TIKI MODERN: Apologies, Comments, Critique and ...questions

My copy arrived safe and sound. Awesome book, soooo much in it. So much new material too.

As a designer I know how much work goes into making books. Taschen books are always great value, but tiki modern would seem cheap at twice the price.

I just got my copy and I've demanded all my money back. Nawww, just kidding. I have not yet read it through, just a few small sections, but my first overall impression of this book was "awesome".

I did not realize how big this book would be and the large size is truly impressive. Even with a quick perusal, it is evident alot of hard work and attention went into every detail. For the price Amazon sells this book for, it is a STEAL and I have ordered a couple more copies. Thank you Sven!

Bigbrotiki-

Great job! I knew it would be wonderful as "eye candy" from the previous posts but I could actually feel my 15 year old Anthropology degree being put into action again! I actually let my husband take a quick peek and he focused in on page 120...the 1950s jet rendering. He swears it is in front of the math department at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, CA...his father taught there. Is it the Douglas D558-2? Not that I don't believe him..but you know those aviation dorks....sometimes that desert dwelling can get to the brain ya know! Anyway..thanks for the Alibi pictures, but as a Portlander I have to say that our thrift stores have nothing so please move along!

On 2007-10-04 10:03, tikiracer wrote:
...Taschen books are always great value, but tiki modern would seem cheap at twice the price.

Pssstt! TIKIRACER my friend...keep your mouth shut! Don't forget Sven has more books in the pipeline!!!!

It is interesting that just about everyone had to pour over the pictures a few times before even attempting to read it...Just like us here at Tiki Towers. I think that is the perfect example of the 'real' appeal of tiki...it is so damn VISUAL! "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder of TIKI MODERN!". Hey Taschen!!...You can use that...on the house!

As for the mistakes? What's wrong with flawed perfection? Give me that over clinical precision any day!

Today (like most days!) I should be moving/tidying a load of my 'valuable worthless junk' in order to make the place habitable, but the lure of TIKI MODERN and a fresh cup of coffee (with a drop of Frangelico) is calling.

All the Best from Tiki Towers - Trader Jim (You KNOW what mine's gonna be!).

I love this book. If someone ever asks me what's so great about (relatively) free markets, rather than going into some rambling explanation, I think I'll just point to TIKI MODERN and say, "A guy a thousand miles away who I haven't met (yet?) loves a lot of the same stuff I do. In fact, he's made himself an authority on it and collected his knowledge and materials and produced this book. And all I had to do was wait a while, then buy it!"

Action is eloquence. You made it happen, and it's fantastic!

[ Edited by: Thomas 2007-10-06 12:29 ]

Not only is it informative, inspiring, and visually beautiful, it also has a distinctive "new book smell" that I've grown quite fond of.

I really like your writing. It must be a challenge to be so concise -- I can imagine myself with a very wordy manuscript and having to reduce it to 1/10th of its original length and finding it a hellish process, with potentially hellish results. Your text is highly informative yet lets the nonverbal content (the pictures!) have center stage as it should. A tough balance to strike I'll bet.

On 2007-10-07 00:14, Thomas wrote:
I really like your writing. It must be a challenge to be so concise -- I can imagine myself with a very wordy manuscript and having to reduce it to 1/10th of its original length and finding it a hellish process, with potentially hellish results. Your text is highly informative yet lets the nonverbal content (the pictures!) have center stage as it should. A tough balance to strike I'll bet.

Thank you. The trick is that I "write" from the experience of a being a cinematographer. To me, literally every picture tells a story. First I find and collect images that I find curious, seductive, and in which I see meaning in, and then I put them into context to each other, stringing them up in a visual narrative, much like different shots being edited in a movie. During collecting and assembling, a basic text narrative begins to take shape in my mind. But only after laying the images out on a page do I see how much space I have left, and then I write pretty much to match the word count. That prohibits me from becoming too wordy: Most of the time I would have more to say, but have to hone it down to the essentials to press it into the space I have left, ... only a few times I had to make up extra stuff where I had little info to share.

That's why I was initially bummed about the tri-lingual captions (already in the BOT), because they take away space, but that is a small price to pay for worldwide distribution, which helps to afford me as the creative, and you as the the recipient the luxury of nearly unlimited page count, in full color, for an affordable price.

But just like me "writing" the books that way does the reader get engaged in them and "reads" them by following the visual narrative first, then reading the captions, and then the text, to confirm his impressions. A filmmaker is most successful in his medium when he can tell his story without relying on dialog, by creating whole scenes where things and people DO and ARE without having to explain themselves. The challenge is to find a visual language that the viewer grasps intuitively, or at least finds engaging, even without understanding it.

