Boeing 727, photo from Capetown Craig, Creative Commons

Here’s an interesting idea being proposed by a Swiss artist; take something that flies and bury it under the desert sand.  That’s what Swiss artist Christof Buchel is planning to do.

He found an old Boeing 727 at a nearby airplane graveyard, bought it, and plans to make it a piece of art in the desert.  Visitors will be able to visit and enter the plane while it is buried 32 feet underground, at a site near Boron, California.

This is a pretty interesting idea.  We usually don’t hear about landscape artists, right?  Well, this idea might just put Buchel on the map, so to speak.   Sorry – bad joke!

The project is currently going through the permitting process with Kern County.   Some people might be thinking to themselves, “Oh, so this is it, huh?  Humans have been generating art for so long and now we’re going overboard.”

I don’t think so, though.  I like the idea of developing landscaping as a form of artwork.  And this type of project is very unique and different.  Just the thought of taking out of its element and placing it into a completely different context is exciting.

Hopefully, Buchel’s project gets off – er – under the ground.

Save Our Post Office

COMMENTARY

During a recent eighteen day Mojave Desert trip, I stopped on a Saturday, in Bakersfield, to mail a package.  It was early morning and I found the Post Office was “closed.”  What?  It was only 10:20 AM.  Didn’t I have until 2:00 PM to mail on a Saturday, like the Post Office where I live?  Oh well, I’ll just mail it at another town.  I stopped at the Post Office in Lake Isabella.  It was 11:15 AM.  Yep, you guessed–”closed.”  Locals, having to come into the Post Office to pick up their mail, told me, “The Post Office is closed on Saturdays.”  I thought, “What’s going on?” 

Trying  again to mail the same package on a weekday, while in Independence, CA, it was late afternoon, but not 5:00 PM, the usual or “normal” closing time for most Post Offices, as I knew it.  Again, you guessed it–”Closed.”  It was 4:40, they close at 4:30. What is going on?

Having not visited Darwin, CA for quite some time, I moseyed on over to that quaint little town.  While touring around Darwin, from all angles came a faint sound like Indian drumming. Following the sound to its source, there appeared the Darwin Post Office.  Out front were a group of picketing protesters.  ”What’s going on?” I asked.

Perhaps you guessed it–the Post Office was facing closure.  In fact, the locals said the Postal Service was seriously considering closing its postal stations in Darwin, Keeler and other Mojave Desert points.  Cost savings!  Although a serious issue, the folks of Darwin held a peaceful and  jovial protest, combining their “Save Our Post Office” picketing  with the “Occupy America” protest of November 17.  Their impromptu demonstration had no press coverage, unlike other Occupy America demonstrations nationwide.  What else could they do, but make light of a sad situation?  After a time, they packed up their drums, maracas, protest signs and silently went home.  Reflecting on the times and movements, all I could think was, “What’s going on?”

A post at PanamintValley.com with the most recent video from The REAL Desert Dogs has sparked a heated debate.  In the video, the four explorers get stuck, burn a lot of gas, and finally make it into Saline Valley.   They have about a 1/4 tank of gas left, and claim to be 100 miles from the nearest town.  In reality, it’s only about 70 miles, which is still pretty far.

The controversy began when one person speculated whether the Desert Dogs are in fact advocating going into the desert unprepared.  “My concern is folks that see this, and DON’T take it for drama. We lose a couple of people per year in DV because of lack of preparation. It just makes me nervous that artistic license (we only had 1/4 tank of gas) will be taken as fact,” said the person.

“The idea of venturing to Saline without a shovel, with a 1/4 tank of gas, and without clear knowledge of the roads is something I wouldn’t want to encourage,” he continued.

The Desert Dogs respond saying the intent was to create suspense for Part 2, and to express elation at having survived.

Check out the video and you tell us.  Do you think portraying victory over dire situations is irresponsible?  Do you think exaggerations (i.e. 100 miles from nearest town with 1/4 tank of gas) is irresponsible?

The REAL Desert Dogs' logo, created by Charlene Ventanilla