Acme Tiki Co. is the brainchild of Denver based artist Squeaky Tiki. Far from a tiki traditionalist, Squeaky Tiki's style draws as much inspiration from authentic tiki and retro Polynesian Pop as it does from punk rock flyers, psychedelia, lowbrow hot rod kustom kulture, tattoos, burlesque, Looney-Tunes absurdism, the humor of Mad Magazine and cheesy ’50s sci-fi/monster movies.
Squeaky Tiki cut his teeth way back in the prehistoric days before computers, home printers and social media. This was the early '90s when underground artists handcrafted flyers and zines for DIY music scenes in all-nite copy shops on big smelly B&W Xerox copiers. Those ¢2 copy machines were the medium and the art was created with their limitations in mind. Delicate penmanship and shades of gray were out of the question. Those kinds of subtlety would get lost, so the art needed to be bold. Heavy black lines were de rigueur. Ahhhh, those big bold beautiful black lines. They were so delicious.
Well, times change and ol’ Squeaky Teaks spent the last 30 years mastering the computer as an artistic tool. Rather than letting it dictate his style, he’s held onto his those big bold lines and utilized the computer to push his art into the 3D realm. Here's the rub: he uses modern technology to create an antiquated form of 3D. "Anaglyph" is the official word, but that's just a sciency term for 3D that uses those old red/blue glasses that were all the rage back in the '50s. The computer allows Squeaky Tiki to isolate each element in his art and move them independently forward or back on the three dimensional plane. The result is a multi-layered feast for the eyes... especially after a couple Mai Tais.
Acme Tiki Co. is the brainchild of Denver based artist Squeaky Tiki. Far from a tiki traditionalist, Squeaky Tiki's style draws as much inspiration from authentic tiki and retro Polynesian Pop as it does from punk rock flyers, psychedelia, lowbrow hot rod kustom kulture, tattoos, burlesque, Looney-Tunes absurdism, the humor of Mad Magazine and cheesy ’50s sci-fi/monster movies.
Squeaky Tiki cut his teeth way back in the prehistoric days before computers, home printers and social media. This was the early '90s when underground artists handcrafted flyers and zines for DIY music scenes in all-nite copy shops on big smelly B&W Xerox copiers. Those ¢2 copy machines were the medium and the art was created with their limitations in mind. Delicate penmanship and shades of gray were out of the question. Those kinds of subtlety would get lost, so the art needed to be bold. Heavy black lines were de rigueur. Ahhhh, those big bold beautiful black lines. They were so delicious.
Well, times change and ol’ Squeaky Teaks spent the last 30 years mastering the computer as an artistic tool. Rather than letting it dictate his style, he’s held onto his those big bold lines and utilized the computer to push his art into the 3D realm. Here's the rub: he uses modern technology to create an antiquated form of 3D. "Anaglyph" is the official word, but that's just a sciency term for 3D that uses those old red/blue glasses that were all the rage back in the '50s. The computer allows Squeaky Tiki to isolate each element in his art and move them independently forward or back on the three dimensional plane. The result is a multi-layered feast for the eyes... especially after a couple Mai Tais.
Acme Tiki Co. is the brainchild of Denver based artist Squeaky Tiki. Far from a tiki traditionalist, Squeaky Tiki's style draws as much inspiration from authentic tiki and retro Polynesian Pop as it does from punk rock flyers, psychedelia, lowbrow hot rod kustom kulture, tattoos, burlesque, Looney-Tunes absurdism, the humor of Mad Magazine and cheesy ’50s sci-fi/monster movies.
Acme Tiki Co. is the brainchild of Denver based artist Squeaky Tiki. His work is a combination of four simple elements: lowbrow tiki,punk rock gig posters, retro 3D and funny band names.
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Far from a tiki traditionalist, Squeaky Tiki's style draws as much inspiration from authentic tiki and retro Polynesian Pop as it does from punk rock flyers, psychedelia, lowbrow hot rod kustom kulture, tattoos, burlesque, Looney-Tunes absurdism, the humor of Mad Magazine and cheesy ’50s sci-fi/monster movies.
Squeaky Tiki cut his teeth way back in the prehistoric days before computers, home printers and social media. This was the early '90s when underground artists handcrafted flyers and zines for DIY music scenes in all-nite copy shops on big smelly B&W Xerox copiers. Those ¢2 copy machines were the medium and the art was created with their limitations in mind. Delicate penmanship and shades of gray were out of the question. Those kinds of subtlety would get lost, so the art needed to be bold. Heavy black lines were de rigueur. Ahhhh, those big bold beautiful black lines. They were so delicious.
Well, times change and ol’ Squeaky Teaks spent the last 30 years mastering the computer as an artistic tool. Rather than letting it dictate his style, he’s held onto his those big bold lines and utilized the computer to push his art into the 3D realm. Here's the rub: he uses modern technology to create an antiquated form of 3D. "Anaglyph" is the official word, but that's just a sciency term for 3D that uses those old red/blue glasses that were all the rage back in the '50s. The computer allows Squeaky Tiki to isolate each element in his art and move them independently forward or back on the three dimensional plane. The result is a multi-layered feast for the eyes... especially after a couple Mai Tais.
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The last piece of the puzzle dates back to Squeaky Tiki's teenage years when he and his friends would sit around drinking beers they'd clandestinely liberated from their unsuspecting dads and one-up each to see who could invent the wackiest band name. They were, after all, going to grow up to be famous rock stars and needed to be prepared. Sadly, that dream never came to fruition, but the pastime of cracking each other up with beers and funny band names continues to this very day. Indeed, some things never change.[/expand]
Wanna to check out all my 3D tiki art? Just fill out the form below and I'll mail you a pair of 3D glasses absolutely FREE!* Then you can ogle all the 3D tomfoolery I post on social media. Hoozah!
*Supplies are limited. Offer good for U.S. addresses only. One set of glasses per mailing address. Offer good while supplies last.
Wanna to check out all my 3D tiki art? Just fill out the form below and I'll mail you a pair of 3D glasses absolutely FREE!* Then you can ogle all the 3D tomfoolery I post on social media. Hoozah!
*Supplies are limited. Offer good for U.S. addresses only. One set of glasses per mailing address. Offer good while supplies last.
