...was there ever updated info about the book and the poster?

no info about the book, or poster, sorry.

But, the exhibition is going from January to March on another city in France : Roubaix, in the top north of the country.

I have the 24' x 12' Tiki hut and bar from the exhibition up for Sale if anyone is interested? Obviously because of shipping this only applies to those in europe or the very wealthy anywhere else.

Hello i have just posted the picture of the Art exibition "PARADIRAMA"
on my galery...

More pics here http://www.als-tikis.com/galerie/thumbnails.php?album=27

Enjoy see you.

Al's tikis