...the horror... ...the horror...

I've been waiting to snap a few pics of this mess and inflict pain on my fellow TC members for a while... finally had the camera while passing by...

This is a b'zar combo of restaurant popular with older folks with a sleazy meatmarket bar (which part you belong in depends on what time of day you show up and if you have coupons with you) These pics were taken early morning, so no cougars were visible.

I present to you, Ernie's Kings Mill, Clinton Twp., MI

(please put on your sunglasses now)

And what tiki bar would be complete without a severed head hanging above the bar???

Mr. Buffet would be proud!

as a little added bonus, here's a long out of business tiki bar in the back of another restaurant in Mt Clemens, MI along the river. I don't know the name of the place. Can't you just smell the Wine coolers & Bud Light?

-Z

Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

[ Edited by: Feelin' Zombified 2009-08-06 22:04 ]

OW OW OW OW OW OW OW

Who painted those? Peter Rabbit?

WeReally owe you Big time for That pain FZ. I just can't believethat this type of decoration is allowed out of Key West. Hope you didn't have to travel far to find it, then again I hope it is Too far away to even think of returnint to in the future.

Ouch! You can see why I moved from MI to SF (other than the snow) Cheers!

Wow. Two words come to mind: "Molotov Cocktail"

Only one here? I think that those are super tikis. The color might not be right but the tikis and birds are done with a cool and constant style. And heck, any tiki in Michigan is good tiki.

I think the Tikis are by David Landry (?), a carver from Florida. I like some of his designs, but never like the day-glo colors. Well, on George Michael, sure....just not Tikis.

Wake me up before you go-go,
midnite

I find them "disturbing, and I'm COLORBLIND! I've seen the style of carvings before on ebay (the carvings are fun),.... but never painted like that! I think the creator of those Tikis would be tracking down the painter with a spear right now.

Arrh my freaking eyes - too much color!

Looks like the scenery for a bad musical.

I just don't know what to say.
There, I've said it.

The wording on the asphalt needs to be changed from 'No Parking' to 'No Puking'

This is my theory on how those tikis got to look that way.

Someone heard that tiki was hot, so they commissioned a carver to create several tiki figures for their bar. They were shipped to site, but the owners thought they were too bland and natural looking. They decided that in order to draw more attention, that they would paint them in different colors.

But what color? They did a quick internet search on tiki, and learned that there were tikis on Easter Island, so they decided to paint everything the same color that they dye their Easter eggs with. This seemed OK, since parrots have feathers of bright colors too.

Perhaps the owners of the place grew up in the 70's, and they are trying to recreate the atmosphere of those felt colored posters that glow in the dark when the ultraviolet black light is turned on.

Vern

[ Edited by: ikitnrev 2005-08-08 01:19 ]

Those colors on the tikis and carvings are standard issue, applied by the carver. As midnite mentioned, these are from a Florida carver by the name of David landry, who hawked them on ebay a few years ago. Some of his tikis were indeed unpainted, but the majority of them came complete with head-spinning day-glo colors. Check them out here:

http://www.tangotikis.com/Ole/

Now, who's ready for retinal replacement surgery! (My rods and cones, Jerry!!...)

"Myyyyy EEEEEEEyeeess!!!!!! De googles do NUTHZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

What is with this fluorescent coloured tiki thing?? I've seen it around alot lately (patio lights, drink holders and carvings etc.) talk about an eye sore!!

I don't feel so good.

Tiki-peeps for Easter.

Wow....
I have to chime in here against the day-glo thing. I mean, to each his own, whatever...but alot of the recent mass produced tiki stuff seems to be using these day-glo colored tikis and I just don't get it myself.
For me, part of the attraction of tikis themselves has been the beautiful natural WOOD and wood colors..you know, the jungle, nature, etc. etc. I guess I also associate "tiki" and "exotica" with more earthy colors..darker greens, browns, with some reds or orange thrown in. Day-glo doesn't work for me..:)
but..HEY..ANY TIKI is better than NO TIKI. So, "God Bless'em"

Dude! I'll bet those look sweeeet under black light!

Fo sheezy!

Didn't Joey Buttafuoco have pants that were the same colour?

To quote (approximately) Woody Allen, it looks like Walt Disney threw up all over everything.

Do you feel that burn it's your retinas! two words... paint stripper.

To quote Captain Murphy from Sealab 2021;

"Its like a Koala crapped a rainbow in my brain!!!"

ARK! BLECKH! ARK!

[ Edited by: Tabu The Wonder Seal 2005-08-09 10:52 ]

On 2005-08-08 12:06, Matt Reese wrote:
Tiki-peeps for Easter.

OMG.. rolling.. was sipping water and now... all over the monitor!

Those are exactly the same colors on Peeps...lolol

Those are simply waaaayy beyond my realm of tiki.

The style is cute, the colours are horrible, but it's whatever sells, right?
Look at all the tikis he sold!
He seems to be doing alright for himself.

Of course he will go to hell for this. Or at the very least the tikis will be very angry.

