Tiki or not Tiki

OR start a thread on POP PRIMITIVISM, which incorporates American Indian, Pre-Columbian and African decor concepts. Below is a 1965 L.A. Times article excerpt about a house tour which proves how these styles were en vogue and co-existed all at the same time from the lat 50s to the 60s (and must have been mixed somtimes too)--as I pointed out in Tiki Modern:

Mahalo to Nichols for this find. :)

... Sounds like a nice crib! Like living in a Museum. Melting pot of cultures and all that. It is interesting that the pinnacle of Modernism, Classic Americana, hey day of capitalism,(1945 end of world war II) is also the beginning of Post modernism, the decline in many aspects, quality, "values" etc... Where everything goes... If you ask me, all those different Idols did it. It is Tiki's fault. Happened before with every empire, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mexico, Spain... All the exterior influence is great and make the empire grow stronger, until It ends up diluting the local culture... Pre-classic, Classic, Post-classic... Happened before, is happening now and will happen again, If the world doesn't end soon, that is. Now we are living in late post-modernism... Ramones and the Sex Pistols started it... Or at least that is my theory...
Enough coffee for me.

I found this in a flea market. I wouldn’t say that it´s Tiki.

I bought it mainly because I feel an almost irresitible attraction for ugly things with big earrings (for further details ask my psichoanalist), so I couldn´t help to spend a couple of € on it.
My first thought was that it´s from from Brasil or Cuba. Maybe even just plain euro-exotic stuff.
Browsing Ebay , looking for real tiki, I found his twin brother/sister listed as “vintage hand carved Tiki Hawaii Hawaiiana stand wood”.

The seller told me that it had attached some photos of what seems to be the previous owner´s trip to Hawaii.
I know that Ebay isn´t a reliable source of tiki information but, if little, doubts arise. Any help?

[ Edited by: Mister Naufrago 2009-02-24 13:16 ]

You are absolutely right:
A.) Sellers on e-bay will offer anything remotely primitive or mask-like as Tiki to raise its perceived value.
B.) Souvenir stores ANYWHERE (that includes Hawaii) will import any object from any country and sell it as their own culture's handicraft as long as it vaguely fits the bill.
C.) Why worry further where it's from, it IS just an ugly thing with big earrings.Or, my favorite genre description for tourist art, a "nameless piece of hacked wood". Now if that doesn't help you with your attachment problem. :D

i saw that wood piece above and instantly thought of the OMC earing mug used buy the Islander and the Tonga Room. The shape, and obviously the earrings are reminiscent. Can not say i know the origins of the design of that OMC mug though.

Sublime piece of horrible crap you got there Mister Naufrago! I wonder how much the seller PAID YOU for taking it away. Oh, Mister Naufrago, you have such a refined and twisted taste!

On 2009-02-24 18:04, bigbrotiki wrote:
You are absolutely right:
A.) Sellers on e-bay will offer anything remotely primitive or mask-like as Tiki to raise its perceived value.
B.) Souvenir stores ANYWHERE (that includes Hawaii) will import any object from any country and sell it as their own culture's handicraft as long as it vaguely fits the bill.
C.) Why worry further where it's from, it IS just an ugly thing with big earrings.Or, my favorite genre description for tourist art, a "nameless piece of hacked wood". Now if that Dean't help you with your attachment problem. :D

Well it´s more than an ugly thing with big earrings.
It´s an an ugly thing with big earrings and three faces.
I can´t help wondering the whys (impossible to find out)and the wheres (usually an easier question to answer) of this kind of stuff.

Giving it a second thought, that it probably doesn´t deserve, I found some similarities with this:

On 2009-02-24 18:14, OceaOtica wrote:
i saw that wood piece above and instantly thought of the OMC earing mug used buy the Islander and the Tonga Room. The shape, and obviously the earrings are reminiscent. Can not say i know the origins of the design of that OMC mug though.

OceaOtica, suppose you are talking about the spanish earing mug used by the Bali Hai in Madrid. :wink:

I found he/she pretty. :)

Here's one I'm scratching my head over. The materials look PNG-ish but the expression is not what I'd expect. It's all done on a tortoise/turtle shell.

Mister Naufrago the mug you have pictured is the OMC South Seas Deity mug, used at a few locales. I was referring to the mug in this link:http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=157, not identical, just exhibiting some interesting similarities, and a similar questionable cultural heritage.
Silverline, definitely from the Sepik area of PNG. The style of painting and shells, but also that tight weaving used as trim around diameter of the oval. Nice score!

On 2009-02-25 07:21, OceaOtica wrote:
I was referring to the mug in this link: http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=157, not identical, just exhibiting some interesting similarities, and a similar questionable cultural heritage.

Here's one from Tikicleen's collection - she has a great collection of Stockton Islander stuff.

On 2009-02-25 01:12, Mister Naufrago wrote:

On 2009-02-24 18:04, bigbrotiki wrote:
You are absolutely right:
A.) Sellers on e-bay will offer anything remotely primitive or mask-like as Tiki to raise its perceived value.
B.) Souvenir stores ANYWHERE (that includes Hawaii) will import any object from any country and sell it as their own culture's handicraft as long as it vaguely fits the bill.
C.) Why worry further where it's from, it IS just an ugly thing with big earrings.Or, my favorite genre description for tourist art, a "nameless piece of hacked wood". Now if that Dean't help you with your attachment problem. :D

Well it´s more than an ugly thing with big earrings.
It´s an an ugly thing with big earrings and three faces.
I can´t help wondering the whys (impossible to find out)and the wheres (usually an easier question to answer) of this kind of stuff.

