Art Around Every Corner

Unlike a lot of cities, Palm Springs and its neighboring communities don’t have just one art district. Perhaps it’s the continuing and encouraged diversity of its inhabitants or the friendly rivalry between cities up and down the Coachella Valley. Whatever the reason, there are artist enclaves scattered throughout the valley and each carries its own special uniqueness.

Art and Palm Springs go together like the blended reaction of alcohol ink spread out on a tupo paper. The area is a strange cornucopia of harsh geography, colorful history and strange transplants who have transformed this stretch of desert into a playground for artists of every ilk.

On the surface, Palm Springs is known as a desert oasis, a fashionable resort town and global mecca for innovative modern architecture. Among the founders of Desert Modernism were Bauhaus-influenced architects Albert Frey and E. Stewart Williams, whose legacies can still be seen in numerous public and private structures around town. But beneath that façade of blue skies and bright white modern buildings is an environment bubbling over with creative endeavors from all the arts.

From the outrageously expensive art pieces on El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert to the rudimentary scratch pieces at the East Jesus outdoor gallery in Slab City, artistic endeavors have taken on every imaginable form and fashion, shape and design, subtle and in-your-face expressions of thought and ideas.

The Backstreet Art district is located several miles from downtown Palm Springs in an old strip shopping mall. There are dozens of artist-owned galleries and working studios which feature paintings, sculpture, photography, jewelry, ceramics as well as space for the performing arts.

A much larger area for artists is located at the Palm Springs Art Museum and north of downtown in the Art and Design District. At one time this area was a barren stretch of boarded up storefronts and half empty motels that offered none of the glamor and cache of old or new Palm Springs. Over time that changed and now the Uptown Art and Design District is a true enclave of galleries, design shops, restaurants and housing for the creative minded types.

The Ultimate in artistic regeneration and commercial display is located down the valley in Palm Desert. El Paseo Drive is a mile long commercial strip that is generations and millions of dollars removed from the mud huts of early painters deep in the desert. It is meant to embody the style and elegance of high society in the desert. This art-strung boulevard houses over 250 retailers, professional services, renowned restaurants and locally owned boutiques. It is the ultimate avenue for anything and everything you never knew you needed or wanted.

Desert art has come a long way from those first ancient petroglyphs through ‘en plein air’ to the rich tapestry of creative talent that resides here now. There are a plethora of art shows, film festivals, world-class gallery and museum events, rotating exhibitions, national touring and locally produced theater, classical to contemporary music concerts, couture fashion shows and architecture and design tours. The Southwest Arts Festival is just one of a dozen or more art festivals throughout ‘the season.’

South of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley lies a cluster of primeval ancient relics of art that confuse, shock and amuse the errant wanderer who happens upon their grounds. I discovered that several years ago when I stumbled upon several enclaves of mystery just south of the Salton Sea.

Down a dusty road from the Salton Sea is Salvation Mountain. This strange collection of painted hills is one of the premiere examples of folk art in the middle of nowhere America. The site has become a mecca for those influenced by and intrigued with this kaleidoscope of painted hills, crude cave dwellings and religious scripture. The cave’s paint can and hay bale construction would challenge even the most daring of spelunkers.

The artwork is made from adobe, straw and thousands of gallons of lead-free paint. It was created by the late Leonard Knight (1931-2014). A deeply religious man, Knight created an art piece that encompasses numerous murals and areas painted with Christian sayings and Bible verses. Knight’s philosophy was built around the ‘Sinners Prayer.’

Slab City otherwise known as ‘The Slabs’ is a snowbird campsite used by recreational vehicle owners alongside squatters from across North America. It takes its name from the concrete slabs that remain from an abandoned World War II Marine barracks of Camp Dunlap.

It’s estimated that there are about one and fifty permanent residents (squatters) who live in the Slabs year around. Some live on government checks, others just want to live ‘off the grid’ and a few come to stretch out their retirement income. The camp has no electricity, no running water, no sewers or toilets and no trash pickup service. Sounds like a dry run for the apocalypse.

