The Jungle-style Thread - Pop Culture Iconography of the Dark Continent

However, I can take no credit for the term "Mayan Revival Style", which was introduced by this wonderful little 1984 book:

http://www.amazon.com/Mayan-Revival-Style-Deco-Fantasy/dp/0826311431/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262844135&sr=1-1

.. the cover of which shows the Mayan Theater in downtown L.A. --which I photographed for Tiki Modern 20 years later.

Then there is

http://www.amazon.com/Pre-Columbian-Art-Post-Columbian-World-American/dp/0810929473/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262844640&sr=1-1

And the definitive book on my favorite 1920s architect/explorer, Robert Stacy-Judd:

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Stacy-Judd-Architecture-Creation-Style/dp/0884963519/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262844768&sr=1-1

I remember that a very elderly "Clarence the cross eyed Lion" was at lion country safari, Calif. when they first opened in Irvine.

Didn't I read that "Elderly" Cross-eyed Clarence sired many cubs in his tenure at LCS? Maybe he wasn't so elderly after all.

EDIT - Sorry, wrong disabled lion - "Lion Country Safari was given a big boost by an unlikely star attraction. An elderly, nearly toothless lion named Frasier came from a Mexican circus in February 1971. The old cat’s tongue dangled from one side of his mouth, and he had trouble walking. He may not have been much to look at as far as we humans were concerned, but the lionesses saw him differently. There was population boom of lion cubs at the park. Frasier’s sorry visage adorned tee-shirts and other park souvenirs. Frasier sired 35 cubs until his death in June 1972 at 17-20 years of age, equivalent to a human age of 85-100 years. Frasier even inspired a 1973 feature movie, Frasier the Sensuous Lion, rated PG."

[ Edited by: MadDogMike 2010-01-07 08:21 ]

Aaah, I remember Clarence from watching Daktari as a kid in Germany. On this album you can hear his cross-eyed sound effect:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=26173&forum=16&vpost=341766

...and I did document some African pop primitivism in that whole thread, if anyone cares to take the journey again:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=26173&forum=16

:)

On 2010-01-07 02:27, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
I remember that a very elderly "Clarence the cross eyed Lion" was at lion country safari, Calif. when they first opened in Irvine.

ATP,

The timing of your comments after BigBro's thoughtful academic commentary was one of the funniest posts you've done. :lol: It was like you were playing the opposite to his "straight man" in a comedy duo. Tiki Central would make a great TV show !!

Overall though I think we've managed to keep the thread on track.

Thanks for the book references Bigbro, I'm going to see if the first two are available at the library.

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2010-01-07 15:51 ]

Yes, John-O it has been a while since I used the Bettie Page Macro on my keyboard

Careful with that macro ATP, BigBro had the last word on the Jungle Girls here. He's since banished them from this thread. That includes Jungle Bettie. He knows we won't focus on the "ugly" furniture with all those distractions around. :)

Now give me a minute while I turn off the TV again, otherwise Mister Naufrago isn't going to come back.

He's gotten me really interested in seeking out more Miguel Covarrubias African wahines. Everytime I think I've found some they turn out to be really dark Balinese women. A trip to the libary is in order. Google is making me too lazy.

i think this is my favorite thread.... Tiki is coming full circle back to Exotica... luv it!

On 2010-01-07 15:50, JOHN-O wrote:

Now give me a minute while I turn off the TV again, otherwise Mister Naufrago isn't going to come back.

There´s no need to turn off the TV Johnn-O.
Just switch channels. :)
Check this RAI jungle masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAMZ6Yeu1F8

Neither is strictly necessary go to the library to enjoy some African inspired Covarrubias art.

http://catarina.udlap.mx/u_dl_a/acervos/covarrubias/elemento.jsp?clave=32150&nombre=africa_batouala_bocetos_dibujos_y_recortes

[ Edited by: Mister Naufrago 2010-01-08 00:35 ]

Wow Mister N., thank you for that Covarrubias archive link, 2480 images, jeez!

Aaaah, Miguel and Rosa in Bali, that must have been the best time of their lives!

