The first event of our series was on July/23. Tiki Trek: an architecture tour on Rosemead Boulevard. We met at Bahooka Restaurant at 7pm. This event was a cooperation with deLab and Popsicles for Everyone.
PRESS:
Curbed: "CurbedWire: Tiki Me? Tiki You! And Some Downtown Queries"
Wednesday, July 15, 2009, by Dakota
LA Weekly: "Los Angeles - Squid Ink - Pupu Platters and Flaming Cocktails with a Side of Design History: de LaB"
Monday, Jul. 20, 2009, by Jessica Ritz
Grub Street: "De-Lab's Tiki Trek"
July 16, 2009, by Hadley Tomicki
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Curatorial Statements
Los Angeles is a place for telling stories-- or at least mythologized as such. It exists in the imagination and persists so even when living here. But the mythology of LA isn’t quite congruent with the reality of the place. What is LA? Is it a city? Is it a region? Is it a space that exists in relation to where one arrived from?
This exploration of LA- a format I am calling place based story-telling- will use the built environment as the medium through which we explore Los Angeles. The hope is that in exploring its buildings, streets, sidewalks (and any other structure we can get in and out of) the stories of Los Angeles will emerge and we will better understand the place that it is or is not.
-Kyla Fullenwider, Curator
Tiki style - in all its complexity, past and present representations - offers creative inspiration on various levels. Exploring tiki in LA - where most of its diverse looks were invented - is the best way to discover what tiki is all about. Aside of the stereotypical images we know already.
Tiki, like most other pop cultural phenomena, surfaces our wishes and desires. Exploring the past fads of tiki culture in their historical context can open new understanding to the symbols of tiki.
I see tiki as a medium to get to know (American) culture through another dimension.
-Mirta Gilson, Curator
Newsletter Subscription
If you want to be informed via email about upcoming events and news, please send a blank email to newsletter@tikitown.org
For other information, please contact info@tikitown.org
This exploration of LA- a format I am calling place based story-telling- will use the built environment as the medium through which we explore Los Angeles. The hope is that in exploring its buildings, streets, sidewalks (and any other structure we can get in and out of) the stories of Los Angeles will emerge and we will better understand the place that it is or is not.
-Kyla Fullenwider, Curator
Tiki style - in all its complexity, past and present representations - offers creative inspiration on various levels. Exploring tiki in LA - where most of its diverse looks were invented - is the best way to discover what tiki is all about. Aside of the stereotypical images we know already.
Tiki, like most other pop cultural phenomena, surfaces our wishes and desires. Exploring the past fads of tiki culture in their historical context can open new understanding to the symbols of tiki.
I see tiki as a medium to get to know (American) culture through another dimension.
-Mirta Gilson, Curator
Newsletter Subscription
If you want to be informed via email about upcoming events and news, please send a blank email to newsletter@tikitown.org
For other information, please contact info@tikitown.org
Saturday, July 11, 2009
ABOUT Tikitown, USA
Unknown to most residents, Los Angeles was the birthplace and an essential and critical influence on Tiki culture. The first Tiki bars were built in California.
In August 2009 - as Hawaii celebrates 50 years of statehood - we will look at the remnants of the early Californian "tiki" style, its places and memorabilia: Hawaiian shirts, grass huts, hula dancers, leis, and the tiki themselves: totem-like representations of island gods.
PAST: August 21,1959. Hawaii becomes a state. Hawaiian statehood is a driving force in the emergence of Tiki and its subsequent influence on Southern Californian architecture, design and art. Fifty years later we look back at Tiki’s influence on Los Angeles and Southern California.
PRESENT: Southern California and more broadly, the US, is again in a culturally transformative period. Tiki is poised to be remixed for a new generation looking to escape, set aside responsibilities and reconsider the age of the consumer. Since the beginning of the current recession, there has been a resurgence of Tiki bars all over the country (See Wall Street Journal article also on resurgence of Tiki). What is Tiki in 2009 and how is a new generation shaping its meaning and relevance? And how can Tiki help us better understand the history and the mythology of Los Angeles?
HAPPENINGS:
Tiki is a unique place in the collective imagination. Tiki is, at its core, a visceral experience, a sensory indulgence. In order to “get” Tiki one must experience the physicality of the artifacts, architecture - and of course, the drinks.
Tiki Trek: Architectural Tour
Architectural Tour in partnership with deLab (design East of La Brea).
Tiki Pop-Up Speakeasy
A pop-up tiki bar for one night in Los Angeles: more info on this on short notice.
Tikitown, USA map:
Tiki is inherently ephemeral and the Tikitown, USA map will serve to illustrate this transience and how that physically correlates to Los Angeles. Acting as a treasure guide of sorts for a lost urban culture, the map allows both locals and visitors to discover another story LA has to tell.
In August 2009 - as Hawaii celebrates 50 years of statehood - we will look at the remnants of the early Californian "tiki" style, its places and memorabilia: Hawaiian shirts, grass huts, hula dancers, leis, and the tiki themselves: totem-like representations of island gods.
PAST: August 21,1959. Hawaii becomes a state. Hawaiian statehood is a driving force in the emergence of Tiki and its subsequent influence on Southern Californian architecture, design and art. Fifty years later we look back at Tiki’s influence on Los Angeles and Southern California.
PRESENT: Southern California and more broadly, the US, is again in a culturally transformative period. Tiki is poised to be remixed for a new generation looking to escape, set aside responsibilities and reconsider the age of the consumer. Since the beginning of the current recession, there has been a resurgence of Tiki bars all over the country (See Wall Street Journal article also on resurgence of Tiki). What is Tiki in 2009 and how is a new generation shaping its meaning and relevance? And how can Tiki help us better understand the history and the mythology of Los Angeles?
HAPPENINGS:
Tiki is a unique place in the collective imagination. Tiki is, at its core, a visceral experience, a sensory indulgence. In order to “get” Tiki one must experience the physicality of the artifacts, architecture - and of course, the drinks.
Tiki Trek: Architectural Tour
Architectural Tour in partnership with deLab (design East of La Brea).
Tiki Pop-Up Speakeasy
A pop-up tiki bar for one night in Los Angeles: more info on this on short notice.
Tikitown, USA map:
Tiki is inherently ephemeral and the Tikitown, USA map will serve to illustrate this transience and how that physically correlates to Los Angeles. Acting as a treasure guide of sorts for a lost urban culture, the map allows both locals and visitors to discover another story LA has to tell.
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