Steeped in Polynesian lore but reborn as a derivative American pop-design style going back to the 1930s, “tiki culture,” which in some ways goes back to the peoples of Easter Island, was reinterpreted into a form of Americana, and had its own resurgence after GIs brought back bits of Polynesian culture to the States after World War II. It sprang back again in the 1970s (Gilligan’s Island had its own take on it), and had another revival in the 1990s, but in the past year it seems to be back again, with a huge following. Tiki is really in its stride with a wide scope of tiki mugs on the market–those mugs that take on the image of a familiar “patron,” the mug is usually made of ceramics and is still a featured souvenir of tiki bars from coast to coast.
Perhaps the craziest display of the 21st century’s look at tiki culture could be found at San Diego Comic-Con this year with a tiki hut themed booth full of inspired artwork by the California artist known as Shag. His retro art style was a great foundation for a mash-up with Planet of the Apes–a crazy and cool spin on pop culture. The booth, hosted by The Shag Stores in Palm Springs and West Hollywood, had the coolest shirt onsite–an orange Hawaiian style shirt with Planet of the Apes imagery. Visitors could also pick up art prints and t-shirts in tiki-tubes. And Shag premiered his Shag Cocktail Birds–limited fine-art prints on wood, limited to 200 units. Check out The Shag Store website here for more on the artist and his products.
But that wasn’t all. Entertainment Earth had its own hefty tiki mugs, depicting Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry, probably the best tie-ins to Big G cereals anyone has yet thought of. You can still pre-order the tiki mugs from Entertainment Earth here. While you’re there you should check out the rest of their tiki mug line-up. How about a Kraken, a Unicorn, a Mermaid, or a Dragon? Want your favorite franchise fix in tiki form? How about a Captain Kirk or Captain Picard tiki mug? Or maybe a Yoda or Jawa mug is your jam. Or just get a set of four classic tiki character images. There’s several more from Star Wars, Star Trek… even a Frankenstein. The best? Check out all the creatures from Star Wars and the rest of the tiki mugs from Entertainment Earth below:
