Wednesday, December 26, 2012

East Jesus



As the largest art installation in Slab City, East Jesus, an artist colony, begs to be discovered.  It’s a little off the beaten path but well worth the visit.  The ever-changing group that works here are completely self-contained, relying on the sun to power their existence.  The late Charles Russell created East Jesus in 2006 and described his vision in this way.
Wedged between the Chocolate Mountain Gunnery Range and the Salton Sea in southern California's exotic Imperial Valley, East Jesus is an experimental, comprehensive habitat and artwork comprising vernacular architecture, technophilia, common-sense environmentalism, desert survival and sculpture/assemblage using predominantly recycled, re-purposed or discarded materials, sublimating the unwanted and ugly into the purposefully beautiful. The main structure is built around a 27' fiberglass shipping container, extended by walls composed of junk (lockers, computers, refrigerators, microwave ovens, bookshelves, tool chests, shipping crates, TVs and other electronics) and recycled, re-used lumber and steel.


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

My First Book

Slab City- Then and Now is finally finished!

It's 40 pages and has lots of pictures from Slab City's past (as a military base) and pictures of the way it looks now.  Here's an excerpt.


From the moment you pass the first guard shack on your way into Slab City, it’s pretty clear that you’ve left conventionality behind. Ahead of you lies a place where rules are few and individuality reigns supreme.  No plumbing, no electricity, and no running water and yet hundreds of people call Slab City home for part of each year. 

Despite the primitive conditions, Slab City offers visitors and residents alike, many amenities without the ever-present oversight of local government.  Enclosed within its borders, Slab City has a church, a library, a restaurant, art exhibits, a music venue, internet cafĂ©, radio station, mechanical repair, pet graveyard, golf course, and barbershop.
 
 
It's listed on eBay and will soon be available on Amazon in both a paperback format as well as an ebook download.  Here's my website address:  www.slabcitybook.com.
 
Thanks to everyone that helped me on this project.