Salvation Mountain

Salvation Mountain is a hillside visionary environment created by local resident Leonard Knight (1931–2014) in the California Desert area of Imperial County, north of Calipatria, northeast of Niland near Slab City, and several miles from the Salton Sea.

Salvation Mountain
2008 photo
ArtistLeonard Knight
Coordinates33°15′15″N 115°28′21″W
Websitesalvationmountain.org
Salvation Mountain at the LOVE IS UNIVERSAL area; 2008 photo

The artwork is made of adobe bricks, discarded tires and windows, automobile parts and thousands of gallons of paint.[1] It encompasses numerous murals and areas painted with Christian sayings and Bible verses, though its philosophy was built around the Sinner's Prayer.[2]

The Folk Art Society of America declared it "a folk art site worthy of preservation and protection"[3] 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".[4]

In December 2011, the 80-year-old Knight was placed in a long-term care facility in El Cajon for dementia.[5] Leonard Knight died on February 10, 2014, in El Cajon.[6]

Concern was raised in 2012 raised for the future of the site, which requires constant maintenance due to the harsh surrounding environment. Many visitors were bringing paint to donate to the project, and a group of volunteers was working to protect and maintain the site.[7][8] In February 2011, a public charity, Salvation Mountain, Inc., was established to support the project.[9] 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.[10] It still exists in 2020 and arranged to close the site for some months during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]

Paint toxicity concerns

In July 1994, Imperial County hired a toxic waste specialist to test the soils around Salvation Mountain, with results showing high levels of lead toxicity.[12] Knight and his supporters gathered signatures for a second test to be done by an independent party of his choosing. That test came back negative, supporting Knight's claim that he used non-toxic paints and that there were no toxins in the soil.[13][10][14]

Formations

In 1998, Knight wanted to expand the mountain. He gathered ideas from the Navajo who settled in the area around Salvation Mountain. Their pueblitos inspired Knight and he then began forming the Hogan. It is a dome-like structure made of adobe and straw that insulates from heat.[12] Knight intended to live in it, though he always preferred to live in a shack on the back of truck and did so for 27 years.[14] For some years, he had help with the project from a friend, Bill Ammon ("Builder Bill").[10]

An article about Leonard Knight stated that he was a "visionary American folk artist" whose message was "unconditional love to humankind". Knight "arrived accidentally ... [but] immediately recognized an opportunity to continue his large-scale gospel message. He made a mountain with his bare hands. Leonard built Salvation Mountain".[15]

Knight also began another formation, what he liked to call "the museum".[12] It is modeled after a semi-inflated hot air balloon Knight tried to create before Salvation Mountain; the balloon is on view at the American Visionary Art Museum.[16] He intended the balloon to be seen by all below it, as it stated "GOD IS LOVE" in bright red on a white fabric. This ideal carried over to Salvation Mountain. The museum is a semi dome structure in the mountain that contains several small items given to him by friends and visitors. Each item has a significance and more often than not, visitors seek out Salvation Mountain to pray and leave an item at the mountain as symbolism of giving themselves to God. The museum is held up by adobe and straw, but also by car parts and a tangle of trees that twist within the dome and reach through the top.[17]

The work is a 50ft-tall piece of religious folk art "an unofficial centrepiece for the community and [cementing] the area's anarchic creative identity", according to a 2020 report.[18]

The Second Mountain
Salvation Mountain - God is Love; 2015 photo

The current Salvation Mountain is actually the second construction to occupy the site;[19] Knight began the first Salvation Mountain in 1984, using highly unstable construction methods that allowed the mountain to collapse in 1989.[20]

Knight was not discouraged; he rather saw it as God's way of letting him know the Mountain was not safe. He said he would start another Salvation Mountain (the current construction) "with more smarts".[19] He did so, this time, using better materials and engineering, including adobe mixed with straw. After completion, the "mountain" was several stories high and was about a hundred yards wide according to a book published in 2016. Over the last ten years of his life, Knight planned to repaint the mountain twice a year to ensure that the paint layer would be very thick.[17] He was unable to achieve that because of an injury sustained near the end of 2011.[14]

