Savage Renewal: The Toronto Moai

I had always wondered where this huge fella came from - I had all sorts of fantastic ideas that it was from some defunct restaurant, or some sort of exotic thing ike that, since its location in the suburb of Don Mills is a bastion of Mid-Century Modern homes - I had hoped that there was perhaps a restaurant that had owned it at one time, that perhaps it had stood proudly outside its doors, much like the ones at the Kahiki. Well, I was about to finally call Tilley Endurables and ask them (the company on whose lawn it sits) when I did a final google serach - and this came up.

"Easter Island Head?, 1987, a replica by Bob Breault"

So, alas, my story is not exciting, nor does it lead anywhere intriguing - it was just commissioned by the company to sit on their front lawn, to embody the spirit of adventure that wearing a Tilley hat is supposed to evoke.

Thus my story has ended before it really begun!

I think it's plenty interesting -- 1987 was almost 20 years ago (good lord, time marches on quickly), and it tickles me to think that in tiki's darkest days, the torch was still being carried by someone. A great, big, pink torch.

What's the deal with the color on this guy, anyhow? Was he always that color?

It is odd, becuae the other statues on their lawn (a metal moose, an inukshuk) are so subdued and natural looking. And so Canadian. And then theres a giant pink moai!

Maybe they got a deal on some paint?

It used to be that Canada (and other Commonwealth nations) were always depicted in pink on maps. Coincidence?

As of my visit to the Moai last summer, it isn't pink anymore.

Looks like the weather eroded the pink color, and now it's an undientifiable neutral shade of something or other.

Also, we can't attribute this moai's presence to Tiki-ism... the store it is in front of sells adventure wear, and Easter Island is one of the many hard-to-reach locations paid tribute to via phony artifacts inside and outside the store. So the Moai isn't here as a Tiki pop artifact, but rather as an example of a world adventure destination.

Pink or otherwise...

As you will all learn by reading Big Stone Head (90% done... now I need a publisher), the phenomenon of Moai/Easter Island fascination definitely intersects with Polynesian Pop of the middle 20th century in a big way, but it also has its own life and history that began many, many years before Poly Pop, and survived during Poly Pop's dark ages as well.

Who is Bob Breault? He created another sculpture for Tilley's(“Inukshuk”, also carved in '87), there's a tenor singer named Bob Brealt, and an optical scientist named Bob Breault, but nothing on Bob Breault the Sculptor, or a sculptor named Rob or Robert Breault.

JT do you have pics? Upload, man! upload!

On 2005-09-13 07:09, tikifish wrote:
JT do you have pics? Upload, man! upload!

Sorry, Jane, gotta wait for Big Stone Head - it'll be in there!