This form of communication leaves some room for subjective interpretation, but we are talking about art, not science here (though it pretends to be :) ), and that extra space is actually what allows the viewer the room for his own imagination to ad on to what he sees, the images being the fuel for each individual's personal fantasy of his own Shangri-La.

PS: The above should NOT be used as an excuse now by you lazy bums to never read the text because you are oh so intuitive! :) Thomas is right, the writing is the most painful part of the whole endeavor, it is actual WORK (yuk!), and you better make use of it! :D

So.... can you teach Tiki Magazine to write their magazine like that? Unlike Tiki Modern and BOT, it is the opposite---too much writing, not enough pictures and art.

Too much writing, I enjoy both.

Sven has done all this writing, now its time that an article is written about him. I hope Tiki Magazine does a Sven interview in the very near future.

teaKEY

[ Edited by: teaKEY 2007-10-07 16:44 ]

On 2007-10-07 16:44, teaKEY wrote:
I hope Tiki Magazine does a Sven interview in the very near future.

I hope so too and I'm sorry GROG but I hope it's longer than 2-1/2 pages.

[ Edited by: Bora Boris 2007-10-07 17:02 ]

To be fair to Tiki Magazine, it being a periodical, it does not have the luxury to distill images from years of collecting down to the very best eye candy, like I can. And the TM team consists mostly of newbies in the publishing field, (as far as I know), who might not all be "Tiki veterans", either.

Also: Writing-wise, TM relies on the kindness of volunteer writers who do their work for little or no pay (at least I did), and who then at least want to be able to speak their part. Plus, the image quality, though a vast improvement since the days of Tiki News, still cannot touch the art book quality of Taschen books. So the comparison might be a little unjust.

This said, I love the fact that there are people like Grog on TC who are not afraid to speak their mind and offer honest criticism, and challenge the Tiki community to do better and greater things.

And TK, there are plans about a TM/Sven Interview...I just can't write it myself :) . But then, I spill so much of my thoughts and motivations here on TC, who needs it :D .

After two delays from Amazon, my copy finally arrived this weekend. Absolutely fabulous with so much new material. Perfect even with the one typo. I am going to be drooling over this for a long time.

Being a carver, seeing all the wooden carvings showcased is great.

Thanks for another terrific reference book that will be used for years and years like BOT is.

Even if this is "fluff" post.

[ Edited by: JohnnyP 2007-10-07 17:50 ]

i have an extra copy if anybody needs one.....i ordered 2 ...both inscribed and signed and also recieved one as a gift....im keeping 2..one to bend the pages pouring over it and one to put up and admire...if anyboby needs a inscribed copy ..PM ...me....

Sven. my contribution to Tiki Modern was an honor to make. I can finally make my oldest brother Joel eat humble pie when I show him the book. He never did appreciate the significance of Ione's work in tiki like my other brother Michael and I did. Thank you, Thank you!

Life is a state of mind

[ Edited by: Ojaitimo 2007-10-08 00:48 ]

didn't I see proof pages showing the Mauna Loa when you were in Detroit shooting Chin's? I assume they were cut for wahtever reason, but damn I was looking forward to them... among other things.

any chance you could share some of those images?

-Z

I believe all I had were some article xeroxes I brought to show to Nancy, but those are dug under in my archive now, sorry. Mauna Loa Detroit interiors are hard to come by. It seems odd that with all the money invested in the place, they never had any promotional postcards made. Maybe it was one of those things they were gonna get to, but the place closed too quickly for that. Then again, come to think of it, it seems that the custom of having restaurant postcards made began to die out in the late 60s/early 70s

For the benefit of folks who have not visited the "California Events" thread lately, and, though not California natives, might just find themselves in the vicinity of BURBANK this Sunday:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=25898&forum=17&start=last&4

On 2007-10-03 16:20, bigbrotiki wrote:
And the fact that nobody has seen the typo yet shows how me and my editors could overlook that damn thing so easily, too

I'll play, on page 82 the English translation says "Above Left: The Voodoo you do!' then the German follows "Oben Links: The Voodoo you do!" Now, I can only say "I am a jelly doughnut" in German but I'll bet a strudel that this isn't a perfect translation.

I'll play...I don't have the book in front of me but in the same vein of the above post there is another translation slip. The one with the topless lady holding tiki torches...that ain't no Anglish!

