{"id":10634,"date":"2014-09-01T19:28:00","date_gmt":"2014-09-02T02:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/?p=10634"},"modified":"2014-09-01T21:28:03","modified_gmt":"2014-09-02T04:28:03","slug":"hidden-california-east-jesus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2014\/09\/01\/hidden-california-east-jesus\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden California: East Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Strange<\/a>
Not sure what to make of this one.<\/figcaption><\/figure>[Hidden Art Scene]<\/p>\n

East Jesus<\/a> at Slab City<\/h1>\n

23 Sidewinder Rd.
\nNiland, CA 92257<\/h4>\n

By Jessica Johnson<\/a><\/p>\n

Let me start off by saying that East Jesus is probably unlike anything you have ever experienced before. This place is brimming with thought-provoking details. I mean, this is REAL art, each piece having a powerful message and ALL being created from recycled material or death. These installations do what art is supposed to do: it leaves you feeling moved. I would imagine most people will have strong opinions about the artwork, the gallery (if you will) and Slab City in general (where East Jesus is located). I want to make it clear that Slab City is not for the light-hearted. This is a fascinating community that is filled with highly controversial beings–and I get the feeling they like it that way. Do your research before heading out here. I mean it. Make sure this area is for you. You can get a better grasp of this area on the Abandoned Homes of Salton City, Salton City and Salvation Mountain pages. My first tip is to go in COOL weather as it gets extremely hot out here. It’s hard to enjoy things when you’re burning up and dehydrated.<\/p>\n

We were fortunate enough to get a tour by one of the residents, Mopar (otherwise known as the Wizard). Mopar is a colorful and knowledgeable individual who explained each installation to us and basically blew our minds with the genius behind each piece. We got a behind-the-scenes tour which gave us a glimpse into their housing facility. The place is head-to-toe art. So cool!<\/p>\n

One of the most important tips I can give you no matter what is to come here with respect. If it’s not what you thought it would be, don’t get snobby. Be respectful as you truly have entered a different realm with its own set of rules. Be polite and don’t come empty handed! These people are living off of a next-to-nothing budget which is partially why they’re so innovative! Offer them stuff they can make art out of, food, money, booze, whatever.
\n

\"Mopar,<\/a>
Mopar, otherwise known as “The Wizard.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nThis is a fascinating subculture that we are fortunate enough to live close-enough to witness firsthand. You will find all sorts of people out here, all with one motivation in mind: living free and away from ‘the man’ (or the beast as they refer to him as). You will find good people out here and extremely shady people. Trust your gut.<\/p>\n

I’m not really sure what direction to go with this page because I could go so many different ways. We did not explore Slab City too long because for me, personally, it was a rather suffocating energy. I think I’m too sensitive to these types of things though. I respect living off the grid, the free-thinkers, artist communities–that is all beautiful. Slab City is all of that except with a completely dark and sinister twist which you would have to be blind & deaf to not catch onto.<\/p>\n

This is a highly complex community that cannot really be lumped into one category besides having a few common grounds–living off the grid & as far away from the “man” as possible. This is an area with no rules and where one is left to do whatever pleases them. When man is given that type of freedom, almost anything is possible. Then top that off with the type of people that are heading out here: many whom are running away from some sort of trouble they were once part of. For that reason, there is a very thick, swallowing energy and it saddens me. In a way, it is a collection of people who just couldn’t handle the “real” world. That has the potential to be wonderful if everyone keeps a level head and unites to create health & beauty, but one gets the feeling that levelheadedness is almost looked down upon out here.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, I have done my fair share of research and am truly impressed with what they’re doing on many levels. The amount of innovation going on and self-sustainability is truly admirable. They are treating this place as its own town complete with a dance hall, church, internet cafe, hot spring and even a city council with board members. For many people, this is the only place that they can call home, and on top of that, the only place they’ve ever truly felt at home. This is heaven on earth for many of them and I completely respect that.<\/p>\n

If I had to attempt to describe Slab City I would say it is a sophisticated homeless shelter created by the people for the people. You would probably feel safer visiting here than, say, skid row–although there are still plenty of shady people. There are also extremely intelligent, kind and talented folks and I would not suggest assuming much of anything or underestimating them. There is a force out here.<\/p>\n