Oh, and photos of Walter Spies, their host:

He was sort of the German Covarrubias -for Bali, at least. Here's one of his paintings:

http://www.adidharma.net/features/walterspies.htm

..but that's more Exotica material, back to African pop!

I'm not sure if this book was inspired by Africa proper or African America. I understand that Covarrubias hung out in Harlem as well as having traveled through Africa (What a life !!). Most of the posts here on TC focus on his Oceanic-inspired art so I'm glad this thread is giving a more comprehensive overview of his work.

I've located it in the LA Central Library's rare book section. I'm assuming that means I can't touch it, let alone make photo copies if it. :( Used copies on Amazon are going for over $500 !!

Thanks again, Mister Naufrago. I suspect the popularity of this thread is due to your (and BigBro's) posts. You've taken it in directions I hadn't imagined when I started it.

Or maybe people are just hoping ATP is going to post more Bettie pictures :D (Stop right there ATP, Stop !!)

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2010-01-08 13:30 ]

OK, so let's move the discussion from high-brow art to low-brow art.

As a young boy in the early 1970's, my family used to visit relatives in L.A.'s (primarily African American) Crenshaw district. I remember driving by businesses which had black velvet paintings displayed out on the sidewalk. The subject matter wasn't Polynesian wahines but rather large-buxomed Black women with huge afros. I'm sure there were other "Black Power" and African themes but I just remember the cheesecake. :)

Here's a "vintage" example that I saw on Ebay going for $500. Pretty cool Exotica, huh? (Although I question whether this painting is really that old. The date of creation was listed as 1970-1989 !!)

It is a nice kitschy change of pace from all of the white Jungle girls we've seen so far. We need more Black exotica girls !!. Here's Pam Grier in a rare non-urban role (And wearing the leopard skin no less. Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

The vintage stuff would be almost 4 decades old by now so I wonder how much of it survived.

I'd love to see this specific genre of velvet art comprehensively documented somewhere.

Well I don't think you will see that happen on Tiki Central, I don't expect folks that gather here to all of a sudden start pulling Afro-velvets out of the woodwork.

...there might be one or the other weirdo who does, but you might as well wish for Spanish-themed velvets!

(thank you for the lame excuse to show some gratuitous nudity :D )

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-01-09 10:30 ]

On 2010-01-09 10:24, bigbrotiki wrote:

.....I don't expect folks that gather here to all of a sudden start pulling Afro-velvets out of the woodwork.

One can only hope BigBro.

Besides maybe Sabu or Dustycajun have a secret collection fetish that hasn't been introduced here before? :D

I did discover this however. There's a velvet paintings museum in Portland called Velveteria that had a 1960's "Black is Beautiful" exhibit last year. Sadly this museum closed down this month.

Maybe this post might inspire some of the Tiki Revival artists here to focus their talents beyond just Tiki iconography. I'm not really a Tiki mug person but I'd buy a Pam Grier "giant afro" mug or a Mayan Princess exotica velvet painting. :)

...and where do you get this strange need from to continuously post and ask for all this non-Tiki related stuff on TIKI CENTRAL? I am all for expanding creative horizons, and discussing other influences and facets of Tiki, and toying with them, and I am gladly playing along as long as I see SOME connection to Tiki concepts somewhere, but Afro is Afro, Mayan is Mayan, and this not WORLD PRIMITIVISM Central.

Oh man, am I in the Tiki doghouse again ??

Maybe I'll move over to "Beyond Tiki" where it's safe. :D

BigBro, if you're going to police "General Tiki", then I gotta say there's a lot more bigger offenders than me.

On 2010-01-09 14:48, JOHN-O wrote:
Oh man, am I in the Tiki doghouse again ??

Maybe I'll move over to "Beyond Tiki" where it's safe. :D

BigBro, if you're going to police "General Tiki", then I gotta say there's a lot more bigger offenders than me.

Agreed, in terms of posting content that belongs into Food and Drinks, or Collecting, or any of the other forums, General Tiki sometimes seems like a free-for-all. But often, that misposting is is done newbies, and usually it is not done in this jumping-up-and-down-screaming-"Me,me,me!"-way.
And I am not policing, I am just giving my opinion, anybody else is free to do so ---but many many good folks here have already thrown the towel, I am just the most tenacious left, because I like a good discussion. Emphasis on GOOD, though. :D

I like a good discussion too....

