Hukilau Art Show, 2011

We're goin' to a hukilau!  Or to be more specific, this week we're once again attending The Hukilau, the incredible tiki event that takes place every year in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  This year marks the 10th anniversary of the epic three-day party which culminates with dinner, drinks and a fiery stage show at America's most spectacular Polynesian restaurant, the Mai Kai.  

This year Jody and I are participating in the Hukilau group art show, and here's a sneak peek at what we've pulled together:

"The Founder of the Feast"

 Artist: Jody Daily

Jody's salute to Hukilau mastermind, Miss Tiki Kiliki!

Acrylic paint on natural bamboo plank

Custom matted and framed:  9" x 8.25"

Hukilau Tiki Mug Master Sculpture 

Artist:  Kevin Kidney

The one-of-a-kind, hand-sculpted master from which the original 

(and now super-rare) Hukilau mugs were cast in 2007.

Wood and sculpting compound:  8" tall x 6" wide

Trader Vic's Los Angeles Mural Concept

Artist:  Jody Daily

Jody's original 2009 proposal for a mural that would have covered a wall in the restaurant's main dining room. 

Acrylic paint on wood:  5.25" x 5.50"

Garden of the Gods: Rongo

Artist: Jody Daily

Mixed media, custom framed:  14" x 6.75"

Garden of the Gods: Pele

Artist: Jody Daily

Acrylic on wood, custom framed:  13" x 5.75"

"The Tropical Temptations of Tiki" 

Artist:  Kevin Kidney

Original paper sculpture created for the cover photo of Sven A. Kirsten's upcoming audio CD.

Paper and wood in custom shadow box:  approximately 26" x 20" x 3" deep.

"Hukilau"

Artist:  Kevin Kidney

Sculpted paper vignette made from original elements of the 2007 Hukilau poster 

(and Kevin's own blog header!)

Paper on woven grass matting, in a custom shadow box:  15.75 x 12.75

"Sippin' Safari Endpapers Map"

Artist:  Kevin Kidney

Artwork created for Beachbum Berry's drink guide published in 2007.

Digital print, hand-numbered #11, and custom framed:  21" x 15"

In addition to the above, there will be limited art prints, a commemorative set of Tiki mugs, and special glassware, which can be viewed and pre-purchased here.

(Prices for the original art will be announced at the show.)  

The 2011 Hukilau is sure to be unforgettable, with great live music, seminars and symposiums, vendors, cocktails in the famous Molokai Bar, and a performance by Marina the Fire Eating Mermaid.  We wouldn't dream of missing this!

IT'S HERE! SOUNDSATIONAL!

Paper model for Professor Owl from Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. 

 Reference for the puppet on the opening float.

Finally!  After a year and a half of planning, designing, paper modeling, building, painting and rehearsing, Disneyland has a sparkling new parade.  Mickey's SOUNDSATIONAL!

Paper model for the Jolly Holiday Fox Hunter & Fox,

 reference for the giant puppet that leads the finale.

It's the biggest project Jody and I have ever tackled and we are very proud of it.  Huge heap of gratitude to our long-time friend Steve Davison for inviting us to be a part of this. 

Now everybody go see it!!!

Paper Model for the wacky Aracuan Bird from The Three Caballeros

It's coming...

Pedaling into Disneyland May 27!

Jody Daily Paints Pixar

Jody will be debuting a new painting this weekend in a Pixar-inspired fine art show at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.  

From the press release:  

“See Woody in Toy Story 3!”

While Disney fans best know artist Jody Daily through his Disneyland art and collectibles, which he creates with his partner Kevin Kidney, it is his designs for theater and theme park entertainment that occupy most of his time.  Currently he and Kevin are art directing a brand new musical parade for Disneyland® Park called Soundsational.

 

No stranger to the world of Pixar, Jody designed the Pixar Play Parade for Disney’s California Adventure® theme park, and in 2009 Jody and Kevin were called upon by John Lasseter’s team to create the packaging for Toy Story’s definitive toy line.

 

For his new painting of Woody, Jody turned to classic hand-painted movie poster art of the 1930s and 40s for inspiration. “My own personal style seems to go toward whimsical children’s book illustration, but I get really excited by the challenge of working in many different styles, from gothic to modern. I really just try to be a chameleon and create things that look authentic to whatever time and genre I’m aiming for, and keep my own present-day aesthetic out of it!” 

More information about the Pixar event and artwork here!

Toy Storage! Packaging for Pixar's Toy Stars

Back in 2009,  Jody and I had the great honor of being asked by Pixar and Disney Consumer Products to help create special packaging for the new Toy Story Definitive toy line, the most film-accurate replicas of the characters ever produced.  At the time, Jody had just designed the Pixar Play Parade for Disney's California Adventure, and "Toy Story 3" was still in production.

Some of the characters, like Woody, Jessie and Buzz, already had packaging seen in the animated films, but there were side panels and box backs not visible on screen, that needed to be fleshed out. Other toys, such as the Pizza Planet Aliens and a mysterious new character named Lots-O-Huggin' Bear, required all new packaging from scratch. 

Jody and I based all our digital illustrations on rough pencil concepts by Pixar merch designer Ben Butcher.  Some of the packaging, such as this shipping crate for Rex - complete with volcano, went through a zillion variations before everyone was happy.  

John Lasseter talks about Rex - and his packaging!

RC, the remote controlled race car, is supposed to be a toy from the 1980s, so his packaging reflects the graphic style and "awesome features" of the period. 

John and RC!

Our favorite was this "barn" for Hamm, the talking piggy bank.  In the Toy Story world, Hamm is a much older toy, so his packaging was even more "vintage" looking.

Every box has a "Try Me" button incorporated into its design, and getting this feature in the correct spot, without having the actual toy in front of us, was a challenge.

The series, except for Hamm, has been out for some time now.  We think all the "definitive" toys, made by Thinkway,  turned out super amazing, and it was a exciting for us to contribute something cool and lasting to the Toy Story milieu!

When It Rains, It Pours!

So, here's what I dig about blogging:  

You can write about anything your heart holds dear, no matter how esoteric or nerdy, and somewhere out there you'll connect with some kindred spirits who eagerly join in the nerd-fest right along with you.  Best of all,  those kindred spirits often hold clues to even more nerdy pieces of the puzzle.  You're my Holmes, and I'm your Watson! 

Last week's outpouring of love for rain lamps and Monsanto's Fountain of Fashion at Disneyland inspired a veritable oil spill of responses.  

Designer Mike Cozart salutes the FIBER FOUNTAIN (as it was named in the early designs) with some never-before-seen-by-me artwork on his amazing blog... including this fantastically rare blueprint:

See how the people in the vehicles (to show scale) are having a real hard time keeping their hands to themselves.  The allure of dripping oil was impossible to resist, and the show designers knew this even before the fountain was built!  Most thrilling of all was to learn that to access the fountain's interior display, you had to open a hatch in the ceiling and be lowered in like a jewel thief!  How cool!

Blog-reader Fred commented that I had neglected to mention the "grandaddy of all rain fountains" - that of Southern California's Topanga Plaza in Woodland Hills (1964).   I never saw this awesome fountain in person,  but Major Pepperidge of "Gorillas Don't Blog" shares these photos:  

Holy Hina, Goddess of Rain!   Not since Noah built the ark has there been such a downpour!  Three stories tall?  Maybe four stories!  Aaauugghh! I'm flipping out. 

 

The Major writes: 

 I think these have the Monsanto versions beat (look at the entranced shoppers in the first photo!) as far as size goes, although they lack the cool "tornado" effect. My grandmother used to take us clothes shopping at that mall when I was in high school, so theoretically I would have seen this fountain - but I don't remember it at all.

Fantastic!  If anyone can top this with evidence of  a bigger or equally spectacular rain lamp, we need to hear about it. 

Thanks to everyone wh0 wrote in to share memories and mutual affection for rain lamps, one of "Man's modern miracles" to rephrase the coin.   

Like the magic genie in a bottle, behold the elixir of illuminated ooze.

Monsanto's Fountain of Fashion

The mother of all rain lamps, Monsanto's Fountain of Fashion!

No vision on earth has yet been discovered that can so thoroughly hypnotize a person into an unblinking stupor as the drip-drip-drip of mineral oil cascading down a nylon thread. Sometime back in the 1960s - or maybe earlier - some genius somewhere combined illumination with precipitation and came up with a miracle we now know as the Rain Lamp.

If you've never seen a rain lamp, you're either too young or too tasteful for your own good. When I was ten I wanted a rain lamp for my bedroom with every polyester fiber of my being. The Sir George's Smorgasbord by our house had one suspended from a pole above the desserts and it was all my mom could do to prevent us kids from disrupting the never-ending chains of diamonds with our fingers.

Disneyland, as with everything else, had the biggest and most impressive rain lamp ever conceived by mankind. Stretching from floor to ceiling, Monsanto's Fountain of Fashion was the grand finale of an Adventure Thru Inner Space, and though the precise reason for its existence was lost on most people, the effect was unforgettable. 

Just out of reach...

Restrained by their lap bars - and possibly the admonishment of their moms -  Atommobile passengers had to fight off temptation to reach out and touch the forbidden strands of the Fountain of Fashion. Within a swirling tornado of a million oil droplets, faceless mannequins depicting a woman and a little girl on a swing wore clothing made from "Blue 'C' nylon and polyester yarns." At their feet, a bed of oversized white daisies gave a hint of nature in this unnatural place, while helping to conceal the oil intake reservoir. 

Maintaining the Fountain of Fashion must've been a flippin' nightmare.

I finally obtained a rain lamp of my very own by the time I was in my late twenties.  It had a gold-painted figure of a Grecian woman on a base surrounded by green plastic ferns. One time a fern came in contact with one of the nylon threads and a leaf conducted about 8 ounces of oil out over the edge of the basin, completely ruining the top of a bookcase below.  The greasy mess slightly diminished my enthusiasm for rain lamps, but seeing these photos of the Fountain of Fashion makes me want to give them another chance.