Leonard Knight was featured in Sean Penn's Into the Wild (film), released in 2007.[21] An obituary of Knight stated that he "spent almost 30 years building the colorful mountain ... Built out of adobe and donated paint, Knight and Riddle worked on the mountain all day, every day. He even slept at the mountain's base in the back of a pick-up truck, with no electricity or running water while Riddle walked home to live in the same conditions with her family in the bus”.[21]

Before his death, Knight was living in a nursing home; he was able to visit Salvation Mountain for the last time in May 2013;[21] the visit was recorded by KPBS (TV).[22]

A National Geographic article published after Knight's death provided this insight into the creator of Salvation Mountain.[23]

"A visionary ... Leonard worked beyond our concept of time, slowly and methodically without ever wandering from his path. His sole purpose in this endeavor was to spread the message that 'God is Love'. He shared this with everyone who came to the mountain ..."

Media appearances
  • Jarvis Cocker visited Salvation Mountain and interviewed Leonard Knight in 1999 for his three-episode series on outsider art, "Journeys Into The Outside With Jarvis Cocker".
  • Leonard Knight was interviewed at length in the 2004 documentary Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea. In this documentary he explained the inspiration for Salvation Mountain and the hopes he had for its role in a revival of the Salton Sea area.
  • The site was featured in the 2007 film Into the Wild. The film was written and directed by Sean Penn, based on a 1996 non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer about Christopher McCandless's travels. McCandless met Leonard Knight at Salvation Mountain. Knight appears in a scene in the film as himself.
  • The music video for the British band Hurts's song "Somebody to Die For" was filmed on the Salvation Mountain.[24]
  • In 2008, the band Third Day released the album Revelation, which featured an artistic depiction of Salvation Mountain as the album's cover image. The liner notes for Revelation state that the album art is "an artistic interpretation" of Salvation Mountain.[25]
  • Huell Howser did two interviews ten years apart for his series California's Gold. In the second interview, he described the changes made since the first interview.[26]
  • Leonard Knight and Salvation Mountain's simple message of "God Is Love" is the focus of the 2015 documentary film Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain directed by Andrew Blake Doyle.[27] The documentary features some of the last interviews with Knight, as well as footage from Knight's funeral and memorial service held at the mountain.[28]
  • Salvation Mountain features in the music video for the song "Sache Que" by the Quebecoise musician/band La Bronze.[29]
  • British rock band Coldplay's seventh studio album A Head Full Of Dreams featured a photo of the band atop a section of Salvation Mountain in its accompanying booklet. The band also filmed a music video there for their song "Birds".[30]
  • Salvation Mountain is featured in the music video for South Korean-American singer Jessica's song "Fly."[31]
  • The music video for the Italian singer and rapper Sfera Ebbasta's song "Figli Di Papà" was partially filmed on the Salvation Mountain.
  • The music video for the American singer, songwriter, and rapper Kesha's song "Praying" was partially filmed on the Salvation Mountain.[32]
  • The music video for South Korean girl group Loona's song "Girl Front" was partly filmed on Salvation Mountain.
  • In 2017, Salvation Mountain appeared on the YouTube series "Amazing Places", by Tom Scott.[33]
  • In 2018, Salvation Mountain appeared in Alahna Ly, The Lane Pavers, and AR's music video of "Bailando".
  • In 2018, Salvation Mountain appeared in Fonseca, Cali y El Dandee, and AR's music video of "VolveraVerte".
  • Japanese rock band Glim Spanky posed in front of Salvation Mountain for the cover of their 2018 album Looking for the Magic.[34] It also appears in their music video for the album's song "TV Show".
  • In Season 5, Episode 8 of the series Bosch, released April 19, 2019, Salvation Mountain is referenced and featured as a landmark along the way to finding a compound where drug criminals were hiding. The episode was named "Salvation Mountain."

