Compose two styles
Rather than blending two styles into a middle, this assigns them roles: one carries the structure, the other appears as an accent. Where the two fight, it says so before you start.
How to divide the work
- Composition
- Follow Tapa (Barkcloth): Divide the whole sheet into a grid and run bands of changing pattern
- Type
- Set in Tapa (Barkcloth)'s manner (Treat the motif unit as insignia and repeat one combination), and let Tiki Style's lettering (Menu lettering carved-looking like wood, lines set close together) appear only where you want the eye to catch.
- Material
- Ground in Tapa (Barkcloth)'s material (Beaten and joined bark, earth pigments stamped, drawn and smoked in); bring in exactly one thing from Tiki Style (Bamboo, rattan and charred wood, lit only by flame and colored glass).
- Colour
- Build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 and admit one accent from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615.
Where they fight
- Tapa (Barkcloth) and Tiki Style share no intent, so the contrast has to become the subject rather than something to smooth over.
Caution
- Tapa (Barkcloth) Cutting the patterns loose from the island they belong to strips them of the insignia function and leaves only decoration.
- Tiki Style This is an American fantasy and not the living Polynesian and Micronesian cultures it borrows from, so hiding where the motifs came from and treating them as decor puts the venue in question.
Image prompt
An original image that takes its structure from Tapa (Barkcloth) (Technique, prehistory–) and its accent from Tiki Style (Aesthetic, 1934–1960s / revival). Structural cues: The beaten texture of bark; Repeating geometric pattern; Earth-toned pigments; Great ceremonial sheets. Accent cues, used sparingly: Tiki-carving motifs; Bamboo and rattan interiors; Torches and flame; Tropical drink vessels. Composition: Divide the whole sheet into a grid and run bands of changing pattern. Type and lettering: Treat the motif unit as insignia and repeat one combination. Let one material quality come from the second style: Bamboo, rattan and charred wood, lit only by flame and colored glass. Mood: Intimacy, Calm, Trust, Play, Nostalgia, Exhilaration. Color: build on #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615 with a single accent drawn from #e9e6dd, #67635d, #171615. Constraints: do not imitate, reference or name any specific artist, studio, brand, character or copyrighted work. Produce an original composition in the general period languages described above.
Related entries
- Tapa (Barkcloth) prehistory– / Technique / Textile Traditions
Across the Pacific islands, bark is beaten out into cloth. Geometric patterns stamped, drawn and smoked onto it serve as communal insignia in ritual and gift exchange, and every island keeps its own pattern system within this Pacific graphic language.
- Tiki Style 1934–1960s / revival / Aesthetic / Pop
The Polynesia dreamed up by American bars and restaurants. Carved figures, bamboo, torches and mai tai glasses gave style to a postwar wish to escape. It is an imaginary South Seas, and it should be read together with its history of borrowing from Pacific cultures.
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