I don't exactly want day-glo tikis in hell with me.

Maybe they're tikis for the visually impaired. They have a right to enjoy tikis, too.

[ Edited by: Urban Tiki 2005-08-10 12:11 ]

Hee hee. Paris Hilton beach bunny tikis! I can almost hear them tittering and chatting on their cellphones...

I'm very sad to read these posts. David was one of my closest friends and we were all devastated at his death in December. The colors David used were very much Caribbean influenced and I love the way they look. The colors he used are no different than the bright colors used on the typography headings and ads in this website. After knowing David and collecting some of his works, I find that the unpainted tikis are awfully boring.

Rest in peace, David.

http://www.davidlandry.com/truehome.htm

Brutal.

Bashing this gentleman because he see's life a different way !!!!!
Basically when people bash other people it's how they where raised it's not there fault...
Next time I hit 95 south I'll stop in the gallery !!!!!

How do I reduce the Techni-Color on this set?

Kinda puts a new perspective in the mix.
Just did a little web searching to find that David Landry passed on in December 2005 from a hard struggle with pancreatic cancer. From the articles, turns out he was a rather swell fellow. His suffering caused many of his friends to rise to the occasion.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051109/NEWS/511090410

While I myself don't find his work to be "Tiki" as defined in our world (referring specifically to Tiki Central), I have no issue with the artist himself.
My condolences, Nina.

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2006-09-12 04:26 ]

Well said Nina.

"While I myself don't find his work to be "Tiki" as defined in our world"

As defined in OUR world? Shouldn't you say in your own personal world? What kind of silly world is it where something is so narrowly defined that some terrific and whimsical art like this that celebrates life and nature, not to mention created in the spirit of everything you celebrate is excluded? Why? Just because he used some colorful paint? I'm sick to my stomach reading this garbage.

[ Edited by: Nina Coquina 2006-09-11 08:33 ]

Nina,

Please understand that by "our world", she simply meant Tiki Central. There is absolutely nothing wrong with colorful art like this in the world at large, but it is not the kind of work for which Tiki Central exists. Please read the link at the top of this page under the Tiki Central banner titled "Celebrating classic and modern Polynesian Pop". Perhaps that will explain it. Carribean-influenced art, while enjoyed by many, is simply not what Tiki Central is all about.

Nina, Around here if "your" tiki isn't a certain way or certain style, you will be shitted upon, plain and simple. I have learned that here before,and its one of the few reasons I stopped posting here recently. But you have brought my attention to post again because its really sad to see TC'rs constantly put their foots in their mouths! Everyone here on TC is an adult(or???),So my question is "Why is there so much childish postings going on here"??? TCrs should know by now to watch what is said when it comes to other artists. This community is not as big as some may think it is. Everytime someone talks shit about someone else "artistic" view of tiki, the mud slinging begins....WHY????
Talk shit about the imported mass-produced crap that we see littering the shelves at target,Spencers and Party City first.(Oops I forgot,some people here think that target tiki is good! HAHA, what a crock!)
Granted Nina, for me personally, I dont care for the Jimmy Buffet-esque/Carnivale style of painting on any Tiki, but David's carving skills stood tall and looked incredible! Sorry that any friends of David should have to see the first 2 pages of this topic, but let it be known how "some" of the TCrs here act!
Hoity Toity, blah! How about the word ASS for beginners?
With the rudeness of "some" of these people here,almost makes me want to put my whole tiki collection on ebay(not really going to happen), and start collecting stamps or butterflies... There couldn't possibly be as many jerks collecting stamps & butterflies as to collecting tikis, could there?
Don't think that my post seems to be about "police the messageboard", but for cripes sake, have a LITTLE respect when posting about artists and their perspective views. I don't like Andy Warhol paintings, but I still hold a certain level of respect for them, stating plain and simple, It's Just Not For Me!
The fact of whether or not I like Warhol paintings doesn't impact his sales or popularity either. Any and all artists fit into this same scenario.

I was going to edit some of this to be "easier" on some people here, but I thought why? I guess if they can dish it out, They should be able to take it too...I will let this post, ride...

I would like to thank Nina Coquina for posting the link to David Landry's website. I went through the entire slide-show, and there were many other works of David's that I really enjoyed, and I gained a better appreciation for the breadth of his work. Although I, like others on Tiki Central, am not a fan of the bright-Easter colored tikis, I did enjoy those tikis that were painted with a single color (usually white or red), and especially enjoyed the black or natural colored tikis that incorporated the primitive-looking white dot patterns.

All in all, I gained an appreciation for the work of David Landry, and I am saddened to hear that he passed away last year. The world certainly needs more, not less, artists in the world. My sadness, I am sure, is nothing compared to the sorrow that David's family and close friends are going through.

One wants ones friends to be remembered in a positive light, so I can understand the hurt that Nina felt when discovering this thread. I am not sure if it will offer any comfort, but my initial comment, which was made partly in jest, was directed towards only the colors of the tikis, and not to the carving style, or to David Landry himself.

