my latest project... guerrilla tiki..

so yeah, I have been thinking of doing this for years. Now I finally am, and I'm havin' a lot of fun in the process...

basically I made a few efforts to figure out who I might speak to in local government to get an "OK" to do this, and got nowhere, so I just said "fuck it" and started doing it anyway.

Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission... or neither... lol...

anyway, here are the first 4 GUERRILLA TIKIS... all in Tampa Fl...

Nice work! Any feedback in the news?

DC

Haha, that's badass! Sorta like taking street art to another level with street sculpture. :) How long approximately do one of these take and are you doing them in secrecy at all or just in broad daylight?

Very cool!
I do guerrilla gardening and seed bombing and I've toyed with the idea of placing random tiki's in street medians and other areas that need sprucing up. Buzzy makes bargain bin tiki's and I think they would be good candidates since they look like classic tiki's.

not hiding from anyone, I do 'em in the open. I just pull up, throw my stuff together, cut one & run.... I try to knock 'em out quick so I don't have any cop hassles... not that I think I am doing anything wrong, but I technically, I may be breaking the law here... lol...

This was originally done as a prank/birthday present/guerrilla art project in Pasadena, CA. The city wanted to take it down, but the public fought back and said they wanted to keep it. It's an 18 foot fork in the road.
Anyway, I love your guerrilla tiki project. Keep it up!

Indeed! More folks should do this! And your Tikis are really nice ones, you have the knack for it! I especially like the last one.

You should make up some kind of manifest, for when any press (or cops) pick up on this, like so:

"Once Tikis used to be numerous in Florida, now they are almost extinct. This "Bring back the Tikis" project is dedicated to rekindling the positive mana that the Tiki idol brought to the people. Long live the American Tiki tradition!"

…or something like that :D

This is awesome, driving around LA, I always thought someone should do this. I would, but I lack the necessary carving skills/ equipment. Hopefully this will catch on as it's way better than those awkwardly tall stumps.

oh yeah, I left a few "freebies" behind on the last one just to make things interesting... lol...

I'll probably keep doing that...

#5 is gonna drop here in a couple of hours...

Very cool Jeff!!!!

Very cool. Nice work. So are these trees that have had a portion removed and a portion left behind and you are just finding them?

#5...

downtown tampa!!! lol...

This all is so cool! You totally rock!

On 2014-09-10 09:58, pjc5150 wrote:
...
Sometimes it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission... or neither... lol...

...

For something like this, you are definitely right. As they say, "To seek permission, is to seek denial."

More More More!!!! :D
That's Killa bra!!

I hope you wear a mask, maybe even a big "T' on your chest
nice work!

A couple orange cones and a vest and you'll never be hassled!!! Keep up the good work Jeff!!!

Good thinking, Ben! I once (35 years ago!) liberated a vintage Coca Cola sign from a closed storefront by wearing red overalls and carrying a ladder.

On 2014-09-11 06:38, RevBambooBen wrote:
A couple orange cones and a vest and you'll never be hassled!!!

I thought the same thing - orange or yellow reflective vest, a cone or two, even a hard hat + goggles. The average joe might not question you anyway but could deflect any nosey law officer from doing a double take.

Uber props! Super cool, makes me and others super happy!

-Voodoo

That's more than awesome!!!!!!!

Ben is a genius!

WOW. Love this. Your tiki carving skills are fantastic, too boot. Keep it up!

well, to be fair... I have made much nicer stuff, lol...

but when you're cuttin' and runnin', things must be kept somewhat basic...

I love your carve an run project...I agree cones and orange safety vest (with a big T on it) for Tiki Man. Keep up the great work.

reworking the first one...

it kinda looked like shit.

Thank God there are people out there like you doing this... makes the world a much better place!

Guerrilla tiki #6...

7 foot moai... Davis Island, FL...

and check out my buddy's son, photo-bombing the shit out of me.. lol...

that's great man. where are the others? PM me so I can look for them.

Are they starting to look like you,
or,
are you starting to loo like them ?

Or is it just me ?

life imitating art?

lol...

between a local charity benefit I'm hosting tuesday, the waves coming up wednesday, and 2 big job deadlines on thursday... I have a busy week, so there will not be as much guerrilla tiki activity as there was last week. but there will be more.... many, many more...

Will, I'll be down to visit here in a few weeks.. do me a favor and keep an eye out for dead palms on busy streets and such... I wanna drop a few in Ft Laudy... :wink:

so yeah, we almost got arrested yesterday... I may have to pay a fine or something...

anyway, guerrilla tiki #8 was carved by my protege Kevin Z... with me coaching & directing...it's a big 'un....

RENEGADE TIKI!!!

In the news:

"Tampa’s surf soul tiki artist gone rogue":

http://cltampa.com/politicalanimal/archives/2014/09/24/tampas-surf-soul-tiki-artist-gone-rogue#.VCSQDildWcw

Awesome article, thanks for posting Karl.

First the Police, then the press. What's gonna happen next???

Keep up the good works.

DC

I love this! Keep it up. I hope the government decides to support you, not fine you!

Parks and Rec.?! those guys dont do jack shit when developers take down grandfather oaks without a permit. ppfft!

You're turning into the "Banksy" of Tiki
If you ever come out to California, you have to hit my street!

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2014-09-25 17:59 ]

Nice article...you are carving your way to the 15 minutes of fame!!!

#9

Nice one!

what overpass is that- can you pm me where 7, 8, 9 are located?

On 2014-09-25 17:57, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
You're turning into the "Banksy" of Tiki
If you ever come out to California, you have to hit my street!

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2014-09-25 17:59 ]

This is the exact reference I was going to make!

This is some great work, friend! These are the GOOD vibes the community shouldn't have a hard time embracing (or ignoring, if it's not their thing). Not like some of the street "art" out there...

...I'll PayPal you $10 towards a fine, if they stick you with one, & you can hold me to it!

This is amazing...!!! Keep up the great work!!!

I really dig the idea of you leaving a few smaller freebies for the folks to nab up. We have something similar we are doing here in Austin for art in general. If you're on Instagram check out #atxfreeartfriday

Again this is too cool!!!

yeah, I'm gonna leave a few freebies at the scene of guerrilla tiki #10 tomorrow...

the dude from channel 8 news is coming to do a story on it & film me cutting it... :)

oh yeah, and I made this out of the other half of the log that I cut off the top when I got home... "the brothers Guanko"...

here at SST we are like the natives... WE USE THE BONES... and NOTHING IS WASTED... lol...

#10 a guanko in one of the ritziest neighborhoods in town...

#11 a moai in the 'hood...

I like to share with everyone. :)