On 2010-01-09 14:03, bigbrotiki wrote:
...and where do you get this strange need from to continuously post and ask for all this non-Tiki related stuff on TIKI CENTRAL? I am all for expanding creative horizons, and discussing other influences and facets of Tiki, and toying with them, and I am gladly playing along as long as I see SOME connection to Tiki concepts somewhere, but Afro is Afro, Mayan is Mayan, and this not WORLD PRIMITIVISM Central.

C'mon BigBro, even at the beginning of this thread you acknowledged we weren't talking about Tiki....

On 2009-12-01 19:05, bigbrotiki wrote:
No no, we know this is not a TIKI thread, but a side subject/ related/ Exotica thread. And scholarly shmolarly, this is visceral fun......

I don't think it's so strange to include "Afro velvet" discussion since a lot of those Black pride images were based on African iconography, i.e. the whole point of this thread. And isn't this type of exotica and black velvet art complementary to Tiki in spirit?

As for "my asking for things", I intended that to be taken rhetorically not literally. Sorry if it didn't come across that way. You did however give me my Spanish velvet image anyway. :)

As for TC not being WORLD PRIMITIVISM Central, are you saying we should avoid any discussion of Pop Primitivism which isn't Polynesian or Oceanic based? I gotta believe I'm misinterpreting your comment there.

And as for my continuous posting of non-Tiki related stuff, it was my original (non-Tiki) thread on Embers Lounge that lead to the identification of Frank Bowers as the artist for many of the Polynesian murals in pre-Tiki LA. If any of this stuff needs to be in "Beyond Tiki" please feel free to relocate the thread. I do however try to make the Tiki connection where ever I feel it exists.

As for the use of my name in the titles of my posts, OK I'll stop doing that. :) I didn't think people found it THAT annoying. I come from a Sales background, so I'm all about building a brand. For some of my other threads however, I am providing 90% of the content. I treat my Las Vegas and San Gabriel threads almost like blogs.

Anyone else care to comment?

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2010-01-10 10:10 ]

One of the things that drew me to Tiki was my interest in world cultures; their foods, their music, their art. Or maybe my lifelong interest in Tiki drew me to other world cultures, who knows? And yes, I understand that Poly Pop really isn't about Polynesian culture. But the fact is that Poly Pop has used imagery from many primative cultures, including African.

I have been reading this thread with interest, as have many other people (8,000 hits) - I haven't chimed in much because I didn't have anything intelligent to add :)

Sven, after close to 50 posts by bigbrotiki you seem to have suddenly soured on this topic; is that real or are you just giving John-O a bad time? Could this thread fit in "Beyond Tiki"? Sure, but I don't really think it's out of place in "General TIki" either. Seems that in 2 months and 8,000 hits, it would have be U-Moderated out if it bothered people here.

Mike

This thread is one of the better threads we have had...where I would definitely agree with Sven is that 70's black power imagery is not really consistant with "tiki" (even though there may be a connection to Witco)...but as far as 50's, early 60's era "jungle" imagery (and especially as it pertains to music and film) I think it is so close to the intent of tiki that it merits inclusion in this forum. As I read it, the purpose of Tiki is a lighthearted and frivolous approach to world cultures, as seen through a "hollywood" prespective of the mid-century.

All good points John-O. Kudos for taking the time to go back and find the right quotes from me. But I did not "suddenly sour" on this thread's concept, for me it is all about balance, and the right measure, which was getting lost, in my opinion.

On 2010-01-09 11:56, JOHN-O wrote:
I'm not really a Tiki mug person but I'd buy a Pam Grier "giant afro" mug or a Mayan Princess exotica velvet painting. :)

This kind of stuff was just leading away too far from mid-century pop primitivism, and thus Tiki culture. If someone would offer this material up with a concise history of its evolution and its parallels to Tiki and its time, wonderful, but I doubt that was going to happen. To just post far-fetched material because one is running out of the truly related stuff is weak.

