Category: admiration

“if there are only foolish minds + mindless bodies there’ll be nothing serious to annihilate. in the highest government positions almost no human beings have been seen for decades now. anywhere in the world… mankind must recover its imaginative powers, recover living thoughts + real being. no longer accept these insults to its soul + do so soon.” — SAUL BELLOW, Humbolt’s Gift

in 2009 i traveled to SALVATION MOUNTAIN in the south desert region of california near slab city, niland + not too far from the salton sea. it’s the kind of place you go when you don’t want to be found. a group of us drove down there for a shoot + were honored to have the opportunity to meet LEONARD KNIGHT, creator of the famed mountain + folk art monument .
he formed the massive sculpture by covering bales of hay + dirt with concrete + paint. decades on it rose high in the sky, covered with bible verses conveying the message of universal love.
sadly, LEONARD died this week, but his beautiful gift to us all lives on.

thank you to CHRIS STAMP for capturing this moment of me capturing another.

we stopped in slab city for lunch + met some kind souls.

you will be missed, LEONARD.

*update: the boys swept every category they were nominated for.

this is what it looks like when nice people succeed. could not be happier or prouder for my good friends PETER FRANCO + TODD EDWARDS for all their hard work + expert musicianship being honored with nominations tonight at the 56th GRAMMY awards for their contributions on the DAFT PUNK record RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES.

and of course, to the robots themselves + another collaborator, DJ FALCON aka STÉPHANE QUÊME, congratulations. get ready to party our asses off tonight boys!