|
What
is Tiki?
The American Heritage Dictionary defines a Tiki
as “a wooden or stone image of a Polynesian
God.“
While
fans of Tiki Style might border on religious fanaticism
in their love for all things Tiki and their obsession
for collecting mugs and menus, the Tikis they worship
are wholly American artistic creations. |
|
|
Tiki
Style was forged in the business of bars and restaurants
and celebrated in backyard Luaus and at theme parks
like Disneyland and Tiki Gardens (a roadside attraction
in Florida that flourished throughout the 60s and
70s). As these ersatz Shangri-las competed to outdo
each other with the latest tropical-inspired styles,
the neighborhood Tiki bar’s popularity surged.
The bamboo bars that existed throughout Los Angeles
and other major metropolitan areas in the 1920s and
30s offered standard cocktails and sometimes featured
Hawaiian music played by a local band. But when Don
the Beachcomber struck gold with his over the top
version of the South Seas bar others in Hollywood
and across the US followed suit. While Donn Beach’s
exotically renamed Chinese food and potent rumbased
drinks like the Zombie were not Polynesian, they were
a fine example of American entrepreneurial skill. |
With
the help of South Seas mania in the form of Norwegian
adventurer Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon Tiki voyage
(1947), Ex–GI James Michener’s #1 best
seller and Pulitzer Prize winner “Tales of the
South Pacific” (1949), and the US government’s
advertising campaign for Hawaii Statehood in 1959,
the stage was set for Tiki – American style.
In the 1940s and 50s Polynesian carvings and other
artifacts were replicated from the few reputable art
books available on Primitive Art and South Seas Art. |
|
|
|
|
|
As
Tiki fever spread across the country and the need
for Tiki art increased, these second generation artifacts
were interpreted by a new group of artisans and became
third generation carvings. By the 1960s carvers and
décor manufactures were pushing the boundarie
of Tiki Style and creating objects that had little
or no basis in Polynesian arts. Thus an American folk
art movement was casually born out of backyards and
small manufacturers’ shops. [Contrary to the
popular folklore history of any good Tiki bar, the
artifacts found within were not imported from the
South Seas but created right here in America.] |
|
|
|
Today,
the umbrella term Tiki is used to describe the entire
gamut of Pan Polynesian arts that were applied in
restaurants and bars from the late 1930s to the mid
1970s. I prefer to call it Tiki Style and refer to
it as a bona fide art movement. “Book of Tiki”
author Sven Kirsten dubbed it “Polynesian Pop.”
Whatever you call it, it’s back and it’s
getting bigger. |
|
|
|
Otto
von Stroheim
Show Curator |
Resurrection
of the Tiki Scene
I have witnessed the Tiki scene grow from an unorganized,
scattered band of thrift shop combers scavenging the
last remains of the once-numerous Tiki restaurants
to and internationally and commercially recognized
movement. In the mid-1980s the number of Tiki devotees
in California could not have numbered more than a
few hundred. Back then Tiki was not a buzz word, a
genre, or even a category to be collected. It was
not even a sub-category of Hawaiiana. Trying to explain
to flea market and antique mall dealers that you were
looking for Tiki mugs might have taken several minutes
– even if the dealer specialized in restaurant
ware or Hawaiiana! In the late 80s and early 90s in
Los Angeles an enthusiastic nucleus of collectors
and preservationists hungry for Tiki lore didn’t
extend much beyond Sven Kirsten’s living room
slide lectures or my own annual backyard Tiki parties.
With the launch of Tiki
News magazine in 1995 and the publishing of Sven’s
tome “The Book of Tiki,” there has been
a growing resurgence in this once-forgotten genre.
Now, in the year 2004, Tiki devotees number in the
tens of thousands. |
|
The
Coming of a New Art God
While Tikis appeared regularly in cartoonist’s
panels and underground art, no one had recognized
Tiki Style as a movement or gathered these homages
into one themed show. With Tiki News I began covering
and promoting artists who were creating new Tiki
imagery. In 1995 and 1996 I threw a series of exhibits
featuring the work of the Tiki News cover artists,
some of whom are part of “Tiki Art Now!”.
In 1996 I co-curated “20th Century Tiki”
at La Luz de Jesus Gallery. It was the first Tiki
art show ever and spawned many others around the
country. The success of that show and the publicity
it generated sparked the new Tiki art movement.
At that show, Mark Ryden exhibited a career-defining
piece, “Exotica”; The Tiki Tones played
to an unbelievably packed house; and Shag
emerged as one of the top Tiki artists. Since 1997
when I curated and produced an informal Tiki art
show in a San Francisco restaurant/nightclub I had
been dreaming of bringing a huge group show to Northern
California. After years of watching the Tiki art
scene grow I am proud to announce “Tiki Art
Now!” – Modern Art from a Primitive
Time.
- Otto von Stroheim |
|
Show
Samples above and below. To review entire collection
browse the Group
Portfolio. |
|
|
|
|
Browse
the Group
Portfolio to see all of the Show.
|