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

Conquistador.

See I was wondering about it because in the UK you can always find burnt hacked rustic looking candle holders, light sconces, magazine racks and picture frames, which are Spanish holiday items, and i wondered how there is a stylistic connection.

I wonder if the Conquistador line was as popular with Swingers in the US as the hacked-Spanish-macho-wood items were with UK Swingers. My mate Bonnie who parents held 70's swingers orgies in Essex, that their house was kitted out in shag pile, burnt Spanish wood and pampas grass.

WITCO International

Cool that answered a question for me, I long been of the belief that if WITCO didn't export their good to Europe then the best places to look for WITCO in Europe might be around US military bases, where they have the spare transport to ship tonnes of twinkles over for the troops and perhaps a "Jungle room" set over for the officers mess.

Go Britannia go! :)

I guess well have to write our own book, lets see..

Britiki: The Book of the Beachcomber

section 1. Cook, Crusoe and the Collectors

The explorations of Cook, tattoos, artifact and natives he brought back. The literary works such a Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and the like. Then a bit about the great collectors of Tiki artifacts, the preserved heads, the Moai & Pit Rivers museum.

section 2. Empire and Entertainment

The great exhibitions, native tribes exhibited and the depictions in the media.

section3. nautical, beachcomber and safari

The three styles of pre-tiki bars in the UK.

section 4. Tiki cometh.

summary of US tiki and then its arrival at the Beachcomber Mayfair

section 5. Butlin's Beachcomber

explication on the holiday camp phenomena and billy butlins getting GCB to build the bars.

section 6. Britiki mugs

the rarest of the rare only half glimst in old footage the Mayfair Tiki bowl, the mayfair signiture mug, the logo glasses and the other one. Butlins mug and plate, and the new Britiki mugs.

section 7. The fall of Britiki

demolitions and refurbishments.

section 8. The Britiki Revival.

Josh Collins, Vince Ray, SLP, Cheektiki etc.

...aye no problem :wink:

Hey atomic tony and bigbro, I thought Bill had told me in the past that some Witco was sold overseas to Europe. So, I asked him last night and he told me that the Witco factory they had in Canada for a while did sell and ship overseas to Europe. Hope this helps.

[ Edited by: keigs20 2007-10-27 17:26 ]

hey ...anybody need a signed copy....i have an extra....45.00 plus shipping.....PM me.........

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.

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

CRAP! CRAP! CRAP! This ruin the whole book for GROG! GROG want GROG money back!

You are so right! Actually, I cannot stand the shame, so decided to make the whole first printing a RECALL, and have the remaning copies of TIKI MODERN pressed back into pulp!

You're funny.

Still waiting for Outre Sydney to get it in... Sure Amazon might be quicker, but I like to support the local gallery that supports tiki and other lowbrow art. Any week now!

Mine arrived today!
Great looking book Sven, I love the tactile quality of the cover and the Zombie Village/Skipper Kent bowl on pg. 64... Gor-geous!
I'm not a WITCO fan in the least but I am looking forward to reading about it and hopefully gaining an appreciation.
Again, great work on shining a light on another fascinating layer of mid-century culture.
Aloha,
:tiki:

I wanted to support Canadian companies but I got impatient waiting for Chapters/Indigo and Amazon.ca to have TM in stock on their websites. I finally ordered TM and TRT2 from Amazon.com and got them a couple of weeks ago. Even without free shipping, I ended up paying about the same as I would have from one of those Canadian sources IF THEY HAD THE DAMN BOOK IN STOCK! (which they still don't). And through some miscommunication with my sister who works in a bookstore, I special-ordered the books through her too, so now I have two of each. Someone's going to be getting tikirific xmas present this year. I keep both books by my bedside and dip into them for a few minutes before drifting off to sleep... dreaming of tiki...

Hey, Sven, I just got my book from Amazon and I've started reading it. So far, I'm amazed by the content. Thanks for putting this thing out and I'm expecting it to help revitalize my enthusiasm for tiki (not that it ever really went away). Thanks again.

