Los Angeles-based arts writer/critic Jori Finkel previewed Desert X21 for the New York Times on Friday, March 12, 2021. Her preview features Jackrabbit Homestead, a 112-square-foot Small Tract homesteader cabin inspired by the writings of Catherine Venn (Peterson) who wrote a six-part series detailing her homesteading experience for Desert Magazine throughout 1950—when this highly popular “baby homestead” movement was just burgeoning. Venn’s original homestead was located in Section 36 of Cahuilla Hills off Highway 74 near the exclusive Bighorn Golf Club above Palm Desert, California.
Accompanying the cabin, located in downtown Palm Desert where Small Tract cabins had once proliferated before Big Box chains and restaurants took over, is an audio soundscape collaboration between artist Kim Stringfellow, Georgia-based musician/artist/author Jim White along with singer/songwriter Claire M. Campbell (Hope for Agoldensummer), who brought Ms. Venn’s voice to life. Tim Halbur, who has collaborated with Stringfellow for many of her previous audio projects, contributed to the sound design.
Visit the Desert X website for directions to Stringfellow’s installation (download the free app) along with the other thirteen projects. Stringfellow will be on-site on certain weekends during the exhibition which is free to the public from March 12 – May 16, 2021. Some installations require timed tickets so visit the Desert X website to schedule.
Desert X Artists Dig Beneath the Sandy Surface (Jori Finkel for New York Times, March 12, 2021)
Jackrabbit Homestead website: jackrabbithomestead.com
Photography by Lance Gerber for Desert X.