Off-The-Grid Art Tourism
Salvation Mountain, Art City, and the Future of America’s Off-Grid Art Scene
Next month, I’m catching a plane to Las Vegas to see Elvis Costello play a show.
At one level, this seems like a crazy thing to do just to hear some music. Rather than buying a concert ticket, booking a hotel room, and taking a plane flight, why not just stay home and play This Year’s Model on my headphones?
The reason is that—like most people—I enjoy going out to experience art in a physical place full of life and energy. I like stepping into music venues, art galleries, museums, movie theaters. I like to see the world transformed to accommodate the creation or curation of art.
The term for traveling to experience art is art tourism. And going to see Elvis Costello is art tourism.
It sounds a bit exotic to put it this way, but catching a plane to Vegas for a show is an incredibly normal thing to do. Every day, there are 15 nonstop flights from Sacramento (where I live) to Las Vegas. And no doubt most people on those planes are headed to Vegas—the entertainment capital of the world!—to experience art in some form or another.
The same can be said for many other popular tourist destinations. Why do many people travel to Los Angeles? To watch a movie at one of the famous theaters, to visit the LACMA or the Getty, to see a show at the Hollywood Bowl. Same with NYC: to see a Broadway show or to visit the Met or the Guggenheim.
According to one source, the global art tourism market was valued at $44 billion in 2023.
The problem with all of this is that…because it’s so normal and so popular, it’s inherently a little boring. It’s great that people are willing to spend lots of time and money to see famous museums and theaters, but at a certain point, it’s entirely a cliché thing to do. First you get your house in the suburbs, then your Costco membership, then your plane tickets to LA to visit Disneyland and also to stop by the LACMA because—you know—culture.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see Elvis Costello play at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas. But I know in my heart I’d have more fun seeing my buddy’s band Demon Wrangler playing a show at a local dive bar.
There’s a lot to be said for the benefits of art tourism. But the next level is indie/underground art tourism.
Better still? Off-the-grid art tourism.
Going off the grid is in vogue right now. For example, rather than going to Las Vegas, many young people are opting to disconnect from society and venture out into the desert in nearby Joshua Tree National Park. I recently reviewed the book YUCK by Barret Baumgart, which goes into great detail about how the Joshua tree itself has transformed from being seen as something grotesque to being a symbol of exotic beauty. Decades ago, people traveled through the desert as quickly as possible to make it to civilization in the Los Angeles Basin. Now, people are fleeing the urban wasteland for the serenity of the ancient desert.
And art tourism is very much a part of this new trend.
My first exposure to the world of off-the-grid art tourism was a trip to Salvation Mountain. This is an easy call: Visiting Salvation Mountain is a significantly more profound and memorable experience than visiting literally any art museum in the world. I’ve seen a bunch of Picassos, van Goghs, Warhols, etc. in fancy art museums. And yes, it’s mildly more engaging to see a famous painting in person than it is to see it rendered on a laptop screen—but not much. But the difference between seeing a picture of Salvation Mountain and being at Salvation Mountain is a world apart. It’s like the difference between seeing a picture of Splash Mountain as a kid and actually taking the ride.
The Future of Off-The-Grid Tourism
Artist Matty Mo—who is famous for branding himself The Most Famous Artist—is now running with this idea of off-the-grid tourism with his latest venture, Art City, Inc. Located off Route 66 in New Mexico, Art City is a 40-acre retreat with an array of art installations. Guests can buy a day pass or book an overnight stay in a cabin or a camp site.
Matty Mo has keyed in on something with massive potential.
Compared to Salvation Mountain, Art City seems a bit inauthentic, but I’ve never been to Art City so I can’t offer a fair judgment. But in any case, I love the concept and I’d say Matty Mo has keyed in on something with massive potential.
The Art City concept could easily be expanded to incorporate other types of art beyond visual installations. Matty’s 40 acres could accommodate a writer’s retreat, for example. Or the space could be used for impromptu concerts. There could even be resident musicians who play nightly shows while they work on recording new music during the day.
Eventually the facilities could expand to include permanent housing for the artists. The full-time residents could open up artisanal shops. A community could develop. Until, at last, Art City could blossom into its final form of an actual city. A bohemian paradise! An entertainment capital! Just like the promise of San Francisco, Los Angeles, or Las Vegas.
…But more likely, Art City will remain a relatively niche, small-scale, off-the-grid operation. Like Salvation Mountain. And that’s just how it should be.
I love that place.