Customer Reviews

Tiki Art Now!: A Volcanic Eruption of Art

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a small book. I expected more and have to say I was very dissapointed. While there is some good art from some good artists in this book, there is alot of amateur tiki art that is not worthy and you have to wonder why it is even in the book. What is the criteria for the tiki art in this book? There seems to be none, and frankly this book seems like a weak attempt to profit off the latest tiki craze. I do not recommend it to anyone. Compared to the other tiki books in my collection, this book leaves you very flat.

Technically speaking this is not a book, it is a catalog for an art exhibit. In reference to "the latest Tiki craze", I have a couple of comments: I (Otto) was the first person ever to curate an all-Tiki art show (1996 at La Luz); and this book is the first EVER catalog of a Tiki art show. So what you have in your hand is much more than a magazine, it is a piece of history. It is a survey of a variety of artists who were creating Tiki art prior to 2004 - artists who were ahead of the curve of "the latest craze."

I enjoyed the book, though open it again relatively rarely. But it's not some exhaustive survey, it's the artwork of a particular exhibition and that's it. Fun stuff, but look elsewhere for a broader overview of the new retro-tiki goodness.

This book is a collection of Tiki art from a sunny tropical art exhibit to smashingly hit foggy San Francisco. An amazing turn out was observed that night, where the crowds were spilling into the streets, and there was a line of people waiting for people to exit before they could be let in. There is a variety of levels of art in this book, where all aspire to share their love for the Tiki God. There are no Johnny come latelys to join the love of tropical drinks, tropical breezes and a Tiki God to admire. This is a good book to complete your collection of Tiki books.

Otto is no johnny-come-lately trying to profit off the Tiki craze--he sparked the Tiki revival 10 years ago, when he started "Tiki News." Many of us first learned that others were also into Tiki from that publication, which also introduced us to the Tiki work of Shag and others.

This is a great survey of newer Tiki art and is highly recommended.

Long before Sven was writing his books, or Tiki Central existed, Otto created Tiki News. For the sailor in Canada, you couldn't be more wrong.
Buy this book, and enjoy.