Tiki Central Special: TIKI MODERN sneak preview

Size comparison TIKI MODERN vs BOOK OF TIKI

Thickness comparison....is bigger necessarily better?

Texture of cloth cover! Hmmmmmm!:

Witco World end pages. Aaaaaah!:

(We had to squeeze it a lil for it to fit)

Witco wood divider pages. Oooooooh! No not real wood, just a photo of it.

(close up of Outrigger sail)

The evolution of pop primitivism: From primitve art to modern art to popular graphics and decor:

Possibly the mother of all Polynesian A-frames:

The Hula girl's history:

Tiki TV:

Hala Kahiki etc:

Witco characters:

That's all, folks! :D

OMG Im gonna pee myself!!!!!!!

I'm gonna need a new motherboard on my laptop - this one's all drooled on...

All hail BigBroTiki, who has again proven his worthiness to be our Tiki God!

DAMN! Very much worth the wait.

BigBro: What time period would you say a MODERN TIKI would be.

Love those first couple of photographs. Witco wood.

I think my Witco hanging behind my bar may be looking over my shoulder at the computer screen! The book looks fantastic. Can't wait!

Congratulations, Sven. Looks like another instant classic! I gave you a nice plug over at PCL.

Sven - marvelous, simply marvelous. I'm already pre-ordered and can't wait my friend.

Thank you everyone! I am glad that I could deliver. :)

On 2007-08-12 15:27, teaKEY wrote:
BigBro: What time period would you say a MODERN TIKI would be.

Can't answer that in a one period time frame. Strictly speaking, the mid-50s to mid-60s were Tiki Modern's heyday, but that does not apply to stuff like Witco, which even in the early 1970s was still influenced by the mid-century modernism that the generation of post war artists like William Westenhaver were formed by. He continued to work in that style even after it was not in fashion any more.

Now it is being appreciated again. So even today I could call a just sculpted Tiki very "Tiki Modern", because it combines certain elements of Cubist, moderne and primitive stylization that were inherent in both: Original primitive art, and also in works from the 50s and 60s. I am talking about simplicity, elegant lines, and a certain degree of abstraction. I do not have a catalog of these elements for easy do-it-yourself, I just look and see.

Examples:

Tiki Modern mask, 1960s

Tiki Modern mask, 2002

Not Tiki Modern, simply Tiki

...I don't own any of the toothy grin or growl Tikis that overflow the Tiki revival nowadays. I consider these "Cartoon Tiki"....which is not my preferred style.

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2007-08-12 16:34 ]

Is Amazon the best place to pre-order?

I would say so, yes, they have a price that nobody can beat. Even I, intending to sell it myself eventually, for the Christmas season, will have to ask the regular store price that can only be made competitive by my author's signature. :)

Gimmee, gimmee, gimmeee - can't wait to get my grubby hands on it! Congratulations BBT! Your tease pics look beautiful!

Sven-

This is ultra mega exciting news. Thanks for the sneak peek.....those images definately have me wanting for more! Congratulations to you on this thrilling accomplishment. I know it has been a test of endurance. Come on September.......

Karbora

Danke Sehr, Grosse Bruder Tiki. Lesenfernungen!

Finally!!!

As soon as Tiki Modern is out of the closet, the Witco Bar in my shop will be for sale. 400.00 and it's yours! It was made for a female olympic swimmer back in the day. Lot's of history!!

Cool Beans Sven!

Very nice! Amy and I are looking forward to the new book.
-Duke

Wow! Congratulations! I can't wait!

Wow

I am being pulled more and more in to this tiki thing. That book is amazing!

I especially like that page that says:

"PARTI
The Evolution of Tiki Modern"

But shouldn't there be an exclamation point after the word "PARTI" ?

:—>

I want one :D

Looks fabulous- a worthy follow-up to the tikiphile's bible and well worth the wait.

Got mine ordered!

My wife and son pre-ordered my copy for father's day.........it looks amazing, i can't wait! Big Mahalo Sven!

The prophecy

What do Christian Icons have to do with Tiki Books? Sheesh!
Great preview bigbro! Looks like another incredible book!
Congratulations and thank you!

I always thought these guys had a real modern look even though a they've been around for a thousand years.

I wonder if you could classify them as reverse tiki modern.

I really should do a spell check once in a while. Fixed...I think.

[ Edited by: The Gnomon 2007-08-13 10:00 ]

On 2007-08-13 07:02, teaKEY wrote:
The prophecy

:) :) :) very cool TKey, I am flattered. To my mind, this kind of Christian icon collage fits in well with my whole ironic lingo of the urban archaeologist "unearthing remnants of a forgotten cult", and then "preaching Tiki to the uninitiated".