Despite the free shoe tree on the way into town and the free library, most of the residents have sectioned off their trailers, tents and sleeping bags with tires, pallets or barbwire. Free is free unless it comes to their piece of the desert then even squatters want their personal space recognized.

No trip to Slab City would be complete without a swing by East Jesus. East Jesus has been described as an experimental, sustainable art installation. East Jesus is a colloquialism for the middle of nowhere beyond the edge of services. Made from discarded material that has been reused, recycled or repurposed, East Jesus encourages visitors to imagine a world without waste in which every action is an opportunity for self-expression.

West Satan is simply a suburb of East Jesus. I found the art gallery there fascinating and mind-expanding. It was tripping out without the acid and a glimpse into the lives of those who don’t want to be a part of ‘any scene’ here in fantasy land or the rest of the world.

The high desert communities of the Morongo Valley, Yucca Valley and Joshua tree continue to attract artists and musicians now as it has since the turn of the century. This is another world of vast nothingness peppered with the sad remnants of past lives. It’s a place where stillness thunders louder than the wind and God did some of his finest paintings. It is a vast virtual sound studio for the creative musician and blank canvas for artists of every discipline.

The area is a mecca for aging rock stars and modern-day bohemians along with ordinary people all in search of a new beginning. It’s the place where people go to get lost and be creative.

Joshua tree and these surrounding communities embrace another form of existence; all of which is surrounded by endless horizons.

Yet as much as time changes the flavor of art, Sharon and I still get to immerse ourselves in the daily show all around us. Each morning, sunlight still dances off of the mountain side and casts imaginative shadows over our lives. It’s like a new show taking place every day and we get to be in the audience and enjoying that celestial talent from above.

Middle Class Vanilla

Palm Springs in its heyday was a classic case of heighten expectations meeting self-induced satisfaction. And that was just for the movie stars who came to play out their roles in the sun-drenched playground of their peers. For the average visitor to Palm Springs it was a welcome respite from the normalcy back home and high hopes of seeing one of their favorite stars on the sidewalk instead of the sky.

Saturday nights downtown found plain vanilla visitors intermingling with their raspberry and peach idols under an apricot moon. There were simple sidewalk exchanges which morphed into a strange metamorphosis of actor and audience as one. And it could only happen in that curious museum called Palm Springs.

Unfortunately by the late 60’s things had begun to unravel.  The studio system had lost its power over the stars and most of them found new havens to hide away in. Palm Springs no longer had the panache it had hoarded for so many years. Mexico opened its arms and Europe expanded as the sophisticated playground of the international jet set. By the mid-70s, vacationers migrated down valley and Palm Springs faded like a matinee idol. Old Palm Springs gradually acquired the moniker of ‘God’s Waiting Room.’ The city tried to capitalize on spring break and groom a more youthful image but for the most part, that era had ended for good.

Yet despite the absence of Hollywood’s elite on the streets, Palm Springs still had glorious weather, amenities galore and numerous attractions nearby. Middle class vanilla continued to flock to the valley during the winter months even if most of the stars were in seclusion. But what they gradually found was a town asleep at the wheel. The city fathers had been resting on their laurels until even it’s ‘Frank Sinatra’ image grew tired and was almost forgotten. Several leaders tried to pump life back into the town. Sonny Bono was one of most enthusiastic of that group. The recession of 2008 did little to help the situation.  It was only after a small group of hipsters and music lovers descended on the city that things began to turn around.

Some say that Coachella changed the old image of Palm Springs. Others claim it was a resurgent interest in Mid-Century Modern design that started to once again draw crowds to the desert. It didn’t hurt its image that Leonardo DiCaprio bought Diana Shore’s place in the old community of Las Palmas. Now rumors are rampant about the latest A-lister who is shopping for a place nearby.

Whatever the cause there does seem to be a kind of Palm Springs renaissance going on. There are still plenty of oldsters in their Cadillac’s, Bentleys and Porsches cruising the boulevards. But now crowds of millennials are also taking up space by the pools and resorts and art galleries.

