The Walrus Was Ralf
My friend, The Cartoonist, has amassed quite a collection of humorous sketches over at Konstantin's London Leben 'blog. I'm not quite sure why so many people had to die to make them though.
[Link: London Sketches]
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August 28, 2007
August 19, 2007
Ocean and Island Arts
One aspect of Polynesian Pop that I really enjoy is the way it's revitalized an interest in Oceanic arts, particularly in the area of wood carving. Some carvers stick to the traditional representations of Tikis, while some go for a more contemporary interpretation. Quite a few maintain 'blogs where you can follow the progress of their work. Two such artists are Greg Fairclough (AKA GMAN) and Fred Kroner (AKA Finkdaddy).
[Link: Ocean and Island Arts]
[Link: The Leeward Lounge]
August 12, 2007
Tiki Modern
If Beachbum Berry is the Messiah of Tropical Mixology, then Sven Kirsten is his Moses, leading the lost children of the Trader and the Beachcomber out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land flowing with Mai Tais and Puu-puu Platters. Kirsten's first tome was the Book of Tiki: the Ark of the Covenant, Ten (or more) Commandments, and veritable Pentateuch of Polynesian Pop. An essential, if not the essential, addition to the library of any Tikiphile, it almost singlehandedly rescued Tiki from near-total oblivion, and transformed a kitsch pastime for parental squares into, dare-we-say-it, highbrow lowbrow art for the most discerning of tastes.
After an interminable interval, Kirsten has announced the imminent arrival of his second work, Tiki Modern, a look at the artistic connections between PolyPop and mid-century Modernism of the 1950s and '60s. Slated to ship next month, Sven has graciously provided a sneak preview of his new masterpiece in this Tiki Central thread. I've got my copy pre-ordered!
[Link: Tiki Modern Sneak Preview]