Nononononooo! You're ALL wrong! Even you, Holden.... :)

OK, here's a serious clue:

The embarrassing typo is in chapter 9. And you have all looked at it. One more hint: It is probably easier to spot for someone from the Islands, though we all here should know, and notice...I am glad so far nobody did, that means it is not so bad. :)

Any chance the typo is on page 144 where it mentions the "Kauai Tiki Bar" ?

Kaua'i usually spelled Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands is the oldest and fourth largest of the main Hawaiian Islands.

Maybe not but that one caught my eye.

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki 2007-10-10 16:43 ]

CLOSE! ...but no cigar. It's like that, but BIGGER! ...with no two ways about it, clearly a mistake...a real "Outch!" one, too!

OK, I got it now. Page 151

The Hawaiian Warrior is spelled HAWAIAN WARRIOR

YES ?

Ziinnnggg! BINGO! You broke the code! It is THE cliche HAOLE mistake to make, and it is especially embarrassing in connection with such a touchy subject! (It would be, that is, if I would be worried about such things...but I am not, really.)

You win a set of Tiki Modern postcards and bookmark, Sir, pm me your address, please! :)

COOL, THANKS !
I didn't realize there was a prize for discovering your shameful secret. haha
Seriously, I know how hard you work on your books so don't let this little "boner" upset you. Get it ?? OK, that was a late night pun. (For those of you checking the book, see the photo on p. 151). Anyway, the effort you put into BOT and TM are beyond measure and even though they are like "children" to you, nobody is made perfect.
Chin up old boy and congrats on an amazing tome.
Aloha, 8FT

I think the cover choice is awesome and choosing fabric for it was a brilliant idea too.
I've worked in print before and I know how hard it could be to convince people to go with this kind of ideas.
Can't wait to see the next one.
Congratulation on such beautiful work.

Thank you Tahitiki, I am very happy with the cloth, too, another concept like the padded cover of the BOT, but much more vintage feeling.

On 2007-10-10 23:51, 8FT Tiki wrote:
I didn't realize there was a prize for discovering your shameful secret. haha
Seriously, I know how hard you work on your books so don't let this little "boner" upset you.

After further introspection, the omission of the letter was probably caused by some sort of subconscious penis envy:
Withholding one of the "threatening" phallic capital "I"s to weaken the legendary prowess of the Hawaiian warrior! :D

i finally got this yesterday and couldn't be happier...awesome pictures, amazing layouts, etc.

so great seeing the bar that i have (pictured on page 260)...

even my wife (who is only peripherally in to tiki/witco) was really into checking out the book and plans to read it after i do...

thanks for all the hard work...

My pleasure, literally. When you love the subject as much as I do, it is not work, but play. The "getting it written and done" is kind of a bitch, though.

Love that modern abstract bar, with its de-constructed Tiki faces and Tapa designs. There is a Westenhaver sketch of it on page 240, too.

Not too boast, but I own that puppy on page 239 (opposite 238, IF you can decipher the friggin' numbers!)
I heard that only 15 of this mother were ever made. Here's a pic of it in situ on Tiki Island:

But fret not, YOU too can own a Witco bar! Compare the following picture with page 243:

Granted, this is only a resin miniature (available as part of a Graceland Dollhouse set), but it is much more affordable...especially the shipping! (My real one actually came all the way from Memphis...Ouch!)
And with it you get the Mama Lama Bar!

And while your at it, why not order the OTHER, classic Jungle Room set, too! :) :

...I am a sick kid, I know!

Got my copy finally yesterday in the mail. Had it waitin for me after gettin home friday from a long week of work. I love it. The pics are amazing and the book is chalked full of info. Roy Orbison and Witco???? I absolutely love the book Sven. What's the next one going to be about?

On 2007-09-24 10:40, bigbrotiki wrote:
... on the way to the next event in Munich...

where/when in munich did this event take place ?
are there pictures somewhere ?
what´s the best way to buy the book in germany ?

[ Edited by: icebaer69 2007-10-14 08:23 ]

The dates are here:
http://www.klangundkleid.de/events/tikimodern/

You can order the book through them, too.

...the pictures here
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=25353&forum=4&start=15

ZOWIE!!!

Just picked up the book @ Borders today, they only had one copy.
VERY impressive high quality book, wall to wall TIKI. Worth every
$$.

Thortiki

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-20 20:09 ]

Damn good job my friend.

On 2007-10-14 17:17, filslash wrote:

On Page 54 - The photo at above right describes the photo as being at the Hula Hut, when it is in fact the Hawaiian Hut.