The thing with all their art is it all has an extremely deep meaning, all meant to take a stab at the superficialities of the modern world.<\/p>\n

“We like to drink out here. A lot. We also like our privacy” That is in regards to their beer\/wine bottle wall protecting their land. It’s been a long work in progress.<\/p>\n

\"Death<\/a>
Death is everywhere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Dilapidated<\/a>
Dilapidated architecture lasts a long time out in the desert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"They<\/a>
They like their privacy in Slab City\/East Jesus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Messages.\"<\/a>
Messages.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Strange<\/a>
SAtrange energy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Death-centric<\/a>
Death-centric art.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mopar<\/a>
Mopar said, “This one here represents a man chained to all the junk he’s accumulated through life.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"They<\/a>
They apparently like to drink out there, a LOT.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From their website<\/a> for East Jesus:<\/b><\/p>\n

Blooming around a re-purposed shipping container in the middle of the desert like a Kubrickian vision of the dawn of man, it is at once an anachronism and the only real representation of our depraved modernity; an artifact of ye olde future, an apocryphal codex of post-apocalyptica, a reverse-engineered Garden of Eden. Experimental, extensible, and completely habitable, East Jesus is constructed entirely of salvaged refuse and recycled materials \u2014 the discarded afterbirth of the Industrial Age and the sacrifices of its priests \u2014 and powered solely by the sun. Charlie\u2019s infectious, polymathic mania was a persistent one, far outliving the frailties of his flesh; though he is gone, the echoes of his life still send out signals to the cold corners of the noosphere, calling out to the like-minded and bidding them come see what could have been. As a result East Jesus is now populated by an ever-rotating cast of artists, builders, writers, musicians, freethinkers, merry pranksters, wandering messiahs, the dispossessed, the damned.<\/p>\n

Situated in the harshest, most remote part of Slab City, California \u2014 itself a radioactive dumping ground for the pariahs and lepers of the First World \u2014 and suffering from extreme temperatures year round, that East Jesus still survives is a testament to the tenability of mutation and the stubborn hearts of those who call it home. It sits tameless among the bones of things left behind and worlds that never were or are yet to come, and flays life of the temporary and the superficial to reveal what we in our surrender and hopeful na\u00efvet\u00e9 have deemed what matters, what mutates, what lasts: love, art, the will of the individual, the strength of the collective, the desolate and tenebrous beauty of destruction, the toxic acid-burn of creativity. It is a legacy of madmen and dissidents made to survive until the next age of the world, when our ruins will tell the archaeologists of the future and the visitors from other worlds that we, too, were here.<\/p>\n

To exist in a place never meant for man, to dig roots in the hardpack sand and stand day after day against the relentless sun, to breed the bastard brainchildren of our imaginations into something viable and real \u2014 this is mutation. And because the painting is the brush is the hand is the artist, Charlie Russell was the mutagen, an avatar of the anarchistic aether that spun galaxies from nothing and wove webs between stars. When the waters receded and the dove returned to Noah with the olive branch in its beak, it was the crow \u2014 not content with capture \u2014 that kept flying, seeking, searching for a place beyond the bloated horizon.<\/p>\n