Speaking of Taschen and Modernism and a certain esteemed author, check out this video on the Taschen site, for the incredible Julius Shulman Modernism Revisited slipcase set they've got. Take a peek at the videographer credit at the end.

-Randy

The book was great fun to look at, more so than the first for some reason!. you print'em, we will buy'em.Well done

Tiki Modern is now $29.99 on Amazon.
PS: When I went to Farmer's Market to pick up copy from the Taschen store, it was sold out.

That's strange...on my Amazon link it is still 26.39....I was wondering why they would change the price. It sure could use some more customer reviews, though. C'mon you beneficiaries of my vast knowledge here and in my books, get off your lazy butts and write something, don't just consume!

I am kinda worried though that Taschen America is running out of the first printing on one hand, but that the "sell through" is not brisk enough to make them decide for another printing. Amazon sales rank 39,940 ain't so hot...

I'm seeing at $26.39 on Amazon still...and with free shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Tiki-Modern-Sven-Kirsten/dp/3822847178/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200581496&sr=8-1

my beef against Amazon:

I have been waiting since late Nov for my Tiki Modern, TRT2 and others to arrive from Amazon to me here in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Estimated shipping time 25-40 days... unfortunately my depleted hopes of finding it at my door each afternoon finally dissolved last week and I made an official complaint to Amazon - they are supposedly going to refund me...

but it still leaves me TM-less... and with no carrier here in Buenos Aires and no confidence in the Argentine post system, looks like it will stay that way... :( :(

On 2007-12-09 23:54, aquarj wrote:
Speaking of Taschen and Modernism and a certain esteemed author, check out this video on the Taschen site, for the incredible Julius Shulman Modernism Revisited slipcase set they've got. Take a peek at the videographer credit at the end.

-Randy

I just splashed out and bought this and the A-z of Modern Architecture, just recieved them and they are beautiful books,I've only just flicked through and its got great pictures of the Loewy deigned Matson line offices with tiki map.
I do like your book too Sven :wink:

Julius Schulman is the incredible photographer of modernism.
He is a living legend.

I enjoy showing people Tiki Modern and BOT for the first time, I leave them on my coffee table and open them to a cool picture.
I pay attention to the body language and most people have this pre conception of what Tiki is.
Before I open the books, they have their mind made up that they dislike Tiki. I hear,"Sorry, I know you love it but it's too garish for me","It looks like high school party time","Too kitchy" "Bad taste" "What's up with those stupid colors" etc,etc.

My brother Joel who dislikes Tiki but loves Rococo, said this recently when I showed Tiki Modern to him. "The problem was that it was hard for designers to get it right and most of the time they got it wrong. There were only a handful of places that looked like the Trade Wind's and the rest were wanabes. Most people only saw the crap and assumed thats what it all was"

So when I show them what good Tiki is, most of them are pleasantly surprised that they like Tiki too.
Use your books and photos TCers, please!
Thanks for the great books and tools Bigbro!

Amazing book! It actually out does the BOT. Loaded with colorful trippyness.

Bigbro, I found this description of Tiki Modern that I had to share.
quote

Sexy savage: Excavating Tiki's finest offerings TASCHEN's Book of Tiki provided the blueprint for the re-appreciation and revival of Tiki style. Almost completely wiped from the consciousness of Americans until recently, Sven Kirsten's tome put Tiki on the map as a unique pop culture phenomenon. Never before had Tiki culture's visual power and pervasiveness been revealed with such detail and insight. Not only did the book inspire the erecting of many new Tiki bars from New York to London to Berlin to Prague to Waikiki, but also motivated a myriad of Tiki artisans to pick up the chisel and carry on the forgotten tradition, while spurring many others to create their own home hideaways, making "Tiki" a household name again. This new follow-up book, which brings together the two recent retro trends of mid-century modernism and Tiki style, is bound to lift the Tiki craze to a new level. With his usual mixture of ironic detachment and genuine enthusiasm for the subject, Kirsten shows us how primitivism and modernism were two sides of the same coin in the 1950s and 60s. Decor deities and ersatz ancestors outrageously merged in the modern brutalist furniture from the house of Witco, a company that outfitted Elvis Presley's Jungle Room and Hugh Hefner's Chicago Playboy pool. This was design porn at its best. The author: Sven Kirsten was conceived on a freighter of his grandfather's Hamburg-Chicago Line. Following the call of the big world, he moved to California at the age of 25. Kirsten studied at the American Film Institute in Los Angeles and began shooting music videos in the late 1980s for The Cramps, Tom Waits, Sergio Mendes and others. After years of hunting down pieces of the puzzle of Polynesian Pop, Kirsten has developed a singular insight into the Cult of Tiki and has become the country's most eminent Tiki archaeologist.
end quote

His publicist probably wrote it.

