Miguel Covarrubias

when i first started to paint tikis and got into the loop here on Tiki Central i met some great people that introduced me to a few GREAT artists that i had no idea exhisted...that is a vague statement...

Sven took me through his/the book page by page...he told me that his favorite painter of tiki culture was a Mexican artists, Miguel Covarrubias...

while it is difficult to say what he is MOST remembered for, it is only because there is SO MUCH to chose from when it comes to "drawing the line" pointing to the paramount achievement left behind by this master...

his maps and murals may be his most remembered work though one could say that the massive scale they were generated on has something to do with that?

this map will surely be bought by a TC local due to this post...it shows the style of tiki bust generated by the ancient regions of the globe...GENIUS! and PERFECT for any bar...or livingroom...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3700269148&category=20143

there are a number of books that he did depicting cultures abroad that are FULL of colorfull (tiki/islandstyle) inspiration to me and others that have had the pleasure of knowing his artwork...THANKS SVEN!

i urge you to further explore his work at these amazing sights that give a limited profile on teh multitude of creations this man generated in one short lifetime...

http://biblio.pue.udlap.mx/museo/cova.html

http://www.shaneglines.net/illustrators/featuredartist/covarrubias2.html

see you at the tiki ti saturday night kids!

I can see the influence there!

Good call there, Miles. I think that map belongs into a real Tiki Bar...let's say... the HALE TIKI !
I think we all should put some money in the pot and donate it to Brad, I am sure he is swamped by the basic costs.

It's great tool to teach the uninitiated about Tiki styles.

On 2004-01-29 23:20, bigbrotiki wrote:

I think we all should put some money in the pot and donate it to Brad, I am sure he is swamped by the basic costs.

I'd be willing to put in a little ($5 probably maybe a little more). Normally, I'd offer a little more but w/ the grand membership, Gecko's mug, & trying to save up for my own biz, that's all I can offer at the moment.

(BRAD: read this as "I really want a Hale Tiki mug & t-shirt but I just can't afford one right now!" Best of luck.)

Chris

You guys are great. Chris, I will hold one of each back for you baby.

Mahalo,

Brad

That map is beautiful; i have gaxed upon it many times. Bigbro, thats a nice sentiment, i would be willing to do this. short of money right now, but will be working starting monday. put me down, contact me if you are spearheading this and want to talk money. i will be able to vewiw it in person as i get to georgia about two times a year.
thanks

truth be told and strong as thie sentiments may be that are being offered and exchanged in this thread...i'd like to move you all to NOT spending on this particular single unit...instead....why not WAIT and pay about double that for the entire SET of Covarrubias maps in it's portfolio case...they sell for not much more than $100 and raising THAT over a period of a month...maybe two is also about the amount of time you'd have to wait to see the whole set come up for sale on ebay...well worth it!

his books on bali and "art of the south pacific" are equally interesting...again Sven, thanks...TIKI TI SATURDAY!

Whatever happened to his murals in the Ferry Terminal in San Francisco? They recently refurbished the building but I don't know if they put the murals back.

I'm answering my own question as I did a little search and found out that the murals were given to the Treasure Island Development Agency in 2001. I called them and they said the murals are in storage and they have no current plans to display them as all the old buildings on Treasure Island need to be earthquake retrofitted before they can be opened again. So, it looks like it will be a while before they are displayed. I don't know why they don't just display them in the Ferry Terminal.

interesting and sad...murals are an art form that has been lost with the redevelopement of the world's living spaces...this is another instance of such a loss...the other one i find very sad is the Mary Blair mural that hung in Tomorrowland at Disneyland...

thank GOD for Pixar...i am gonna LOVE watching their stock and company SQUIRM and finally do a death rattle...

Miles,
I went on a tour of disney a couple weeks ago. The Mary Blair murals in tomorrowland were never removed, they are still there, they're just behind the stuff thats displayed now. The tour guide said they're in great shape.I think they should uncover them, very cool artwork.
Mahalo,
Al

disney has had too many cooks in the damn kitchen for about 60 years...NO SPARK!

a shame that those mary blair murals are breathing stagnating air behind a wall of stucco...they are so beautiful!

Welll...who's gonna bid on ond buy that Covarrubias map!? I have a srewy AOL connection that often does not open the e-bay pages even after hiTting refresh 5 times...