It had to land somewhere.<\/p>\n

East Jesus is Charlie\u2019s personal truth, and truth survives when the rest of us are all blown away.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Hidden Art Scene] East Jesus at Slab City 23 Sidewinder Rd. Niland, CA 92257 By Jessica Johnson Let me start off by saying that East Jesus is probably unlike anything you have ever experienced before. This place is brimming with thought-provoking details. I mean, this is REAL art, each piece having a powerful message and ALL being created from recycled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":453,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[828,574,742,891,895],"tags":[961,964,965,963,962],"class_list":["post-10634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure-central","category-art","category-art-photography","category-beauty","category-beer-zine","tag-east-jesus","tag-hidden-california","tag-hidden-san-diego","tag-meth-art","tag-slab-city"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12696,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2015\/11\/21\/california-institute-of-abnormalarts\/","url_meta":{"origin":10634,"position":0},"title":"California Institute of Abnormalarts","author":"Reviewer Rob","date":"November 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The California Institute of Abnormalarts in Burbank by Reviewer Rob Here's some pics from Friday the thirteenth at California Institute of Abnormalarts in Burbank, from the first visit I had there. Radio Relay League and True Violet were the bands this night. I had been meaning to get in those\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"One of the many surreal attractions at the California Institute of Abnormalarts: according to Carl Crew I think he said it's a mummy embalmed with murcury from the Chinatown district of San Francisco. ~caption and photo by Reviewer Rob.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/web-murcury-mummy.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/web-murcury-mummy.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/web-murcury-mummy.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/web-murcury-mummy.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/web-murcury-mummy.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/web-murcury-mummy.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7170,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2012\/09\/05\/art-san-diego-contemporary-art-fair-sept-6-9\/","url_meta":{"origin":10634,"position":1},"title":"ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair Sept 6-9","author":"admin","date":"September 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"International Contemporary Art Fair in San Diego?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0Tweet Reported by Katherine Sweetman THE Contemporary Art Fair for San Diego,\u00a0ART SAN DIEGO, is happening this weekend.\u00a0 The fair, in its fourth year and third location, will this time be held at the\u00a0The Balboa Park Activity Center, a \"38,000 square-foot multi-purpose gymnasium\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "art"","block_context":{"text":"art","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/art-san-diego-2012_dates_ubs.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/art-san-diego-2012_dates_ubs.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/art-san-diego-2012_dates_ubs.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/art-san-diego-2012_dates_ubs.png?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6070,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2012\/01\/19\/other-than-arts-ota-2-nfc-cage-fights-this-firday-jan-20th\/","url_meta":{"origin":10634,"position":2},"title":"Other Than Arts (OTA) #2: NFC CAGE FIGHTS – THIS FIRDAY: Jan 20t","author":"admin","date":"January 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"(OTA) #2: NFC CAGE FIGHTSTweet By Katherine Sweetman In this reoccurring blog column, I\u2019d like to highlight things that are not typically considered \u201cArt\u201d. One might think, perhaps this means Dance, Fashion, Theater\u2026 but, no. More like Tattoo Arts, Martial Arts, Extreme Performance Arts. That\u2019s more along the lines of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "art"","block_context":{"text":"art","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mma-flier-jan-20.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5590,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2011\/11\/16\/new-talent-at-reviewer-magazine\/","url_meta":{"origin":10634,"position":3},"title":"Contributing Art Editor, Katherine Sweetman","author":"admin","date":"November 16, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"[Announcement]Introducing The New Reviewer Magazine Contributing Art Editor, Katherine SweetmanTweet Reviewer Magazine welcomes the smart and savvy writer, artist and filmmaker, Katherine Sweetman as the new Arts editor. Katherine's intriguing list of accomplishments include; directing 3D Reality TV shows on such provocative topics as strippers and amateur cage fighters; running\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "update"","block_context":{"text":"update","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/update\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/kath-headshot-300x228.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8660,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2013\/05\/17\/recovering-from-sandy\/","url_meta":{"origin":10634,"position":4},"title":"Surf Movies, Singlefins, and Lapsed Catholics","author":"Reviewer Rob","date":"May 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"[Film Updates] North East Surf Culture Recovering From Sandy Tweet Curators named for New York film event Smash Productions LLC announces its curating panel for the film section of Smash Fest 1, the first ever profit sharing surf film festival. The official SMASH FEST 1 Curating Panel is made up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mikey DeTemple","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/smash-mikey-de-temple-300x204.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6201,"url":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/2012\/01\/31\/san-diego-looses-an-important-figure-in-the-visual-arts\/","url_meta":{"origin":10634,"position":5},"title":"San Diego Loses an Important Figure in the Visual Arts","author":"admin","date":"January 31, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"[Obituary]RIP Dennis Paul Batt (1952-2012)Tweet Reported by Katherine Sweetman Selections from Dennis Paul Batt personal website: Dennis was a Past-President of the San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild and a former trustee of the San Diego Museum of Art (2000-2002). As Guild President he developed the first democratically juried\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "archive"","block_context":{"text":"archive","link":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/category\/archive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/index21.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/index21.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/index21.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/index21.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/453"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10634"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10672,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10634\/revisions\/10672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/reviewermag.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}