Parables in Concrete: Desert Christ Park
by Pasadena Adjacent
The concrete visionary Frank Antone Martin (1889-1961) found his place as a pattern maker for Hughs Aircraft during the height of the A-Bomb scare. As an ode to peace and brotherhood Antonio started building a giant concrete Jesus on his Inglewood driveway. Antonio’s first choice, the Grand Canyon, took a pass on it. Forest Lawn wanted it but instead the artist chose to wait in hopes of better prospects. Fate intervened in the guise of desert homesteader and Pastor Eddie Garver. Eddie was a bad boy who converted to christianity after being run over by a truck. Having settled on a hillside above the townof Yucca Valley, Eddie worked on his church between odd jobs. When he prayed stuff showed up; church bells, congregants and Frank Antonio Martin with his 3 ton Christ. The beginnings of Desert Christ Park; dedicated Easter Sunday 1951
Everyones favorite; Suffer the Little Children to Come Unto Me (Mark 10:13-16)
Join the crowd at the Mount (Matt: 5:7-15) say hello to Jesus, Mary and Martha (John 11:1-44) hey! it’s the Samaritan Woman at the Well (John 4:4-26) meet up at The Last Supper (Matt. 26:17-30)
Desert quiet in the cumbling garden of Gesthsemane (Math. 26: 36-46)
.Mr V has his picture taken with the Savior
Frank Antonio Martin figured if his gesture towards “peace and brotherhood” failed to stave off Kingdom Come, his use of reinforced concrete would. Maybe so, but not a visit by the ACLU in 1988 followed by the Landers 7.2 Quake in 1992. Since then the prophets have suffered the loss of limbs and jurisdiction funding.
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Installment Eleven of my series examining the “Secret, Feral and Concrete”
Desert Christ Park can be accessed from Mohawk Trail, off Highway 62 in Yucca Valley, California
Wild Horses will drag me into 2010 compliantly gladly happily cheerfully….giddy up giddy up giddy giddy kitty
Wow.
Who was the jaunty one with his hands on his hips?
You really need to get a grant to do a documentary, PA. Where do you FIND this stuff???
On the whole, melancholy. Funny how some of the statues seem as natural as the rocks, while others look trite and corny.
I also like the fact that you too, folks, can join in the Last Supper.
Thanks for taking us here.
Oh little town of Yucca Valley
How still thy statues lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sky
The cement Christ says hi.
I’m with laurie, the hands on the hips look is not great unless you’re Superman, or would that be Superstatue? Another over the top revelation from P.A! Seem to be a lot of Jesus stautes on site or do cement Biblical figures all look alike to human eyes?
I’ve been to this place. It’s hard to miss when you’re heading through Yucca Valley on Hwy 62–which is still two lanes there, I think. Looks like there are more statues since I was there, which has to be at least ten years.
I like the whappity whap windy sounds. Like thunder from de lawd.
Happy New Year, PA. Like you said, hurry hurry 2010.
At first glance it seems a little too contrived but then I’m reminded that Christianity is a desert faith. Mind you, I didn’t say religion so it fits and it doesn’t fit. I’m not a fan of Western Jesus but don’t have anything to reference for Semetic Jesus so I’ve just let go of the whole visual notion of Christ.
It’s interesting to see your series and the directions it takes. Do you have to think about it a lot or is it all pretty intuitive? When I’m blogging on a regular basis I don’t give it a lot of thought, I just head out the door, execute, edit, and publish, stick a fork in me, I’m done.
You and Mr V have a Yippee Kaya Coyote New Year, PA! Aoooooooo!!!!! See you on the other side!
I found the beautiful Nee Sha Sha. As white as these statues.
I see Mr “V” found his groove. You found the Holy Grail?
Happy new year! Thanks for sharing news of your cat-drawing plan. Sounds like a good one. All the best.
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The first dawn of the new year 2010. Sunrise over Saddleback Mountain in Orange County as seen from my backyard
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/4237544940_148eee1a58_b.jpg
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Laurie: My friend and occasional commenter Chef King Walter had his studio located very near-by for over a decade. I’ve been to Christ Park many many times. I have slides somewhere of myself and Walter sitting on the patriarch’s laps.
AH: It’s not a secret but It doesn’t exactly draw in the crowds either. I’m always alone when I visit. I think most people pass through Yucca Valley to Joshua Tree. If they stick around they can head up Weeping Woman road to Lander’s “Big Rock” or the Integration Station which is close to where Chef King Walter and family lived.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4236944837_8b0ce39888_o.jpg
D: Antone (as he liked to be called) was an orphan who supposedly never spent a day in school. Completely self taught. My figurative sculpture teacher taught us a couple of traps amateurs fall into that I see in Antone’s work. They tend to flatten the frontal planes of the face and (even with the model in front) will unconsciously sculpt the face to look like there own. So if everyone looks like Jesus…Jesus looks like Antone.
Petrea: It’s actually easy to miss. Unless you crane your neck and know exactly where to look. You might have it confused with another bible park that was visible from the highway. Then again, once participating in the “Great Supper” its kind of hard to forget. (Better de Lawd then those pesky overhead planes that screw with my audio)
Poor Nee Sha Sha. I tortured that horse with hair care products.
Paula: The concepts come almost effortlessly, but putting it together using the inescapable, irascible, miss-spellable “written word” IS work. My modus operandi is a ability to see patterns and associations through objects and arcane history. I connect them visually through the laborious use of language. Academic Dear Watson
I’m glad you hooked into the desert connection. Thats why I put in that last link. I liked the poetic opening. I think the desert is akin to a inner spiritual mark you hit after you’ve wrung out your last tear. Quite.
