5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
For the die-hard tiki fan, August 17, 2002
This review is from: Night of the Tiki: The Art of Shag, Schmaltz, and Selected Primitive Oceanic Carvings (Paperback)
If you're a die-hard fan of tiki culture and art, this book will make a nice addition to your collection, but I've seen better. The book was filled with a LOT of photos of ethnic carvings... many of them not too tiki-like in nature. The back of the book, however, has several terrific, whimsical Shag art prints, so that makes it worth a look.
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6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Tiki Book for All Seasons, December 4, 2001
This review is from: Night of the Tiki: The Art of Shag, Schmaltz, and Selected Primitive Oceanic Carvings (Paperback)
This is the best tiki book I have ever read, period.
Finally a book about tiki that is both entertaining, informative, and visually stunning. It approaches tiki from several different viewpoints, putting them all into perspective: the lounge-hipster scene, Art, Anthropology, etc.
The author is able to pull this off becuase he is a Cultural Anthropologist and a major player in the "New Brow" art scene as an owner of one of the most important LA area galleries in this catagory.
He and Shag, whose art is shown liberally in the book, have worked together for years.
The same can be said of his relationship with Leroy Schmaltz, the man who is responsible for much of what we in the Continental U.S. view as defining "Tiki", through his designs for Trader Vic's, et al. Much of his work is shown in the book.
The author is a world traveler, collector, and skilled photographer. His cultural photos are shown together with an abundant sampling of the authentic native artwork he has collected over the years.
Anyone interested in tiki from ANY standpoint, will certainly enjoy this book (even if they do nothing but look at the pictures).
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Art Fun: Tiki Facts & Lore, October 16, 2002
This review is from: Night of the Tiki: The Art of Shag, Schmaltz, and Selected Primitive Oceanic Carvings (Paperback)
A good read and a great look! Wonderful photos of the "real" tikis as well as contemporary re-incarnations in sculpture of Schmaltz and popular paintings by Shag. In a refreshingly non-academic style, the short readable essays offer lots of facts about the lovable, fascinating tiki icon past and present.
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