Just got mine today and DAMMMMNNN!! This book is awesome! Beautiful quality pictures on every page and a lot of history seems to be oozing out from every corner. I cant wait to sit down and have some quality reading time. This book and how it's made...really reminds me of those massively large library books I used to throw down on the floor and read for hours (31 now). Really a great buy!

Thanks!!!!!

Well, I have been reading this thread in anticipation of receiving my own copy, and I'm glad to say, the wait is over. I too was first impressed by the sheer physicality of the book itself. It just has the great feeling of a well put together volume.

Then I opened it. Wow. Despite the rave reviews, I was hardly prepared for the visual feast that awaited me. I was fortunate to be able to spend most of the afternoon voraciously reading and pouring over the pictures. Being a visual person, I really appreciate the profusion of illustrations, which after all, tell the story best. So kudos to Sven for giving them center stage. As an artist, I know I personally will be drawing from the well of its inspiration for a long time to come.

I'm especially impressed by the story of William Westenhaver (Witco). He really was a first rate modernist artist and knowing more about him has already given me a much greater appreciation of his work.

The book also does a fine job at placing the whole modernist Tiki and primitive movements in historical and social perspective. But I don't want to make it sound too academic, because the book is just plain fun, too!

Thank You. That is all I had hoped for. :) ...every picture tells a story.

Powell's book store in Portland. I'd say that's a nice arrangement.

It's almost impossible to compare ANY book to the first, but I find myself going to Tiki Modern for encouragement and escape even more often. I don't have a better compliment I can give.

Thank you, both Rob(b)s. Just got back from the country side in Germany, and it's good to see that my work is not forgotten.

I just picked it up last week, and read it cover to cover. It was very well done. It gave me a new understanding of Witco, and even though it may not be my favorite style, I now have an appreciation that I didn't have before.

[ Edited by: dewey-surf 2009-07-02 17:33 ]

I enjoyed Tiki Modern, but due to it's size ended up not shipping to the island with me. Still, it seemed pretty comprehensive and I loved the many pictures to accompany the text.

I agree that it is a bit hefty. Frankly, the publisher wanted it that big to justify the price of ten bucks higher than the Book of Tiki. The resulting larger images are nice, but my regret is that it can't be held in one hand while a Mai Tai is held in the other :)

The big question is: what the third book is gonna be like.

Here's my fantasy list:

1. An in-depth look at Tiki temples existing and gone.

2. A comparison of the reality of Tiki to what we've turned it into. This would include sculpture, art, etc., but also what Polynesians are still doing (they are supposed to have some kind of art revival going on). This sounds dry but could be done really well.

3. A super-complete book of Tiki art through the years in all its many forms.

'Bought Tiki Modern about six months ago, immediately on sight, did not even open it in the store.

What a thoroughly, totally, incredible, outstanding, magnificent book!!!!!!!!

Well thank you very much! Although it is impossible to re-create the "Aha!" effect that the Book of Tiki had in a world bereft of Tiki when it came out, I am happy to see that Tiki Modern can take its part somewhat to a new generation of seekers.

Hey, BigBroTiki,

Who is the perfect, gorgeous, stunningly magnificent lady in the middle of page 142, with the red ankle-length stranded skirt? Are other photos of her available, what is her name, association with the world of Tiki...? That photo alone made the whole book worthwhile.

'Am hopelessly in love with her.

And when and what is your next Tiki culture book? Tiki Modern and Tiki Style are beyond spectacular. THANK YOU!

