Date: 08-17-13
Shot & Edited by: Jakob Owens
Creative Direction by: Luis Valdizon
I grew up writing graffiti. My friends and I would get together and write it everywhere during our adolescent years. Missions during the day, night and beyond were exhilirating and down-right awesome. Today, I channel my creativity and artistic expression into music, but my appreciaiton for visual art still runs deep. Thinking back on my days as a graf artist, I sometimes ask myself, "why did we do it?" Well, for one, we wanted recognition. We wanted to be EVERYWHERE so EVERYONE could see our work.
On the contrary of the graffiti mentality are two incredible artists who have taken to the desert sand of California to create and display their incredible pieces/exhibits. To think that an artist would make something so inspiring that people would want to travel from all over to see it is just next-level. Instead of the in-your-face, you-can't-avoid-me approach that I took as a youngster, Leonard Knight and Noah Purifoy have applied the "if you build it, they will come" mantra and watched it flourish. They created Salvation Mountain and the Desert Outdoor Museum in places where you must seek them out to appreciate them. Both are permanent installations that were built by hand and created piece-by-piece over time to yield truly stunning results.
When plotting out the video for "One Day", we wanted to embody the dreamer, yet common-man mentality showcased in the song. When I came across Knight and Purifoy's masterpieces, I felt a connection. Folk trap meets folk art. There's a certain desire for recognition--no matter how humble--behind any artist who's putting their time, hard work and dedication into something; but no matter how much recognition is possible, integrity must always be maintained. There's a certain feeling I think all artists have that makes us believe, "what I'm doing is great, it just needs to be executed the way I envision it and given to the people in the biggest, yet most authentic way possible." That's how I feel about the music, anyway, and that's how I like to think Knight and Purifoy felt when they set out on their missions to create Salvation Mountain and the Desert Outdoor Museum.
If you ever take a roadtrip through Southern California, be sure to check out these legendary art fixtures.
Check out more info about Salvation Mountain here and Desert Outdoor Museum here.
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