Again, all this is just my personal opinion: I applaud what I like, and critique what I don't like, kind of like I pick and choose the material for my books. That's how one defines a style. The difference here on TC is you don't have to listen to me. :D I realize that my clout weighs heavier than others, but I cannot change that, all I could do possibly is shut up.

BigBro wrote "I realize that my clout weighs heavier than others, but I cannot change that"

:lol: I don't know if you should see a Doctor for your condition or stop rubbing it in, but what do I know,since I have been clout free since 2003 :lol:

[ Edited by: Atomic Tiki Punk 2010-01-10 17:04 ]

On 2010-01-10 11:12, bigbrotiki wrote:

......To just post far-fetched material because one is running out of the truly related stuff is weak.

Well it's like this BigBro, to me Tiki is just one of the many interesting roads among the different streets and avenues of mid-century pop culture. Sometimes I'm gonna take the opportunity to make an unplanned detour when the "car" happens to be near a fun neighborhood. Don't worry though, I haven't lost sight of the original destination. :)

With that analogy, I did have the opportunity this weekend to conduct some Tiki Central field work. I was in the vicinity of Pico Rivera, so I made a detour and took these photographs of the Lancer Motel that you had suggested earlier.

While I didn't get a chance to talk to the motel's management, one of the guests of this fine establishment was happy to speak with me:

"Hey, what the fuck are you taking pictures of !!"

Not to worry, I know how to charm unfriendly natives when on expedition.

With captured prize in hand, I capped the afternoon off with a celebratory Navy Grog at the Bahooka. There I ran into Mr. and Mrs. Sperm Whale and got a copy of the Hard Riders' CD. Nice !!

Well now I really am tapped out for ideas for this thread. I'm guessing this is my last post. I think however we can look forward to BigBro's Witco post to end all Witco posts.

It's been fun kids. Aloha !!

You left the Home Tiki Lounge to go outside!!! what!
John-O, never leave the Tiki Lounge! its scary outside!
please call us when you return to let us know you got back safe. OK,OK man!

NEVER LEAVE THE TIKI LOUNGE,NEVER!

This has been a great thread, I hate to see it go... :(

Hey this thread isn't going away. Please please keep it going.

I just need to get of the jungle for now. :)

Indeed. Thanks for going on that dangerous photo safari, John-O. Talk about the shield and spear logo! Wonder if it always was black and white. And those beams on the left edge of frame 2 and 4, they look like they could have supported an A-frame that connected to the building, making a roof over the driveway, no?

On 2010-01-11 09:11, MadDogMike wrote:
This has been a great thread, I hate to see it go... :(

We could use a drink to smooth things over.

Topic related drinks, of course. :)

I'm not sure I want to know what flavor "Wild Africa Cream" is :lol:

How about some Pistachio Creme then?

Instead of seeing elephants, you get visions of these nubile dancers!

The above cordial might be best imbibed in -- how could we forget!-- the classic Trader Vic's COFFEE DIABLO mug...

...which I was reminded of when finding this portrait of African American artist James Lesesne Wells from around 1930:

one of his prints:

....which I found in the book mentioned by Vern in this thread:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=35146&forum=1&5

The cup he is holding was on exhibit, too:

While not an exact replica, the Trader Vic mug certainly must have been inspired by it, or a cup like it:

A prime example of African to Polynesian pop cross-over!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-01-16 09:34 ]

How could we forget!-- the classic Trader Vic's COFFEE DIABLO mug...

...which I was reminded of when finding this portrait of African American artist James Lesesne Wells from around 1930:

(one of his prints):

....which I found in the book mentioned by Vern in this thread:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=35146&forum=1&5

The cup he is holding was on exhibit, too:

While not an exact replica, the Trader Vic mug certainly must have been inspired by it, or a cup like it:

A prime example of African to Polynesian pop cross-over!

And now that we are back to African art, I want to mention one of my favorite tribal art styles, which I was turned onto by my friend, Tiki artist Moritz R.:

The carvers of the MAKONDE create the wildest surrealist / modernist art pieces of any African culture group...