----Arrgh! You are right, another one of those "wires crossed" things, just like the thing with the Squid credit for the Munktiki mug. Those things are inevitable considering the amount of information processed. But please, everyone, keep on finding them so they can be corrected for the next printing!

While the stage at the 1970s Hula Hut on Beachwalk (now destroyed and soon to be the new home of the Hard Rock Cafe) did have Tiki carvings

What? People still frequent these places? I had hoped they had gone the way of Planet Hollywoods.

What do I win?

A slap on the back and the satisfaction of being right, my friend! :)

Page 259. The Dummy is G-Man Joe.

Funny. What's the name of the girl?

I wish there was a way to go back in my mind's eye to see the things I saw as a child growing up in LA in a 1960's working class home. This book is as close as it could get.

The things I would like to see from my memory would be the exotic and erotic displays I saw when I went to my father's friends houses. Their "play rooms" as they were called, where you would sit and look at the paintings of half naked women behind the bar. Where you would sit on Witco furniture and marvel at the tikis, the bamboo aquariums and the assorted beachcomber items of driftwood, shells, dried puffer and starfish, glass float lamps and dream of a life far away. Adults having "drinks" and smoking. This was carried over to the pool areas...even more paradise!

Then there was the infrequent gatherings of special events which included all of the "extended" family at places like the Bali Hai and the other tiki establishments where, as a child, you didn't speak unless spoken to, but were left to ponder these images in your own mind.

The Book of Tiki was a great start to spin the time machine. Tiki Modern is where the spinning stops and the focus of what we once were and what we lost, until recently, is found.

What an amazing effort! You have captured all of my memories...most actually remembered and some fantasized.

I am the proud owner of your book, Tiki Modern.

Humbly and Sincerely,

Psycho Tiki D

Oh well, I...:blush: Well, that makes me really glad. Thank you.

On 2007-10-15 18:01, bigbrotiki wrote:

On 2007-10-14 17:17, filslash wrote:

On Page 54 - The photo at above right describes the photo as being at the Hula Hut, when it is in fact the Hawaiian Hut.

What do I win?

A slap on the back and the satisfaction of being right, my friend! :)

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-20 20:11 ]

On 2007-10-15 19:05, filslash wrote:
I'm not sure who she is yet. But Pualani Mossman is on the poster in the Background.

Is she related to Doug Mossman of Hawaiian Eye?

OK, found a bad Boo Boo, which should have not been in there, because I knew better. But when I wrote and reread this wrong thing it somehow sounded right. Well it isn't, and I am certain Jeff Chenault has only not said anything so far because he is such a nice guy:

On page 133 I happily declare that Martin Denny recorded at the Kaiser Dome first, which he never did. Why would he? Henry Kaiser, after Denny's refusal to continue to play at the Shell Bar, hired Arthur Lyman away from him, that's why Atta recorded there! Outch. A common misconception crept into my brain and it spit it out as fact. Embarrassing.

RESEARCH PROJECT: I expected someone to ask this question by now, but now I will:
Page 99, the Menu collage page- In case anybody wondered, that TIKI TI menu with the Witco Tiki has NOTHING to do with our beloved LA Tiki Ti. And there is no clue to the location or date of existence of the namesake. By the decorations, one can assume that it was a Chinese run Fu-joint, but WHERE WAS THE TIKI TI that had that menu?

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-10-19 17:23 ]

I brought my brother Michael a copy of Tiki Modern last night. Both he and my sister in law marveled at the book, they both loved the picture of Ione and the amount of research and images that went into it. I guessed 1,000 images, has anyone counted them?
Tracy laughed when she saw the Warrior Without Shield, "Yes, thats how men see themselves"
While Michael was flipping through pages,he paused at the tiki carving section. "This reminds me of my wood shop at lincoln jr high , a class project was for each student to carve a small tiki." He said he would look for it so I can post it. He was born in 1948 so this would have been around 1960 when Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vic's, Bamboo Room, Luah, Tiki Ti and other places were hot and fickle LA once loved tiki.

On 2007-10-19 17:20, bigbrotiki wrote:

OK, found a bad Boo Boo, which should have not been in there, because I knew better. But when I wrote and reread this wrong thing it somehow sounded right. Well it isn't, and I am certain Jeff Chenault has only not said anything so far because he is such a nice guy:

On page 133 I happily declare that Martin Denny recorded at the Kaiser Dome first, which he never did. Why would he? Henry Kaiser, after Denny's refusal to continue to play at the Shell Bar, hired Arthur Lyman away from him, that's why Atta recorded there! Outch. A common misconception crept into my brain and it spit it out as fact. Embarrassing.