Giving it a second thought, that it probably doesn´t deserve, I found some similarities with this:

On 2009-02-26 11:44, TIKI DAVID wrote:

On 2009-02-25 01:12, Mister Naufrago wrote:

On 2009-02-24 18:04, bigbrotiki wrote:
You are absolutely right:
A.) Sellers on e-bay will offer anything remotely primitive or mask-like as Tiki to raise its perceived value.
B.) Souvenir stores ANYWHERE (that includes Hawaii) will import any object from any country and sell it as their own culture's handicraft as long as it vaguely fits the bill.
C.) Why worry further where it's from, it IS just an ugly thing with big earrings.Or, my favorite genre description for tourist art, a "nameless piece of hacked wood". Now if that Dean't help you with your attachment problem. :D

Well it´s more than an ugly thing with big earrings.
It´s an an ugly thing with big earrings and three faces.
I can´t help wondering the whys (impossible to find out)and the wheres (usually an easier question to answer) of this kind of stuff.

Giving it a second thought, that it probably doesn´t deserve, I found some similarities with this:

Any Cuban TCer out there?
I need help. :)

Mister N., why fret? Now that we created a place for it, this simply belongs to this genre:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=31441&forum=1&20

On 2009-02-27 09:54, bigbrotiki wrote:
Mister N., why fret? Now that we created a place for it, this simply belongs to this genre:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=31441&forum=1&20

Do I seem worried?
Nah, just curious. :)
But you are right about the place for this topic.

I am just a newbie to TC, you know, and still find this forum thing too fast to follow.
Newbie to Afro-Cuban art too. Maybe that´s why I am being such a pest.

I picked this shirt up last year at a thrift store near the Hanalei.

They seem a little boxy which makes me think Latin America, but one of them is doing that ooooo thing that tikis often do. Hmm...

I think it is a case of This-is-supposed-to-be-Tiki and the artist not knowing better. The hands are very Tiki, too, but the head-to-body proportions are wrong.

My neighbor brought me this pair of ceramic figurines. They are too small and light to be bookends and a little large for salt and pepper shakers (no holes either). Anyone have any ideas? They look cool and tiki-ish when they are with my tiki collection. They have no markings.

I'd say TIKI 100% . They are Easter Island Moai. A bit stylized in design though. Not sure what they were made for. Maybe a tourist piece. Good find.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2009-03-12 04:30 ]

So I was checking out craigslist today and....

http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/clt/1077021102.html

I think someone should invite the poster over to tiki central...

aloha

That is hilarious Beachbumz!

Thanks, Uncle Trav, for the input on my earlier post!

Tiki or not tiki?

Two older wood carvings, orgin unknown.

Thanks,

PTD

Probably African (the braids), but a certain Marquesan vibe I would say.
Any help?

It's definitely Soul

LP
The Main Ingredient
Bitter Sweet
1972 RCA Records

On 2009-03-20 02:26, Mister Naufrago wrote:
but a certain Marquesan vibe I would say.

Wishful thinking? I'm just not feeling the vibe...

Buzzy Out!

On 2009-02-13 10:41, mfachman wrote:

I'd have that looked at. Looks infected to me.

Tiki! Says so right on the packaging.

Found this at an estate sale today, I thought it looked familiar but the estate sales person thought it was African.
Any ideas?

Tiki yes, but "fake" Tiki: I peg this to be a Poly-Asian carving of very recent vintage.

But it also reminds me of the Cannibal "mistake" Tikis that O.A. used to make:

I got this as a gift and what do you think... tiki or not tiki? The woods been stained and the back is slightly hollowed out in one spot, no marks. Well what do you think?

The body and head look tiki but the headdress(?) has me going back and forth between Latin American and tiki.

Not tiki.

My wife and I share the opinion that your nice piece is not tiki. I’d display it in my tiki space.
Cheers

Tikicoma, that looks South American to me

I think this thread is the best location for this find. Although I know what it "is" it seems perhaps to be something more. And while it isn't a Tiki, it might have the spirit of "tiki". Earlier this afternoon we came across this bust in a consignment shop. It immediately caught my eye and my wife insisted I buy it. I have seen more of the Lepanto Craft Phillipines "monkeypod" or phillipine walnut carvings of a young lady than I can count but Ive never seen this one before.

It is much more stylized with a long neck and the head turned up at a nigh unnatural angle.

Almost abstract when viewed from the front:

But when viewed from below or straight on it seems perhaps to take on another form altogether:

I'm pretty sure this is intentional, and these are rare for a reason. In any case as Sven explained in the Book of Tiki, (pg. 22) "tiki" can also mean penis, so while this isn't "Tiki" it is certainly MCM Polynesian pop. And it sure looks like a TIKI to me.

LoL, so it's...Diki?
:wink:

Ironic that it's erected in front of a velvet nude. :o