They say time heals all wounds and Palm Springs is no different. Hollywood’s elite of the 40s and 50s have mostly passed on but their descendants are still finding Palm Springs an attractive alternative to the image factory that is Los Angeles. A new audience is rediscovering what Clare Bow stumbled upon back in the ‘20s; a very special place two hours east of L.A.

Palm Springs has slowly regained its panache. The town is a happening place once again. After years of economic stagnation and entertainment limbo, the pinnacle being 2008, Palm Springs has risen like a Phoenix once again. It’s no longer your parents or grandparents vacation spot any longer.

Palm Springs is fast becoming just about the hippest hot spot this side of Brooklyn, Silver Lake and West Hollywood. West Coast hipsters, designers, remodelers, artists, musicians and actors are all rediscovering what their forefathers knew all along.

There is still something magical about the surrounding mountains, desert scape, warm winter months, and hip happening places all over town. But now it is virtual cornucopia of cultural, artistic, sexual, musical and intellectual stirrings for just about everyone from the most ballsy art culture-types to the more modest of minds. It all seems to be happening here.

While the hint of change had been in the air for a long time, it took the turnover of an old motel to kick-start the entire process. Most observers would agree that it was the conversion of an old Howard Johnson motel on Palm Canyon Drive into the new hip ACE hotel that became the catalyst for the hipsters to start coming to town. Next came a whole cache of hotels changing hands and branding themselves as ‘hip.’ The Holiday Inn Express became the Saguaro, the Ramada Inn became The Curve. The (Hollywood hideaway) Parker went through renovations and the fabled Riviera Hotel underwent a 60 million renovation a couple of years ago.

A new hotel on the north end of town will be a Chris Pardo designed modernist 32-room boutique hotel. In the heart of downtown a new Klimpton Hotel will be the central showcase for a brand new downtown Palm Springs beginning in 2015.



The Uptown Design District continues to draw designers, artisans and other enthusiasts of modern style with shops that reflect this growing interest in Mid-Century Modern furnishings, clothing, art, lighting and accessories.


 

The Palm Springs Art Museum will be a focal point in the redeveloped downtown area with direct pedestrian links to the heart of the activities.

The list of current and upcoming attractions in the city and surrounding area continues to grow.
Film has always played a large part in attracting patrons from around the country. Leading the list is the Palm Springs International Film Festival which annually attracts thousands of film enthusiasts from around the country.  Not to be undone by this huge event, there are other film festivals such as Film Noir, Short Fest, Native America Films and Cinema Diverse.

The Coachella Music and Arts Festival draws thousands of fans from around the country for its two weekend festivities in April. Following on the draw of Coachella, Stage Coach attracts country music fans the following weekend. Tachevah is a Palm Springs block party scheduled in between both events.

In addition to Village Fest which is a street fair in downtown Palm Springs every Thursday night there are a number of specialty events continue to grow in popularity.

There is Modernism Week, Fashion Week, the Food and Wine Festival, Palm Springs Juried Art Show, Restaurant Week, Chili Cook-off, Oktobertfest, Motorcycle Weekend and Pride Festival.

The Humana Challenge is part of the PGA Tour’s early season West Coast swing. This is followed by the Kraft Nabisco Championship. Then there is Palm Springs Power Baseball during the spring months and the world-famous PNB Parabis Open Tennis event.

The changes are coming fast and furious to Palm Springs. It’s a strange new world and yet no different than the cultural, artistic, musical and esoteric philosophical shifting slants on life that I saw with the Hippies and other bohemians of that ilk back in the ‘60s.



My visits to the ACE hotel reawakened memories of hanging out at the Triangle Bar on West Bank and exchanging slants on philosophy with the hippies there

It’s a new era for Palm Springs and I just so happen to be ‘stuck in the middle’ with it.

Nowadays there is a much younger set of participants in town. But I can still observe. I won’t be hustling chicks at Coachella or trading parliaments at the ACE or dropping a lot of green at some foodie’s newest kingdom.

But I can still look and learn and maybe steal a scene or grasp of dialogue that just might end up in one of my books. Not a bad trade for an old wanna-be hipster.

And the weather’s great too.