Bob S wrote:
>Do you know of examples of elements of individually produced material
>culture that starts out on an idiosyncratic (or "folk") level and
>then successfully transfers to a cultural-social level?

Ah, the weird and the wonderful! Matter of fact, I do know of such a place.
Not as tall as the Watts Tower but nifty all the same. It is known as
Medica's Garden, and is right here in Santa Rosa, California.

It's a familiar story: old geezer spends his life selling insurance,
teaching school, or whatever and then, in retirement, creates the thing for
which he is remembered.  John Medica was an immigrant from the Balkans who
spent years creating a sort of mini-fantasy medieval landscape on five
acres in a former rock quarry. Using local rock and concrete, he built
about 70 castles, bridges, arches, giant mushrooms, and other fantasy
structures, planted all about with cacti. The 'site' is listed on either
the National Register of Historic Places or a State of California
equivalent. I took a couple of rolls of slide film of it just after Media
died, maybe 15 years ago, and recorded it on one of our State forms. The
last I heard, the land had been subdivided and the Gardens preserved as
common space, although afflicted with vandalism problems. There's an
organization in Los Angeles called 'Spaces'  that is committed to
preserving this kind of high weirdness.

It's a beautiful morning here in Northern California (thought you'd like to
know, Bob).

Adrian Praetzellis
Sonoma State University