I just noticed that myself. That is a big oops! Maybe you were thinking of the Shell Bar as they did both play there at different times. Oh well.

I love that picture of the Kaiser Aluminum Dome. It is so hard to find good pictures of it. Do you have any interior shots too? Very cool about those concept cars too. I never knew anything about those!

With a book this big its hard to complain about anything Sven! It freakin' rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

Last night my wife ordered some travel books on Amazon. I ask her to also order Tiki Modern. Some of her travel books were on backorder until November. She delayed shipping my book so that they would ship together. They say patience is a virtue

"I'm too drunk to taste the chicken" - Col. Sanders 1963

[ Edited by: Tonga Tiki 2007-10-21 09:03 ]

We got our two copies from Amazon.com without any problems. The book is excellent in content both written and photographed. Sven it's a treasure, you are a treasure. You keep us inspired and grateful to be part of the tiki community. I also feel really greedy about your talent and ability. Can you start now on book number three? We started with The Book of Tiki and then we got to be like kids anticipating Tiki Modern. I'd like to know it won't end here.

My suggestion would be a book of tiki art and artists starting with the primitive and working up through the present. I want to be in one of your books as a tiki artist. Who else wants to be in one of Sven's books? That would be the ultimate trip.

A Great and Wonderful Book, Wendy

Thank you Wendy, you will be in the Tiki Revival Book with your bowls, ....when I get to it! But "The Look of Tiki" on vintage shirts and patterns comes first. I don't think I will ever stop making books because I know there is an appreciatve audience such as you guys out there.

Questions.

What was "Conquistador" all about as a style?

Why did Lamas become popular in the early 70's, was it just an extension of the exotic animal themes or specific response to a cultural meme.

WITCO The Western International Trading Company, but were they truly International, do you know if they ever shipped their furniture to Europe?

Comments.

Page 73. down the right hand bottom Butlin's Becahcomber.

"Elaborate South Seas mural at one of the Butlin's nine holiday camps in England. The Camps' Beachcomber Bars were inspired by London's Mafair Hotel restaurant of the same name."

Firstly the nine camps were throughout the UK and not just England, secondly although your not wrong about the Beachcomber being inspired by the Mayfair original but they were also designed and created by the same designers - Garnett Cloughley Blakemore (GCB), .
I know there is limitation on space for a picture caption but i feel that the knowledge base of Britiki has expanded sufficiently in the last few years that we can now acknowledge the existence of our own pioneering tiki bar designers, like how the US can now tell the differences between a steven crane designed bar and a don the beachcomber.

When Amazon told me that they were cancelling my order because the book was on back order and that if I still wanted it I would have to go to a link and essentially reorder and the link did not work, I sent them a SCORCHED EARTH email pointing out that if a customer has ordered something it's money in hand to them and that unless and until the customer cancelled the order they should proceed. I told them that I would be telling everyone of their moronic behavior and that I would encourage people to buy elsewhere.

Amazon responded with an email within an hour and the book was at my house within one business day.

Funny how they found stock all of a sudden.

They even sent me a coupon for $5 off my next purchase.

On 2007-10-23 05:22, atomictonytiki wrote:
Questions.

What was "Conquistador" all about as a style?

It was a romanticized remembrance of the brutal conquest of the Spaniards, celebrating their gold-hungry crimes against the indigenous people of the Americas...ONLY KIDDING! :D

No, it was rustic, woodsy, country, hacienda style for the living room, but also fake antique, black rod iron and red velvet/velour chi chi style for the home bar. Best example in Tiki Modern: Page 184 (opposite Roy Orbison)

Why did Lamas become popular in the early 70's, was it just an extension of the exotic animal themes or specific response to a cultural meme.

VERY good question...but you will have to research it yourself, as I have been frighteningly unaware of the 1970s Llama fad!

WITCO The Western International Trading Company, but were they truly International, do you know if they ever shipped their furniture to Europe?

I don't think Europe, sorry, but Canada. And I think the name initially came from the fact that Westenhaver's cousin who started the company began the business with importing folksy decor items from Mexico. Later, it hinted at the multi-cultural style of their products (read text of 1962 catalog on the opening page of chapter 11.

I know there is limitation on space for a picture caption but i feel that the knowledge base of Britiki has expanded sufficiently in the last few years that we can now acknowledge the existence of our own pioneering tiki bar designers, like how the US can now tell the differences between a steven crane designed bar and a don the beachcomber.

Go Britannia go! :)