Ah!! A friend of mine has bid on that (I suspect as a Valentine present for me, as he knows of my desire for one of those).

Now if only edgeoftexas won't bid a billion against him...

Since nobody seems to be able to think out of the box ("me wanna fo me") I tried to get on tonight and got thru and placed a bid (froze right after, but got it placed)

On 2004-01-30 15:04, thejab wrote:
I'm answering my own question as I did a little search and found out that the murals were given to the Treasure Island Development Agency in 2001. I called them and they said the murals are in storage and they have no current plans to display them as all the old buildings on Treasure Island need to be earthquake retrofitted before they can be opened again. So, it looks like it will be a while before they are displayed. I don't know why they don't just display them in the Ferry Terminal.

The Ferry terminal has been totally gutted- there's no place there for them anymore - the big stairway was taken out. Besides, they don't fit with the fancy upscale farmers market (for farmers who grow little tiny glass jars of Meyer lemon curd and cilantro pesto). Really sad. I hope they're being well taken care of.

On 2004-01-31 23:24, bigbrotiki wrote:
Since nobody seems to be able to think out of the box ("me wanna fo me") I tried to get on tonight and got thru and placed a bid (froze right after, but got it placed)

Sven! Me wanna for me too, badly! That fellow you bid against was bidding for a present for me :( (I'm sorry I didn't make that clear)

alice b

[ Edited by: formikahini on 2004-02-04 17:41 ]

Eek!

OK, now Baxdog's bidding on it. It's a free-for-all! May the higher bidder win. (I just hope it's a TC-er!)

Brad.....we have one of those and would be happy to donate this to Hale Tiki if the ebay winner does not donate their copy. Ours is not in the best condition, a bit faded from sunlight and some surface scratches.....but let me know and it is yours! O.K?

Aaaah!- The Tiki taketh and the Tiki giveth!

Ron, that is so cool of you...I just thought a Tiki map would give Brad's place that neccessary armchair explorer touch!

Better put it behind plexy, Brad...

One thing that is strange about that map is when you see it up close and even in TBOT you'll notice that it is divided in quarters just like someone unfolded a road map and framed it. I often wondered if the intention was to create that effect or someone made a litho out and didn't bother to clean up the creases.

Waikikian Tiki Gardens http://members.tripod.com/gregg-n/waikikian_tiki_gardens.htm

On 2004-01-30 16:25, Alnshely wrote:
Miles,
I went on a tour of disney a couple weeks ago. The Mary Blair murals in tomorrowland were never removed, they are still there, they're just behind the stuff thats displayed now. The tour guide said they're in great shape.I think they should uncover them, very cool artwork.
Mahalo,
Al

Hey Al -
not to be a big know-it-all, but that ain't true.... The tour guide was feeding you the company line. My old friend Dug Miller got quite a few of the original tiles when they tore it out for the "new" Tomorrowland done in 1998.... If there is anything under there, I would be very surprised. Disney has a long history of trashing signifigant parts of the park....

On 2004-02-05 09:26, naugatiki wrote:
One thing that is strange about that map is when you see it up close and even in TBOT you'll notice that it is divided in quarters just like someone unfolded a road map and framed it.

Good eye there, naugatiki! The reason is that Miguel Covarrubias DID paint the maps on panels, to preserve them. He invented a flat duco lacquer with a nitrocellulose base. He diluted his medium with lacquer thinner, added pure dry pigment, then applied that combination to his masonite panels. Each brush stroke embedded particles of color into the lacquer; when the piece dried it was hard and water resistant, the color sealed inside a clean, clear shield.

This is why they survived the tearing down of most of the SF Expo buildings on Treasure Island, they were simply dismounted. But this is also why the Tiki map is declared as lost, the only one not returning from a loan of all six maps to the New York Museum of Natural history only years after the SF Expo closed.

Somewhere there is an Oceanic art collector that has a nice mural in his den...or it lies packaged in some storage, collecting dust, like the Ark Of The Covenant in the ending shot of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (always reminding me of what vast amount of Oceanic art treasures lie in the vaults of the world's Natural History Museums, undisplayed because of lack of space and budget).