References
  1. Patterson, Sara M. (February 15, 2016). "Middle of Nowhere: Religion, Art, and Pop Culture at Salvation Mountain". UNM Press – via Google Books.
  2. Tony, Perry. "Salvation Mountain is missing its guiding spirit". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 26, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
  3. Larry Yust. "The Interactive Mountain of Leonard Knight", "Folk Art Society of America"
  4. Barbara Boxer. "Leonard Knight and Salvation Mountain", 107th Congress, 2nd Session Issue: Vol. 148, No. 62
  5. The Desert Sun: Leonard Knight, father of Salvation Mountain, dies" .Crystal Riddle has been a Vital part in managing and maintaining the”Law Aspects” along side Bob. accessed 2 November 2014.
  6. L.A. Observed: "Leonard Knight, desert creator of Salvation Mountain was 82" . accessed 2 November 2014.
  7. "The Future Of Salvation Mountain Uncertain". KPBS.org. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
  8. Honore, Marcel (August 12, 2012). "Who will save Salvation Mountain?". The Desert Sun. Palm Springs, CA.
  9. http://nccsweb.urban.org/communityplatform/nccs/organization/profile/id/454106863/popup/1 Organizational Profile] – National Center for Charitable Statistics (Urban Institute)
  10. Lieu, Lynn. "Salvation Mountain Inc. continues Leonard Knight's vision". The Desert Sun.
  11. "Salvation Mountain". Salvation Mountain.
  12. "History of Salvation Mountain". www.salvationmountain.us. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  13. "Salvation Mountain – A Potential Environmental Nightmare Lying in Wait?". January 17, 2015.
  14. "Salvation Mountain, Niland, California". RoadsideAmerica.com.
  15. "Slab City: It's Way Out". Living In Beauty. March 8, 2020.
  16. "American Visionary Art Museum - Jim Rouse Visionary Center". www.avam.org. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  17. Patterson, Sara M. (February 15, 2016). "Middle of Nowhere: Religion, Art, and Pop Culture at Salvation Mountain". UNM Press – via Google Books.
  18. "Photographing Slab City, California's off-grid drifter community". The Independent. July 22, 2020.
  19. "History of Salvation Mountain". www.salvationmountain.us. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  20. "Leonard Knight of Salvation Mountain fame dies at 82". Imperial Valley Press Online.
  21. Carone, Angela. "Leonard Knight, Creator of Salvation Mountain, Dies At 82". KPBS Public Media.
  22. "Leonard Knight Returns to Salvation Mountain, May 31, 2013".
  23. "Remembering a Folk Art Visionary". Photography. February 14, 2014.
  24. "Informationhurts.com: Hurts homepage". Archived from the original on April 3, 2013.
  25. Revelation (Media notes). Third Day. Essential Records. 2008. p. 9. 83061-0853-2.
  26. Howser, Huell (January 8, 1997). "Slab City (806)". California's Gold. Chapman University Huell Howser Archives. And, Howser, Huell (September 7, 2009). "Desert Adventures – California's Gold Special (142)". California's Gold. Chapman University Huell Howser Archive. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013.
  27. "Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain". www.imdb.com. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  28. "Leonard Knight: A Man & His Mountain". www.a2d2films.com. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
  29. "Le vidéoclip Sache que : un road trip musical dans l'univers de La Bronze". Info-Culture.biz. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqOnUB9gnDM
  31. Coridel Entertainment (May 5, 2016), Official Jessica (제시카) – FLY Music Video Teaser 2, retrieved May 7, 2016
  32. Fishman, Elena (July 10, 2017). "Kesha's 'Praying' Video Looks Are a 'F*cked-Up Angelic' Fever Dream". Racked.com. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  33. Scott, Tom (October 30, 2020). "The Story of Salvation Mountain". YouTube. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  34. "Glim Spanky「Looking for the Magic」魔法を探す旅から生まれた 現実世界と理想郷の歌 – 音楽ナタリ– 特集・インタビュ". Natalie (in Japanese). Retrieved January 8, 2019.

Further reading
  • Patterson, Sara M. (2016). Middle of Nowhere: Religion, Art, and Pop Culture at Salvation Mountain. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. 216 pp. ISBN 978-0826356307
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