Leonard Knight
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I let my mountain do my talking.
Male
77 years old
NILAND, California
United States
Last Login: 6/14/2009
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Leonard Knight's Film Bio
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| Website | saltonseadoc.com | | Professional Affiliations | Visionary Art Museum - Baltimore, Maryland |
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Leonard Knight's Interests
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| General | Painting, making adobe, chatting with God, and well, painting. | | Music | Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie | | Movies | "Leonard and the Mountain," "Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea," "Desertopia," and "Mountain." | | Television | Huell Howser's "California's Gold" | | Books | "The King James Bible" | | Heroes | Jesus Christ |
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fishbone2006
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Leonard Knight's Details
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| Status: | Single | | Zodiac Sign: | Leo |
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Leonard Knight's Blurbs |
About me:
Born in Burlington, Vermont, I spent much of my early years working odd jobs, including a stint doing auto body repair. Although I was never religious, one day I spontaneously started repeating "Jesus, I'm a sinner, please come into my heart." From that day forward, I made it my life's mission to bring "The Sinner's Prayer" to the world.
First, out of free scraps of balloon fabric, I built a giant hot air balloon that proclaimed my message in a patchwork of bright, colored letters. Upon completion, I brought the giant balloon to the town of Niland, on the south shore of the Salton Sea. However, the maiden voyage of a project that had taken 4 years to complete, was unsuccessful, as the balloon never got off the ground.
I eventually setup camp at the entrance of Slab City, an abandoned military base filled with squatters, located just outside of Niland. It was there that I started to construct Salvation Mountain, a giant 3-story monument to Jesus out of paint, old tires, and assorted junk. The first attempt at building my mountain was also unsuccessful, as after 4 years of construction, it suddenly collapsed.
Undeterred, I prayed to God and developed a new method of construction through the use of adobe - a mixture of mud and hay which proved to be a much lighter and flexible building material.
However, my faith would be tested again, when the county threatened to bulldoze the mountain due to claims that the paint was polluting the ground water. Independent tests were conducted and it was soon proven that it was in fact not a "toxic nightmare." Outcry from the local community soon convinced the county to leave me alone.
After 19 years of trial and error, I am still building my creation, which has attracted worldwide attention. I have been featured in numerous newspapers, magazines, and televsion programs. My original hot air balloon is now on display in the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore, MD.
I was recently featured in the short documentary Leonard & The Mountain on PBS' Independent Lens.
You can see more photos of Salvation Mountain on FLICKR.
For more information on Savation Mountain:
San Diego Union-Tribune article
Leonard Knight's Desert Vision
Interview with Leonard by the "Deuce of Clubs"
Salvation Mountain: The Art of Leonard Knight
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Leonard Knight has 320 friends.
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