new(modern) Vs Vintage(includes Authentic looking carvings)

I don't know about you but it really cheeses me off when I see poorly carved Cartoonish things that are passed off as Tikis (yes, I Know there are some good artists Out there) the stuff I am talking about is the overpriced pieces of crap.

Vintage is best if you have access or a large disposable income
(I don't have much Of either) reproductions (good repros as done by Oceanic arts) are excellent)

Remember Trader Vic got to be the best because he had good sense and knew if you serve the highest Quality you get the best customers.

Put two and two together.

Aloha Nui Nui- Talkie-Tiki

I know what you mean - I am very picky about my tikis - when I see one I either love it or hate it! I think Crazy Al does some of the best current work around - check out his site: http://www.tikimania.com/

There are some (I was gonna say the style - but I don't wanna get flamed!) in a local shop here in Montrose - they are awful! If you are going for a cartoony style - at least give some some sense of polynesian design behind it!

Don't make it look like Edward G. Robinson fer chris-sakes....

I was at the swap meet at saddleback college,(a must see if you live in So Cal) and, I came across two older tikis. one was two feet long, the other a yard long. The vendor told me they were Koa (maybe???). She wanted $900.00 for the set. If I took that $900.00 to Oceanic Arts, Geko, C.C. Ryder Chiki Tiki or Crazy Al I could get way better Tikis. The woman said "Tikis are Hot". Whatever. I have seen many lousy Tikis that are relatively, way over priced. If your going to buy, educate yourself on what's out there.
Al.

[ Edited by: alnshely on 2002-09-26 08:08 ]

Yeah!

Hello all, I am new to tikiroom, but have been following the scene quietly, until now. I just wanted to say that I have seen pretty "wack" tikis out there, but I guess there is a style for everyone. Just keep up the good work Crazy Al! Also, my martini glass is raised to you, Chiki Tiki. You've got style!

[ Edited by: muchomojo on 2002-09-26 01:11 ]

Bosko tikis are also a really good example of combining true Polynesian style and Polynesian Pop, not too much of either, and none are too cartoony. Gecko's tikis also have strong/good mana.

I mean I like all tiki styles, but if it goes too cartoony, it almost can't even be called a tiki anymore.

Don't make it look like Edward G. Robinson fer chris-sakes....

Oh Man! That's it! One of my last Luau Mugs, (my wife said looks like Stimpy) you pegged it! I am going to call it "Eddie"

I have Tiki's that I like, and pass on the ones I don't. I like many different styles, Cartoony and "Authentic". I like the diversity. My own stuff ranges all over in these categories, because Ku (as well as the other Kapu system figures) has already been carved in the Authentic style, so as an American artist, who was not alive or present during the pre Christian days of Hawaii, of which there is no written history, and only a few actual surviving examples, I can only be "inspired". Then again, there are "real" pieces in the Bishop Museum that seem cartoonish, and 90% of my "vintage" Tiki Mugs fall into the Cartoon category. I guess beauty is in the eye of the collector.

http://www.tikiking.com Neat Tiki Stuff
http://www.mp3.com/tiki_king Hear the King sing!

[ Edited by: Tiki King on 2002-09-26 09:30 ]

tiki, and everything else for that matter needs mad diversity.I carve tikis all the free time i have when not tattooing,drawing,painting, and get inpiration from everything from comic books to actual people.my shit comes from old B monster movies, big daddy roth, rat fink type shit, to just about anything I like.To only allow yourself to do anything that has already been done, and not go into new ideas, all our collections will be looking like. well, munktiki says it best " does youre shit look like everyone else's ECT..." who despite not sticking stricktly to tradition, I think are putting out some of the baddest mug designs out there today .i just know if we only repeat tried and true designs we will all eventually get bored and start collecting baseball cards again.not knocking on traditon ,my tiki collection is full of traditional looking pieces from all over.but i also have some cartoony "tikis' who were made by who knows who from who knows where, that I would never part with .to finish my rant I'll just say that I love carving tikis,monsters,cartoons,and hey maybe one day I might even carve a couple of crows a lady asked if I would do a while back ,if it's fun and I'm in the mood who knows? .any ways isn't this all supposed to be about having fun? "paddlin the canoe to hell" tikijaksin

I know what you mean - some of my favorite tikis are the Rolly Crump designs from the Tiki Room at Disneyland - and that's pretty cartoony! Still, some people push it too far - It's hard to explain!

I just knows whats I likes & whats I don't.....

Hello I am the witco inspired guy that carves totems. I have purchase a few books on polynesian art. The totems I carve dont really resemble oldschool tiki idols, but neither do any of the others I see on ebay or websites. Except for a few of gecko,s. If all art stayed the same this world would be a boring place with cave drawings all over it. I welcome and embrace change.

.....and then people would bitch even harder saying they ripped off their ideas!! It's a catch 22 for the artisans!!

Keigs20,

I think that's a bit of an oxymoron.

You say you welcome change, yet you're a Witco inspired guy.

I like 'em all. Well I guess that's a lie. I don't like cheap, quick knock-offs of traditional, or newer tiki styles. But beside that, I love to see what different artists do with tikis. They're not all good, but it's interesting to see peoples creativity.

I agree totally with Tikijaksin...for once.
I mean, creativity and originality of style should not be oppressed in order to create a "traditional" style carving. As artists keep evolving, and the popularity of tikis (maybe) returns, styles have to evolve with them. People will not continue to buy the same ole thing. (Hopefully, we already have it!)
We want old/vintage, we want new, we want different, we want original.

I feel that I'm just lucky to find a damn Orchids mug in a thrift store or see a guy carving tikis in his back yard.

While at the James Dean Run in Indiana, I bought a really neat bobble head made by Bopp'n Heads. His name is "Riky Tiky Tiki". Now, he IS cartoonish and rather untraditional, but as a tiki-lover, I could just not pass him up! I had never seen one before - and its so much nicer than some other bobble heads I've seen.

Plus, to be perfectly honest, I buy whatever the hell I feel like and whatever I can afford. I have a great deal of "vintage" and traditional stuff, but I do not limit my collecting to that, because I hope to grow older and be able to see my 'newer' pieces become vintage themselves. (And by vintage, I don't mean by Ebay terms, which is, what? 6 months old?)

Newer or non-traditional pieces can not depreciate the value of a collection to a die-hard collector. I love it all!
And I hope more talented people start making newer and different things that I have never seen before. It's always nice to say, "Wow! That is really neat - I wish I had thought of that!"

So Tikijaksin, I say "ditto". It is about having fun. It is about creating or collecting diverse items so all of our collections don't look alike. (What a sad, sad world that would be if we ALL had AlnShelys collection!) :wink:
And I am thankful that there are artists out there who DO different stuff.

-C.
:sheckymug: