The Moai in real
life...

|
Big Stone Head
is the new book project by James
Teitelbaum. James is the author of Tiki Road Trip
(Santa
Monica Press, 2003, revised edition due April 2007), as well as shorter
works for American Heritage, Beverage World, Playboy.com, AAA
World magazine, Alternative Press magazine, RoadTripAmerica.com, ReVue
magazine, Blue Harvest magazine, Tiki magazine, and ForcesOfGood, and
many
others.
As implied in the title, Big Stone Head is an exploration of
the strange and wonderful mysteries of Easter Island, focusing on how
popular culture has interpreted the island’s unique stone effigies -
and the island’s many other enigmas - over the course of the 20th
century and beyond.
The stoic visage of the moai (the
titular
‘big stone heads’ of Easter Island) have been appropriated for
everything from whiskey ads to postage stamps to drinking vessels to
cartoons to lawn ornaments. The moai have been the
inspiration for countless artists working in sculpture, painting,
illustration, mosaic, film, and any other imaginable media. The
moai
have been the subject of tattoos and street graffiti, of pop songs and
movies, of jewelry, or corporate logos, and of cars and bars.
Life-sized recreations of the moai appear all over the world: in
France, Japan, the United
States, Chile, Germany, Spain, Australia, Norway, and elsewhere.
Many academic studies of Easter Island
have
been published over the past 100 years, and an equal number of silly
quack theories about the island have seen print as well. However,
none of these works have looked at the most enigmatic spot on the globe
from the perspective of its place in popular culture, and the effects
that international
pop culture’s use of the moai
image has had on
the islanders, their culture, and their environment. This book is
unique. The arguments made in the text of Big Stone Head can
apply
equally well to many other cultures who have been diluted by well
meaning pop culture hipsters and greedy corporate interests alike.
Big Stone Head
is written in a style that finds a balance between academia and good
fun. It is designed to appeal to those interested in popular
culture and so-called “Tiki Style,”, and to those looking for a
colorfully illustrated introduction to the island’s history and
mysteries, including the outside world’s effect on the islanders and
their ancestral creations.
James has visited Easter Island twice
to
interview the islanders, make photographs, and observe the effects of
the outside world on this tiny island first-hand. The writing of Big
Stone Head -
Easter Island and Pop Culture, has begun; A draft of the text is
complete, including at least 300 images scanned and ready for
a designer.
At this time, James is looking for a suitable publisher for the project.
Feel free to contact him if you are interested in Big Stone Head. |
...and in Pop
Culture...

...let us enjoy images of both faces of
the Moai while asking the question: what is the cost?
Only in BIG STONE HEAD!
|