Detour Art
A curated guide to Artist-built Environments
region by region, coast-to-coast.
Dedicated to the sheer joy of outsider, folk, visionary, self-taught, vernacular art and environment discoveries found all along the back roads (and side streets).
Artist-built Environments in the United States
Note: Things change, so check first before arriving. When visiting art environments, remember they are usually on private property, so please be respectful and don’t trespass.
“PECULIAR TRAVEL SUGGESTIONS ARE DANCING LESSONS FROM GOD.”
— Kurt Vonnegut
Road stories
The Magnificent Mountain of Leonard Knight
Bottom line is this, Leonard wanted everybody to know that "God is love." Some people would say it in church or a book, write it in letters or a song, maybe even paint it in a picture. Leonard built a mountain in the desert. Unbelievable. Over a hundred thousand gallons of paint (we brought him three more) went into the sculpture/structure. He mixed his own adobe with mud and hay that he found nearby, old tires and other castoffs from the desert helped him build his complex.