Two articles worth reading

Tiki Tabu Apartments, 3505 Artesia Blvd., Torrance, 1965.

Go read architect/author/histiran/architectural-guru Alan Hess' fine article, "Long Live Tiki, the Whimsical Soul of Midcentury Modern," on the Getty Museum's Iris online magazine. (Click here for link.) Alan writes, "...Tiki had something in common with Southern California Modernist luminaries: where Ray and Charles Eames showed us whimsy, color, and history, Tiki also showed us whimsy, color and history." He concludes, "Tiki satisfies a need that German architecture pioneer Walter Gropius could not have imagined." If those two lines don't get you to read the rest of the article, then you're on the wrong blog.

Speaking of good articles, also check out Jonpaul Balak's article about essential Exotica LP's in the new Spring 2013 issue of Tiki Magazine. I wish I'd had that article when I started collecting! (And no, Jonpaul's article is not online -- You'll have to actually buy a copy on dead tree. Remember paper?)