Luckily the Tiki map was massproduced and printed for years in poster form together with the others.
Let's just hope the 5 maps now in storage will not suffer the "Ark" fate of oblivion. Let's keep on top of that, kids!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2004-02-05 11:09 ]

That gives me an idea...how about a thread entitled "Tiki Central Museum of Oceanic Art" where members here can post photos of the real thing, I.E. genuine Pacific Rim pieces that, being in their home or in their private collections, would otherwise be seen little by other people?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3658860112&category=21105

there is VERY little doubt in my mind that this beauty was created by none other than MG...he did later Dole ads...the value's diffusion looks like his stuff...EITHER way this is an amazing ad for Dole Pinapples...

for the serious collector ONLY!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3703017874&category=20121

On 2004-02-05 11:00, Tangaroa wrote:

On 2004-01-30 16:25, Alnshely wrote:
Miles,
I went on a tour of disney a couple weeks ago. The Mary Blair murals in tomorrowland were never removed, they are still there, they're just behind the stuff thats displayed now. The tour guide said they're in great shape.I think they should uncover them, very cool artwork.
Mahalo,
Al

Hey Al -
not to be a big know-it-all, but that ain't true.... The tour guide was feeding you the company line. My old friend Dug Miller got quite a few of the original tiles when they tore it out for the "new" Tomorrowland done in 1998.... If there is anything under there, I would be very surprised. Disney has a long history of trashing signifigant parts of the park....

Hey - maybe I was wrong on this one! This morning MiceAge also posted an article mentioning that the Mary Blair mural is still under there....

Quote:
The photo below taken late last year shows what is there now - there were metal panels installed covering the tile which were painted over by an Eddie Sotto designed mural during the last Tomorrowland makeover. There is no word yet if there will be any additional changes what with the new Buzz Lightyear ride going into the building it sits upon.

I wonder if the other Blair mural that used to be on the Star Tours side is hiding under metal panels as well...?
And how did my friend get pieces of the mural if it was "saved"....?
Ah, the mysteries of life....

The mural over on the Inner Space wall is still there! Yes, Dug Miller did save some pieces. They had to dig out some holes to but the metal things that hold the new Star Tours mural. So, a few holes created a few "saved" pieces for Dug to sell on eBay. If they ever wanted to restore it (I doubt it) they would have to patch the holes up and presto! If they did that, it would be good if they also tored out Star Tours and restore Inner Space back where it belongs! Damn you Baxter! Just kidding...

Ahhhh - give Tony a break. He didn't have much choice there....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3713558013&category=20143

somebody is about to score with this BEAUTIFUL badboy!!!

Anyone in Texas may want to check out this exhibition on Covarrubias:
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/current/2004/covarrubias/

VERY cool, thanks Tang, ordered the book. Me big fan of the man, him evolving from artist to collector/archeologist of primitive art.
(... having lived the life d'artiste in 1920s New York before.)

[QUOTE]

...Moreover, many of Covarrubias's other accomplishments in design, arts administration, book illustration, and as a collector are activities insufficiently grand to interest anyone but social historians. Even in the fields of museology and archaeology, the singular collection of Olmec artifacts that Covarrubias and his wife acquired has been dispersed among the holdings of Mexico City's National Museum of Anthropology in such a way as to lose the "collection" as a unique cultural icon, the mark of an inspired and particularly learned collector.
[QUOTE/)

...will this happen to the great mug collections, too?

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki on 2005-03-07 18:59 ]

Wow, thanks Tangaroa!

I'm going to be in Austin for SXSW in 2 weekends and I'll see it then. I probably would have been clueless had you not written this! Much obliged!

alice b

No prob - I wonder if they will show any of his Polynesian Maps?

If not, I'm gonna raise a BIG stink about how the show is soooo incomplete!!!

On 2004-02-19 11:11, Tangaroa wrote:
Quote:
The photo below taken late last year shows what is there now - there were metal panels installed covering the tile which were painted over by an Eddie Sotto designed mural during the last Tomorrowland makeover. There is no word yet if there will be any additional changes what with the new Buzz Lightyear ride going into the building it sits upon.

I wonder if the other Blair mural that used to be on the Star Tours side is hiding under metal panels as well...?
And how did my friend get pieces of the mural if it was "saved"....?
Ah, the mysteries of life....

Just an update - my friend Eddie Sotto emailed me last night to let me know he DID NOT design those murals that cover up the Blair artwork....

I should have known better than to trust Al Lutz information.....

This past week I was able to purchase a print of the Covarrubias print 'Art Forms of the Pacific Islands' from an antique dealer in the North Beach area of San Francisco.

Being a Geography major, and an ex-cartographer, I am quite enthused about finally seeing this map in person. Because the previous ebay links to this print are no longer valid, I decided to share with you some images and details of this print, so others can appreciate the artistry involved. I believe the measurements of my print were 25" x 38".

I do think that the hatching of the ocean regions is very well done - also, as mentioned before, the mapfold-like lines are the actual dividing lines between the individual panels of the mural.

I also did some quick internet research, and discovered that the San Francisco Treasure Island Development Authority will next month be sending/loaning the five existing Covarrubias murals to the Mexican government, who will perform the necessary cleaning and restoration required before the murals can be displayed. After restoration, the murals would be displayed in Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara before being returned to San Francisco (most likely Treasure Island)in December 2006 - but if a new building to display the murals is not built by then, then they could temporarily end up in Mexico City's Fine Art Museum.

Vern

Thanks for the update, Vern. For years these maps were one of the best kept urban archaeological secrets at the SF port.
It was great to see them in full scale. Hope they will get their butt in gear and build that building so they can be re-displayed.

Great thread, congrats on your find Ikitnrev, if only there was a few more of those prints around, sigh, well maybe with the brighter future of the murals to come maybe we can hope that someone will do a new print.

hey Vern ~ (and the rest) i have a 2 part article written by Sven from 1995 in La Pasifica Magazine about "The Origin of the TIki Map Tradition".

i've scanned the pages, but they're impossible to read if i post them here as an photo.

email [email protected] for a .jpg file.

Here's a nice pen & ink by Miguel

Thanks bongofury, is that an ad? I see the box, and I see the moais, but don't see the relationship. Any idea what gives?

-Randy

This was an ad for the Container Corporation of America (before that meant ship containers). There is an open cardboard box on the left of the big Moai (small title on the right reads: "Giant, ancient monoliths of Easter Island"), and the slogan on the left reads:
"No land is strange to U.S. paper packages today"

(Ha ha, the figure in the back strikes a pose similar to Jeff Berry's film hero in his "The Secret of Easter Island")

There's a new book out with Covarrubias' artwork from Bali.

http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/article/0,13673,501060123-1149408,00.html
http://budplant.com/product.asp?pn=CVH

[ Edited by: thejab 2006-06-08 14:06 ]

Here's an auction from several weeks ago: http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-MIGUEL-COVARRUBIAS-FIJI-CLUBS-1930_W0QQitemZ7416346476QQcategoryZ4172QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Oh, cool. This reminds me that years ago I found the original book at a used book store for only 40.- bucks, because the cover was damaged...so I did not buy it, only to find that it is now unaffordable.

Also very nice are his Marquesan illustrations in the book club edition of Melville's "Typee"...some of them influenced by his Bali work.

I also wonder if Covarrubias' Balinese portraits inspired Tretchikoff to his Exotica girl series.

There is a current show of Covarrubias's work in D.C., on display until July 7th, (2006) I have not visited it yet, but plan to do so soon. I believe the exhibit is only on display on weekdays during regular business hours.

Here is the relevant info

May 3-July 7:
Cultural Institute of Mexico
2829 16th St. NW
Washington, DC

• Information: 202-728-1675
• Price: Free

Editorial Review
The Institute's first-floor galleries focus mainly on Covarrubias' black-and-white carciatures. Benny Goodman, Joe Louis and Walt Disney are among those skewered by the artist's pen in these line drawings.

Upstairs, the exhibit busts into color with some of Covarrubias' anthropological works from Bali (where he traveled with his wife Rosa) and his expressive works from Harlem jazz clubs. The exhibit moves on to showcase facsimilies of Covarrubias' well-known carcicatures from Vanity Fair. The "Impossibile Interview" series is the highlight of the Vanity Fair work. In these drawings, the artist and writer Corey Ford imagined a conversation between such wild personalities as Joseph Stalin and John D. Rockefeller Sr.

Also on view are books that Covarrubias illustrated and documentary films about the artist's life.

Vern

Click this link for a 20-page PDF about Miguel.

http://www.mexicanmuseum.org/dynamic/download/CovarrubiasCurriculum.pdf