...for some reason German collectors are really into that stuff, maybe because it is so Hyronimus Bosch-like. Here is one guy's collection, amazing works:

http://www.tanzanian-art.de/Makonde/Collection_Thomas/index.html

...and another:

http://www.tanzanian-art.de/Makonde/Collection_Sebastian_Hansen/index.html

Wacky, mind-blowing stuff!

[ Edited by: bigbrotiki 2010-01-16 09:50 ]

AND last not least, to illustrate in what masses African art was produced for the tourist/ collector market, here's a place which also should be in this thread, Harry's Harbor Bazaar in the port of Hamburg, Germany:

More here:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=23491&forum=2

...and here:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=33736&forum=16&vpost=480146

WOW!!!

That's absolutely killer! I own about 5 masks at this point...I think I might spend a lot of money in a shop like that!

I was thinkin' that Lil' Lost Tiki would probably really like that Makonde stuff! :)

Spotted this clicking links on TC user zeta's site

http://arizaleta.blogspot.com/

[ Edited by: martian-tiki 2010-04-11 00:37 ]

Ha, now John-O has his 70s Afro connection!

On 2010-01-16 18:26, bigbrotiki wrote:
Ha, now John-O has his 70s Afro connection!

Don´t let that hairstyle deceive you Bigbro.
Rarotonga is a Polynesian princess.

She wore that that hairdo long before Cleopatra Jones and other soul sisters.
Sorry John-O... :)

We too have forgotten another great Spanish mug. It even had an American cousin.

And I suppose we could too consider monkey mugs as jungle style.

The photos for this cover of my band "Der Plan" were taken in 1988 in the original Harry's Hafenbazar, when it was still in the Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse. The album came out in 1989. The English translation of the title is "The Whip Of Life"

Der Plan • Moritz R® • FlickR®

[ Edited by: professortiki 2010-01-18 00:22 ]

Marais & Miranda were home-based in Hollywood, CA. Joseph Marais had lived in Capetown for a while. His field studies of original African music resulted in a unique adaption with a mix of English and African lyrics that he sang in duet with Miranda. Best represented on their album Go Native, that was recorded at the BBC studios in London.

It's a good year to dig out these unusual Exotica for the soccer world cup 2010 hosted by South Africa.

On 2010-01-16 18:21, martian-tiki wrote:
Spotted this clicking links on TC user zeta's site

http://arizaleta.blogspot.com/

Hey! martian-tiki! I might have to sue you for stealing pictures from my long time abandoned blog! So expect a visit from my legion of lawyers! :evil:

On 2010-01-17 12:31, professortiki wrote:
The photos for this cover of my band "Der Plan" were taken in 1988 in the original Harry's Hafenbazar, when it was still in the Bernhard-Nocht-Strasse. The album came out in 1989. The English translation of the title is "The Whip Of Life"

---

Der Plan • Moritz R® • FlickR®

[ Edited by: professortiki 2010-01-18 00:22 ]

Uber cool! I want a copy of that record!

On 2010-01-16 18:21, martian-tiki wrote:
Spotted this clicking links on TC user zeta's site

http://arizaleta.blogspot.com/

On 2010-01-17 03:42, Mister Naufrago wrote:

On 2010-01-16 18:26, bigbrotiki wrote:
Ha, now John-O has his 70s Afro connection!

Don´t let that hairstyle deceive you Bigbro.
Rarotonga is a Polynesian princess.

She wore that that hairdo long before Cleopatra Jones and other soul sisters.
Sorry John-O... :)

I think you are both wrong. Or right! I think it is both.
Is it a very good documentation for character design from the artist?
Is it just a coincidence?
synchronicity?
Life imitating art?
Or maybe the artist was in love with the legendary Mexican exotic dancer "Tongolele"?

On thing is for sure, this disambiguation/theory deserve another forum.:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=35225&forum=1

Further research on "Rarotonga" the Mexican comic book will be posted here:
http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=35226&forum=1

[ Edited by: Zeta 2010-01-19 10:58 ]

[ Edited by: Zeta 2010-01-19 11:00 ]

That is tooo funny! (especially with your tag line!) Is that a South African tourist record?

You know, the witch doctor and the natives don't really look like this any more nowadays, they rather look like THIS:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcGKak2qye8&feature=related

Equally or more bewitching, though... :D