The Adventure Thru Inner Space attraction debuted in Tomorrowland on June 29, 1967.  In his opening day remarks, former Monsanto president Charles A. Thomas said about the ride: 

"At the end of the trip, of course, the visitor is exposed to 'a word from the sponsor.'  I think you'll agree that we have shown considerable restraint in this area..."

So the Fountain of Fashion and the Miracles From Molecules display was Monsanto showing restraint?  Good golly, just imagine what they would've come up with had they let loose!

Storybook Fashions

Tailored and trim as a tulip, in gloves and mad hat...  

like the blossoms at Disneyland's Flower Market, you'll never wilt!

Our pal, Tim Haack recently discovered a treasure trove of twelve original color negatives showcasing females in fabulous clothes against the fairy-tale backdrop of Disneyland. 

Who took these wonderful photos? And who are the three ladies, each one giving her all to look stylish in awkward poses and over-the top outfits?  We wish we knew.   But we do know the photos were taken for the April 9, 1961 issue of Midwest Magazine, a supplemental newspaper insert in the Chicago Sun-Times.  Anyone out there have a copy?

Take time to click on them and enjoy at full size. Each one is pure gold.

Dinner, cinema, dancing - wonder fabric stays wide-awake all evening. 

 Still looks terrific when he says goodnight!

 

Why is a raven like a writing desk?  

Who cares when you look like this! 

 

In your pretty play suit of spring flowers, you're certain to get picked!  

There's just no telling what might happen when you choose high-waisted banana capris and a clown blouse.

Five o'clock, add a turban, meet your date and go!

Big game falls readily to a safari swim suit with matching jacket.

Off the port bow... a cool cotton caftan, side slashed!

Passengers on board Disneyland's new Columbia sailing ship will never get scurvy... especially if handsomely suited in gay tangerine. 

Even the river pirate Mike Fink "hisself" would adore a pair of these shipshape slacks in cream cotton faille.

Greet them like a modern southern belle, whether along the shores of the Mississippi, or outside Disneyland's Oak Tree Tavern.

Get the "movie star" attention you've always dreamed of in a pair of crimson velveteen shorts and stitched-on mouse tail.

(Thanks for sharing your collection with us, Tim!  This stuff is priceless!)

Farmland vs Fantasyland

1955:  Old Anaheim trees on the outskirts of Fantasyland

---------

UPDATE!  Photos taken this week...

  2011:  The huge trees are still alive and well, 56 years later.

These surviving sentinels from Anaheim's rural past currently provide shade for a snack stand near the Fantasyland Theater.

The Architect of Delight

Illustration by Kevin & Jody for Los Angeles Magazine

Rolly Crump is one of our favorite designers in the whole wide world. Whether we're talking about his theme park contributions for Disney, or his satyrical counter-culture posters, Rolly rules.

So, when Los Angeles Magazine asked us to create an illustration to accompany a new interview with the legendary artist for this month's issue, we both shouted yes.

What else can we say here about Rolly, that isn't more eloquently said in the splendid article by Marcel Bonner and Steve Daly?  Probably nothing, so let's treat ourselves, instead, to some visual delights from Rolly's imagination.

In 1962, as the Tiki Room at Disneyland was coming together, Walt asked Rolly to design some pre-show tikis to be placed outside in the landscaping, to "set the mood" for waiting guests. While researching Pacific island culture and mythology, Rolly became enthralled with a little book by Katharine Luomala he discovered in the UCLA library called Voices on the Wind.

Rolly sculpted this small sun god in about 45 minutes. 1962

Luomala's retelling of the ancient Hawaiian legends of Hina, Rongo, and Pele inspired wildly imaginative interpretations in Rolly’s drawings. In island lore the god Maui, who had tethered the sun in the sky, thus regulating time and establishing the seasons, materialized as a water-powered clock, producing a rhythmic tick-tock with a length of bamboo. 

"Natives call me The Mighty One."  

Original sketch by Rolly Crump, 1962.

When WED sculptor Blaine Gibson explained he was too busy with other projects, Rolly sculpted most of the nine tikis himself, something he hadn't tried before!  "In those days, " Rolly explains, "we did whatever it took to do it."  

Rolly's first sculpture, "Maui", before the mold was made. 

The tikis were modeled in plasticene, a soft oil-based clay, over foam armatures, in the parking lot behind WED.  Outdoors in the warm California sunshine, the clay stayed soft and the work went fast.  

 Rolly inspects the newly installed Maui fountain at Disneyland, 

June, 1963.

Rolly's tiki creations are fantastical Disney characters in their own right, each one with a distinctive look and personality.  Today, over 47 years after it debuted, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room is so familiar a concept, that it's difficult to measure the impact this little "musical luau" has really had...on art, technology and on popular culture. Something I am sure of, however, is that there's still nothing quite as much fun as having your imagination carried away by talented make-believers like Rolly Crump.

Rolly today. 

Photo by Gregg Segal for Los Angeles Magazine.

If you live in Southern California, the magazine is a cinch to find at any grocery store.  But if that doesn't work for you, order a copy online here!

Past post about Rolly:  Muse of the Weird and Wonderful