Thanks again, Jim.
Interesting, why fixate on that one? She is just another 50s Mens Mag model, from a mag called...."Paradise", I believe. Though she IS the centerfold in that one. But if she's still alive, she must be a grandmother by now.

The interesting subject in that photo really is the TIKI ! He was also used on Martin Denny's "Forbidden Island" LP cover, and on a Mills Bothers LP:

PLUS in this B-movie:

That guy made some Hollywood prop rental place a lot of money back in the day! The girl !!? Sheez, dames in string skirts were a dime a dozen back then, it's the TIKI where it's at! :wink:

So are you doing a "Tiki Even More Modern" or "21st Century Tiki" book?

It seems there is a mega-mass of material, maybe too much, but there certainly is interest, what with Tiki Central and Mag....

My next publication is going to be a CD compilation of Exotica entitled "The Sound of Tiki", and then, the next book will be on Tiki and modernist Aloha shirts and Polynesian pop patterns, entitled "The Look of Tiki". .....I think I got a theme going there.

Big Bro, When is the "Cook Book of Tiki" being released? :)

That nook of Tiki (excuse the pun) is the expertise of my close friend and collaborator Jeff Berry and his lovely wife Aneene, and has been explored in their tome "Taboo Table":

http://www.amazon.com/Beachbum-Berrys-Taboo-Table-Berry/dp/0943151996/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255109614&sr=1-7

I could do the "Shnook of Tiki" but that would be a very small volume.

Big Bro Tiki, good on you with the CD compilation; you could do a series (a la Ultra Lounge) or minimally, box set, with all the "Tiki-stuff" music out there.

The mind boggles with the quantity of fun music possible.

I don't have much to add, I just felt like chiming in and saying how much I dig TIKI MODERN. I got it abut 2 weeks ago, and wow, what a feast for the eyes. I'm only a novice collector, and seeing all that Witco stuff really blew my mind - they really pushed the envelope almost into self-parody with their later stuff. I also really enjoyed the photos of Barney West's work, I love his stuff.

I really like how the book widens its focus in a couple of chapters, to show how the Tiki movement fit into the Mid-Century Modern style, as well as how it was influenced by Modern Art. (a lot of the visuals in this chapter, along with some of the Witco sculptures, brought to mind the paintings of Richard Powers, who was a prolific sci-fi paperback illustrator of the 50s & 60s...he was very inspired by surrealists such as Yves Tanguy).

I think my favorite chapter though was on Sex and the Tiki...just 'cause I'm a red-blooded guy, I guess, and can't get enough of the wahines.

Looking forward to Sven's future projects, he sets a very high bar, quality-wise. Mahalo!

I also got the book "Arts of the South Seas" that same week (the 1946 book published by MOMA). Sven mentioned it in The Book of Tiki, and the recent Miguel Covarrubias thread inspired me to order it...another fantastic book. Very informative - seeing the styles of New Guinea, the Maori, Hawaii, etc., side-by-side was extremely eye-opening.

[ Edited by: Megalodon 2009-11-23 16:09 ]

On our vacation to Hawaii last week I was very impressed to find that a book of Tiki Modern resides at the Hyatt Regency in Waikiki inside the Regency Room which is a lounge that guests have their breakfast and evening cocktails at while overlooking the main drag of Kalakaua and The Duke Kahanamoku statue. Sorry I didn't take pictures, but I did see an elderly Japanese man definately have a moment of enlightenment while reading it one morning.

Aaaah, wonderful, there are Tiki agents everywhere! :)

Other favorite sightings include:

In the book store of the Berlin Dahlem Ethnographic Museum

And for the BOT:

The reading room of the Quai Branly Museum library in Paris

I guess I might have a record on this... Today I got it with 13 euros and 46 cents... new... laminated... So... What I really wanted to say: I'm happy.

Mjah... Now I've flip through the book... Too much modern art (that's why it's "Tiki Modern") and Witco style (which reminds me African style, not Tiki)... I guess that "Book of Tiki" would be better choice for me...

Someone should hop in a time machine and straighten that Witco dude out!

Hey the book has both words & pictures, So that's a real book to me!
Also it makes a good weapon......