The people here on Tiki Central are only one small sliver of the world's population, and we tend to have our own collective views on what looks good and what doesn't look good in the world of tiki - and we often can't even form a consensus even after months of discussion and debate. This group generally does not like brightly colored tikis, but that is partly because we like hanging out in retro bars at night, and try to recapture there the look of a classic 1950's/60's tiki lounge.

The brightly colored tikis may have been more appropriate for a child's amusement park than a retro tiki bar, and reading the HearaldTribune article, I learned that such amusement parks were major buyers of David's work. I hope that the friends and family of David Landry can take comfort that there are probably many children who will express great joy when seeing David's brightly painted animal carvings in such amusement parks. All in all, I expect that the joy of those children will have a much bigger overall impact on the world than the comments expressed earlier in this thread.

Vern

BOY , some of you people can be real shit heads. DAMN!

Though I still feel that the colours chosen are not well suited to tiki carvings, I do appreciate his talent. As I stated earlier, the tikis were well done.

I don't care for technicolour tikis, but it sounds like Caribbean was more his bag anyhow, which makes perfect sense.

There will always be someone who will not agree with your opinions, or whom you won't get along with, especially in an online environment containing over 5,000 members. It bothers me to be generalized upon, for maybe a handful you don't personally get along with.

I see Tiki Central for the many friends I enjoy the company of, not the few I don't.

A Naughty Little Wiggle

[ Edited by: Tikiwahine 2006-09-11 14:29 ]

I too looked at this guy's work. Very nice. He was really talented. I even like the painted tikis. Granted, they're a different style - but very good. Some are really kind of cool.

The bar that used his tikis really didn't do justice to his work. Go back and look at the pictures - man the overall decorating is bad, bad. The art itself, good.

But I have to say I'm so, so tired of people getting their feelings hurt too easily. It's tiring to read and the reactions to the original comments are usually way overblown. The whole PC movement just needs to cool down a bit (IMHO).

If you liked the man's work and he was a good guy, just say so. We'll all understand...

I still like them because I like tiki items. I'm not going to reread the "Celebrating classic" statement but I didn't remember seeing anything on use of paint. I for one am not going to judge a tiki's "skin" color. But just think about this. These tikis might be the perfered look ten years from now. Anyone creative today is changeing the face of tiki a bit. But in ten years these tiki here are going to look perfect with hints of paint remaining.

This group generally does not like brightly colored tikis, but that is partly because we like hanging out in retro bars at night, and try to recapture there the look of a classic 1950's/60's tiki lounge.

I'm so encouraged to see that "this group" and "we" dictate the rules. I live in a 1920s house filled with Hawaiiana and Floridania and tropical vintage funishings and art from the 20s through the 60s. I restored a 1950s house complete with authentic period decor that appeared on HGTV. In my guest house, I have a '40s tiki bar with tropical barkcloth upholstery, and guess what I have in the bar area, among other things? David Landry carvings. So I guess I'll now be shunned by you people for not being authentic enough? Give me a break. I can't believe you people.

The brightly colored tikis may have been more appropriate for a child's amusement park than a retro tiki bar, and reading the HearaldTribune article, I learned that such amusement parks were major buyers of David's work.

"More appropriate?" Says who? I can't believe you actually would insinuate that his carvings are only attractive or are mostly attractive if you're a child. Who are you to assume this? Most of his carvings were in private collections, bought by adults for adults. Some were purchased for display in area restaurants. Some were purchased by Busch Gardens and other nature preserves that also have amusement features. But to say they were primarily for children in amusement parks is a naive and inaccurate conclusion.

I have a grand total of three or four posts here. I assumed that my background in vintage tropicana would make me welcome here and find a group of like minds, but boy, was I wrong.

Enjoy your limited little world. I'm signing off.

One more parting remark, if you bought any of his carvings, take care of them because they're now worth a lot of money. Thousands apiece. One of his carved cats recently sold for close to $3,000.

Maybe a child bought it with his allowance.

C'mon, art is subjective.

WAAAAHHH!!! :lol:

Nina, you are being incredibly sensitive about this. Where did anyone here make you feel unwelcome? Some tikis that you like are unpopular here, and it's true that if you were looking for a place where that style of tiki is universally treasured, this may not be the place for you. But having an expectation that everyone here is going to like every single thing in your collection is unreasonable. None of us can hold any other person to that standard.

I'm sorry that not everyone here feels the same way that you do about your friend's talent, but this is a discussion site about tiki, and in the course of discussion, different view points arise as a matter of course. Extending a rejection of some tikis that you like to a rejection of you is being over-sensitive.

Humuhumu's got it right on, don't get mad about other peeps opion's, express your own and respect others. With out a little heated disagreement this site (and world)
would be a drag!

What Tiki Central isn't !!!!
Tequila base drinks !!!
Guess that $350.00 bottle of Chinaco Emperador is going right in the trash !!!
One must be Tiki Obedient !!!!