Post #690832 by bigbrotiki on Wed, Aug 21, 2013 12:58 AM

Witco is the "Punk" of interior decor. It is is rough and hacked together, often absurd, it is a rebellious statement against the edict of form and function. The story of Elvis buying a roomful of it vs his dad's better judgment is perhaps the best example. For the owner, it is a proud statement of individual likes against the established rule of what is acceptable. And it was mass-produced, available and affordable - a fine example of low brow pop art.

I have also called it design-porn. Just like with real porn, folks that are timid can look at it in my book but don't have to "do it" in their living room, laughing at it, keeping a safe intellectual distance. :D

It is often lacking in sculptural quality because many pieces are based on 2D sketches, with the chainsaw just retracing the lines. It was looked down at and shunned as bad work by the authentically oriented Tiki makers and builders on the West Coast.

But when beholding Westenhaver's oeuvre as a whole, and seeing where it came from and how it relates to Polynesian pop and mid-century modernism of the period, one recognizes the strokes of genius that came out his scatter-shot approach of cranking out new pieces every year. He just let his creative mind ramble on and had fun with it. That's what art should be.