The Making of Tall Tiki Tales

Did you know that America had its own South Seas isle just off its coast? For a while, Catalina Island flew the banner of a Polynesian paradise drawing tourists and celebrities to its shores. A proper Tiki haven is like a Hollywood film set, inviting customers to cast themselves as beachcombers and South Seas maidens, and Catalina fit the bill. Sven Kirsten will go behind the scenes of his current Catalina Museum exhibition and delve into the role that novels, movies, and restaurant entrepreneurs played in telling the ‘Tall Tales of Tik’i.

Sven Kirsten – It was his love for visuals that inspired Sven to collect and photograph the remnants of the forgotten culture of Polynesian Pop in America, leading him to identify the Tiki as its icon. As a hunter and gatherer of lost artifacts and ephemera of this phenomenon, he began to see the pattern of a unique art form, publishing his findings in The Book of Tiki in September 2000. For the first time, the book presented all the aspects of Tiki-style; its design, graphics, architecture, social culture, and cocktail mixology. In 2007, Sven published his second book, Tiki Modern, then Tiki Pop in 2014, and The Art of Tiki in 2017. He continues to seek out, promote, and preserve all things Polynesian Pop! svenkirsten.com

Friday•9:30am - 10:30am • Sands • $20