Jean: So happy to hear from you! Where ya been? Yesterday I climbed the trail around Eagle Rock. When you reach the top you can sign into a notebook. I took one of my pens and did a plein aire landscape drawing
these are fabulous, we might just go out and visit them today !!
Maybe it’s the other one I visited. It was on the way to Joshua Tree. Are there two out that way? I could have been off the main road, I do a lot of that.
I guess I sound simplistic and I didn’t mean to do that. I was referring to the elusive element of attraction/focus/knowing when you see it that’s what I want to explore visually. That’s why no two photo blogs are alike, the POV is unique.
I know what you mean about the writing – it’s often where I make sense of the image. After all, quite often the circumstances in which the photos are taken surely don’t create interest. That’s the second part of the first part and the part I also find difficult.
I’ve been thinking about your comment regarding mistakes of the self taught. I totally see what you mean.
I see an almost Egyptian frontality and stiffness to the figures. Funny, because I kept wanting to see them polychomed with jewels for eyes or something.
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For those of you whom selected and read the earlier link in the comment thread for the nearby Landers (home of the 7.2 quake) and Van Tassel’s “Integration” facility near Big Rock you will come across the name Nikola Tesla, who incidentally was played by David Bowie in the film The Prestige. His name showed up earlier in “Desert Folly” where Pasadena Adjacent introduced the giant Pachyderm and desert dinosaurs. Elephant Topsy died in Thomas Edison’s desire to prove Tesla wrong…and the Hughs/Douglas Aircraft reference? employer of Frank Antonia Martin and Van Tassel and blogger Tash out in Westchester (another Pasadena Adjacent series).
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4236944837_8b0ce39888_o.jpg
it’s not to late
Tesla wins extra points just for having such a cool name. I remember a documentary about him, I think when he invented things he did them in his mind, of a piece. I think that would have been difficult to translate into the real world. Despite his issues, he lived a long while.
Wow!
I’ll have to watch the Tesler video several times, as I do most of your videos.
Is the dessert sun keeping the sculputures so white. Quite an display you’ve brought to us. Fascinating! (love the peaking Mr. V – clever & funny).
Interesting you should mention the old home boy Tesla – I talked about him just today during a walk along the cliffs (you & Mr. V would of loved it) with my 12-yr-old friend Nikola who is doing a report/presentation on Tesla. Hope you are over the nasty bug. January is a great month for the cliffs – let me know if you can came down some weekend.
PS – we had no $ when we 1st got here. Robinson’s Downtown LA used to have great month end sales, as well as a bargain basement.
Love the video — is it some screenwriter’s pitch video or something? I’m such a fangirl nerd. I tried to write a script about Tesla back in film school but never really landed on the right way to tell his story. I can imagine Leonardo DiCaprio or Johnny Depp or Ed Norton or RObert Downey Jr. playing him. Marconi was interesting, too.
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Long ago I enquired about a particular caucasian woman (she was a friend of a friends parents) who had joined her japanese husband at Manzanar rather then be separated. While there she had illustrated her experience. This work later became the subject of a PBS program. Once again I discovered the repeated opening of “died in a flea bag motel in (name a big city) USA. The Nikola Tesla video opens with similar words. Someone ought to do a series on the subject
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Lisa: Did you go?
Petrea: The California desert seems to make room for both the Biblical and the Jurassic. Don’t tell anybody but your question may be answered in a super duper engaging future post hosted by guest blogger Mr V.
PJ: Simplistic…really? I liked what I thought you were asking because it made me think about my process. The Watson comment came from my self consciousness of thinking my response was overly academic. Maybe, but it’s my truth as I know it at this moment……. Tesla (does this come to mind?)
http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/
Shanna: It is true. It takes awhile to get through one of my posts. Instead of using links as footnotes I make them integral to understanding the piece. Notice the use of the word “piece”? I guess I see them as little art works in and of themselves.
Yes, the sculpture, built like boxes with abrupt curves.
Tash: The sun probably plays a part in it. Actually after the park was pulled from public funding a fellow named Wolfgang Mascheler took on the job of keeping the park up….then he died but the heads have been reattached. The problem is with the missing limbs and fingers.
all Ramona’s family would meet at my Grandmother’s in El Monte and drag us over to the local Montgomery Wards. I still remember their pet section. They were selling an Ocelot. 400 dollars.
Laurie: You should have, you were ahead of the curve. Someone else eventually did
http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/
Did you see the Bowie version? For ethnic authenticity I’d go with Goran Visnjic. Otherwise Marilyn Manson for the pre-50 Tesla and Steven Tyler for the post 50 Tesla.
Hope you guys are feeling better up there.
The plague has come and gone, due to the currative effects of George Van Tassel’s dome
Thanks for enquiring.
This place reminds me of this place: http://www.stjoseph-shrine.org/
in Yarnell, Arizona, near to the ranch. I wrote a poem about it in the book. What is it about replicating Jesus in concrete in desert spaces that so fascinates?
very unique and charming sculptures
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Linda: I refer to it as the Jesus and the Jurassic phenomena. The desert draws to it the believers and non believers alike.
Interesting link and I’m reminded of the history behind your piece of Arizona.
The Big Rock of nearby Landers CA split on Feb 23 2000 and was expected to according to Hopi prophecy as translated by desert Swami Shri Naath Devi
http://www.crawford2000.co.uk/hopisplit.htm