Desert Traces
Is it truly possible Leave No Trace in 2013? Desert Traces is a temporary campsite on BLM land just East of Kingman AZ inspired by Stebbins’ 1960’s desert camping trips with family, and the wilderness management concept of Leave No Trace.
Site markers, field guides, and tents give the impression of permanence, where participants are encouraged to camp with her on October 14 to document the surroundings with photo, audio, and needle and thread. By October 20, all physical evidence will have vanished; meta data and geolocation will disappear from the digital documentation as well in an attempt to take this concept into the non-physical realm. Ironically, there is a website for this project: www.deserttraces.org
INHABIT
24 hours. Camp. Share food. Tell stories. Let the desert wash over you.
No facilities or water. All the rules of dispersed camping apply.
PARTICIPATE
Turn off geolocation data recording. Document.
Photo + Video + Sound + Needle and thread.
LEAVE NO TRACE
Clean up. Pack it out. Remember the experience but forget how you got here.
On October 15 DESERT TRACES begins to disappear as I pull up stakes to travel the rest of the HDTS 2103 event route. Join me in exploring the other artist sites and events, landing in Albuquerque NM on October 19.
Monday, October 14, 2013*
BLM Marker 7123A, near Kingman
Directions: Exit 59 off I-40, 9 miles east of Route 66 in Kingman. Head South on DW Ranch Rd. approx 1 mi & turn at BLM marker 7123A.
OCTOBER 12, 2013 - OCTOBER 19, 2013
High Desert Test Sites hits the road for a full week of experimental art and exploration, from Joshua Tree to Albuquerque!
HDTS 2013, the ninth program in a series of free ranging and ever evolving contemporary art events, expands our range and depth to take in everything from Joshua Tree, California to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Roughly 60 new projects will take place over an entire week, during which artists and audience alike will traverse over 700 miles of desert roads to check out the new work and explore the hidden gems and diverse desert communities along this spectacular stretch of the Southwest.
Project sites include: Amboy Crater, Arcosanti, Area 66 (Yucca), Art Queen (Joshua Tree), Bluewater Lake State Park, El Malpais National Monument, El Rancho Hotel (Gallup), Giant Rock (Landers), Hill Top Motel (Kingman), Magdalena Ridge Observatory (Socorro), Mill Restaurant (Crown King), Montessa Park (Albuquerque), Palms Restaurant and Saloon (Wonder Valley), Petrified Forest National Park, Octopus Car Wash (Albuquerque), Pink Post Office Projects (Wonder Valley), Tamarind Institute (Albuquerque), Warehouse 1-10 (Magdalena), in addition to our regular HDTS sites.
The week’s festivities include a Saturday night opening dinner (first-come-first-served) at The Palms in Wonder Valley October 12, with musical performances by The Sibleys and The Renderers.
A zine-style publication, designed by Brad Hudson Thomas, with original texts by James Trainor and Eden Solas, will accompany the event.