After all, we are having fun with some other peoples gods, so Christian Tiki fans should not be offended by having their icons used to have fun with, either. A lack of humor is the downfall of any religion in my eyes. As island myths tell us, Tiki the ancestor god had a great sense of humor, and I am convinced he would have loved all of this. In my world, it IS possible to have both at the same time, a sense of humor and a sense respect for a higher power.

Great Explanation BigBro!
now it all makes sense.... :D

On 2007-08-13 09:58, The Gnomon wrote:
I always thought these guys had a real modern look even though a they've been around for a thousand years.

I wonder if you could classify them as reverse tiki modern.

I would call them Tikis that are very modernist in their design, and reserve the term TIKI MODERN for appropriate examples from the 50s, 60s and on, like I was trying to elaborate here:

On 2007-08-12 16:28, bigbrotiki wrote:
....even today I could call a just sculpted Tiki very "Tiki Modern", because it combines certain elements of Cubist, moderne and primitive stylization that were INHERENT IN BOTH: ORIGINAL PRIMITIVE ART, and also in works from the 50s and 60s. I am talking about simplicity, elegant lines, and a certain degree of abstraction.

...another example of authentic traditional Tikis that are very modernist in their design are Marquesan Tikis:

The revolutionary "modernness" (as defined above) of authentic primitive art, (which had never been seen by Westerners before the 19th Century), was the very reason it was such an inspiration to the "moderns", the European avantgarde of the 1920s.

Thanks Sven for clearing "Modern" up. At first I thought your new book was just going to be on Witco, (even though it had the cover it did), then learned it was much more, which I was hoping for. With the word modern I was thinking products that sprung up after tiki's decline, but now I see that it's a look and not just a time.

On 2007-08-13 09:58, The Gnomon wrote:
I always thought these guys had a real modern look even though they've been around for a thousand years.

Actually that isn't what a Moai was suppose to look like hundreds of years ago. These pictured are probably more of a modern look than a finished moai with its white and black eyes in place.

[ Edited by: filslash 2008-09-20 15:46 ]

Simply Awesome Sven! Congratulation's !!!!

looks amazing. I can't wait too.

On 2007-08-13 11:25, bigbrotiki wrote:

On 2007-08-13 07:02, teaKEY wrote:
The prophecy

:) :) :) very cool TKey, I am flattered. To my mind, this kind of Christian icon collage fits in well with my whole ironic lingo of the urban archaeologist "unearthing remnants of a forgotten cult", and then "preaching Tiki to the uninitiated".

After all, we are having fun with some other peoples gods, so Christian Tiki fans should not be offended by having their icons used to have fun with, either. A lack of humor is the downfall of any religion in my eyes. As island myths tell us, Tiki the ancestor god had a great sense of humor, and I am convinced he would have loved all of this. In my world, it IS possible to have both at the same time, a sense of humor and a sense respect for a higher power.

I agree 100%

Here is another old mask (Papua) that looks modern IMHO:

Ray, thank you. But that mask, that can't be OLD old, like pre-contact, it must be 20th Century! It's very Tiki Modern indeed.

Ordered mine on Amazon today, can't wait to get my hands on this baby!

PTD

This looks incredible - thanks so much for all of your work on this new reference for us all, Sven.

On 2007-08-13 07:02, teaKEY wrote:
The prophecy

Inspired by the above collage, may I humbly (or rather quite un-humbly) suggest that these two tomes shall be henceforth referred to as the NEW Tiki Testament and the OLD Tiki Testament? :D

Amen

"these two tomes"

I guess that the resources in the book are from a different time but I think that Tiki Central members take these ideas and go forth with them. Along with the fresh connections and current narrations, these books are the living testament.

I was saying yesterday the Book of Tiki is lovingly known as the (BOT) so is the new book the BOT2 or MT.

Amen, Shalom, and all that jazz

Faaaabuuuuulus....I have pre-ordered and soooo looking forward to all the great pictures and intel. You're the best Sven!!!! :)

Congrats on the new book Sven I Know you are Very Proud of it and I Can't Wait to get my copy. If there is an Authority Anywhere on tiki in Any form, It's Certainly you. You have earned the respect of the tiki community worldwide and you deserve every bit of it. Thanks for giving us this book. Is there yet another one in those young bones?
HappyHappyHAppy

when i get excited i say oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy, like that. i can't wait. oh boy oh boy oh boy...

Mines been on pre-order for months.

Looking forward to the postman struggling up the garden path!

Cannot Wait!!!!!!

According to Amazon, TM is doing well with Germans!

#11 in Books > Nonfiction > Foreign Language Nonfiction > German
#37 in Decorating!

Hubba hubba! I want mine!