The Magnificent Mountain of Leonard Knight
Salvation Mountain - Leonard Knight
Artist-built Environment | Religious/spiritual | Open to the public
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.
A hundred thousand gallons of paint (we brought him three more) have gone into the sculpture/structure so far. He mixed his own adobe with mud and hay that he found nearby, adding old tires and other castoffs from the desert to help him build his complex.
There's an almost biblical feel to the architecture, set off by a technicolor paint scheme in which he renders larger than life messages and verses from the Bible.
Leonard wanted people to know that God loves them, but he doesn't preach. He'd rather let his mountain do that for him. If you want to talk art, he was glad to do that, if it's religion that's on your mind, he would be up for that too.
And he played a bit of guitar as well, a good way to amuse himself since there's no electricity or running water out here. He was just a very happy man with a mission.
Leonard died February 10, 2014, in El Cajon, CA
From “Fantasy Worlds”:
"Jesus, I am a sinner. Please come upon my body and into my heart."(October, 2006)
Leonard Knight spent five years in Nebraska sewing together a hot air balloon bearing the words "God Is Love." The balloon grew so big, 100 metres high, that he was never able to get it off the ground. In 1986, he drove to the Mojave Desert in his dump truck with a house built on its back, tried flying the balloon there, failed again and gave up.
He decided to build a monument to God on a desert ridge instead. Carving and molding the surface, using thousands of gallons of donated paint, he covered hundreds of metres of the ridge with evangelical messages and decorations.
"God Is Love" flourished amidst fields of flowers and cascading waterfalls. After three years work the mountain collapsed but instead of quitting, Knight learned from his mistakes, switched from using heavy concrete to lighter adobe to shape the mountain, and started over again.
Knight's home is his trailer, richly decorated in his distinctive style and emblazoned with messages of love. Leonard Knight has lived without electricity for 17 years.
In 1994 local officials declared the mountain a toxic nightmare and tried to tear it down. Knight fought back, and with the help of friends and admirers disproved the government's claims. Today Salvation Mountain stands bigger than ever and Knight continues working on it, welcoming visitors by the hundreds from around the world."
Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Salvation Mountain is a hillside visionary environment created by local resident Leonard Knight in the California Desert area of Imperial County, north of Calipatria, northeast of Niland, near the Slab City squatter/art commune, and several miles from the Salton Sea.
The artwork is made of adobe bricks, discarded tires and windows, automobile parts and thousands of gallons of paint. It encompasses numerous murals and areas painted with Christian sayings and Bibleverses, though its philosophy was built around the Sinner's Prayer.
The Folk Art Society of America declared it "a folk art site worthy of preservation and protection" in the year 2000. In an address to the United States Congress on May 15, 2002, California Senator Barbara Boxer described it as "a unique and visionary sculpture... a national treasure... profoundly strange and beautifully accessible, and worthy of the international acclaim it receives".
In December 2011, the 80-year-old Knight was placed in a long-term care facility in El Cajon for dementia. Leonard Knight died on February 10, 2014, in El Cajon. He was able to visit Salvation Mountain for the last time in May 2013; the visit was recorded by KPBS (TV).
Concern was raised in 2012 for the future of the site, which requires constant upkeep due to the harsh desert environment. Many visitors were donating paint to the project, and a group of volunteers worked to protect and maintain the site. In February 2011, a public charity, Salvation Mountain, Inc., was established to support the project. In 2013, the Annenberg Foundation donated $32,000 to Salvation Mountain Inc. for materials and equipment to "improve security and strengthen operations". A 2014 article stated that Salvation Mountain Inc. was operated by the nine volunteer members of its board.
Leonard Knight: 1931–2014
Creation dates: 1985-2011
Beal Rd
Calipatria, CA 92233
https://www.salvationmountain.us
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"Detour Art—Outsider, Folk Art, and Visionary Folk Art Environments Coast to Coast, Art and Photographs from the Collection of Kelly Ludwig" by Kelly Ludwig, Kansas City Star Books, 2007.
"Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations, "Cali-Zona, Here We Come," KCPT, Kansas City Public Television, 2007.
"Fantasy Worlds" by Deidi Von Schaewen and John Maizels
"Self-Made Worlds: Visionary Environments" by Roger Manley and Mark Sloan, Aperture, New York, 1997. "Raw Creation: Outsider Art and Beyond" by John Maizels, 1996.
"American Self-Taught Art: An Illustrated Analysis of 20th Century Artists and Trends with 1,319 Capsule Biographies" by Florence Laffal and Julius Laffal, 2003.
"Rare Visions and Roadside Revelations Coast to Coast Travel-o-Pedia" by Randy Mason, et. al., Kansas City Star Books, 2009.
