0:00:07.720,0:00:12.380 [Andrea Zittel: "Wagon Station Encampment"] 0:00:42.860,0:00:46.320 [WOMAN #1] I've only been here for about a[br]week, 0:00:46.320,0:00:48.440 but I would like to spend two. 0:00:48.440,0:00:51.340 I think that would be a really good amount[br]of time. 0:00:53.110,0:00:57.690 A lot of my own work kind of corresponds with[br]landscapes. 0:00:57.690,0:01:01.290 This is kind of a research activity for me. 0:01:04.379,0:01:06.620 Everybody comes out to the desert for different[br]reasons. 0:01:06.630,0:01:09.290 Historically, that's always been true. 0:01:19.580,0:01:23.979 There's situations where the group will all[br]go on a hike or something, 0:01:23.979,0:01:25.459 or cook dinner together. 0:01:25.460,0:01:28.040 But then, people kind of hang out in their[br]pods, 0:01:28.040,0:01:32.299 which is what is so cool about the way that[br]the wagon stations have been designed. 0:01:32.299,0:01:34.909 You can have that private time 0:01:34.909,0:01:38.209 without it seeming like you're defecting from[br]the group or something. 0:01:41.480,0:01:42.900 [LAUGHING] 0:01:42.920,0:01:44.500 [WOMAN #2] Somebody please enjoy that! 0:01:44.500,0:01:46.200 [WOMAN #1] I would love to eat that. 0:01:46.200,0:01:47.480 [WOMAN #2] Do you want to just claim it? 0:01:47.480,0:01:48.100 [WOMAN #1] Sure. 0:01:48.740,0:01:51.360 [WOMAN #2] I also have an onion and apples. 0:01:56.140,0:01:57.740 [WOMAN #3] And I'm totally jealous... [LAUGHS] 0:01:57.749,0:02:01.399 I think it's such a brilliant idea in the[br]way she's used the space. 0:02:01.399,0:02:04.189 I also think it's a really interesting model. 0:02:04.189,0:02:05.039 It's a private residence-- 0:02:05.039,0:02:06.599 it's not an official residency, per se. 0:02:06.599,0:02:09.848 But she opens it up twice a year to let people[br]come. 0:02:09.848,0:02:12.750 And it's a, I think, a really progressive[br]way of having 0:02:12.750,0:02:15.780 artists and creative people work together[br]and meet-- 0:02:15.780,0:02:18.950 with a no-pressure environment, too. 0:02:21.040,0:02:23.300 [WOMAN #1] I did a lot of hiking, 0:02:23.310,0:02:25.590 and I did some filming, 0:02:25.590,0:02:27.270 and some reading. 0:02:27.270,0:02:30.760 Yeah, and then I'm working on a journal, as[br]well. 0:02:30.760,0:02:34.010 So, Andrea was very generous in talking to[br]me about that. 0:02:34.010,0:02:36.290 [WOMAN #2] Generosity doesn't happen that[br]often 0:02:36.290,0:02:37.880 with regard to land these days, 0:02:37.880,0:02:40.440 so I think that's really radical. 0:02:41.180,0:02:43.300 [ZITTEL] Okay, so the new problem 0:02:44.580,0:02:48.440 is that the paper gets stuck under the letters. 0:02:51.160,0:02:54.380 I'm so drawn to the frontier mentality 0:02:54.390,0:02:58.000 and that idea of having to figure everything[br]out from scratch. 0:03:00.160,0:03:02.600 There have been two generations of wagon stations. 0:03:02.610,0:03:05.890 In the first generation, I essentially gave[br]to friends 0:03:05.890,0:03:07.270 and people who I collaborated with 0:03:07.270,0:03:10.020 who would come out here and stay for periods[br]of time. 0:03:10.020,0:03:13.180 But, it was always the same person visiting[br]each wagon station, 0:03:13.180,0:03:15.750 and they would customize them. 0:03:15.750,0:03:18.740 In those instances, each wagon station was[br]autonomous 0:03:18.740,0:03:21.600 and it would have its own camp stove within[br]it. 0:03:22.480,0:03:24.600 Then, at a point, we extracted those 0:03:24.600,0:03:28.330 because they were starting to fall apart in[br]the elements. 0:03:28.330,0:03:31.970 And they've sort of traveled to exhibitions[br]since then. 0:03:31.970,0:03:33.890 And with these, we've made them all... 0:03:33.890,0:03:35.569 Like, they're all sort of the standard version, 0:03:35.569,0:03:36.950 like, the way I designed them. 0:03:36.950,0:03:40.819 [WOMAN #3] There's locks on either side for[br]this to open up. 0:03:40.819,0:03:44.370 And, there's like little strings up there[br]to put your clothes on. 0:03:44.370,0:03:46.740 There's also a door in the back that locks, 0:03:46.740,0:03:49.230 so if you need any extra air, it's just a[br]quick way out. 0:03:49.230,0:03:52.090 And you can leave it open when you sleep. 0:03:52.090,0:03:54.970 It gets a little cold, though, so I usually[br]close it. 0:03:54.970,0:03:57.650 And, there's a shelf for everything that you[br]need. 0:03:57.650,0:03:58.750 And that's pretty much it! 0:03:58.750,0:04:02.490 [WOMAN #2] I watched the full moon arc across[br]the entire sky 0:04:02.490,0:04:04.580 over the course of the evening. 0:04:04.580,0:04:07.160 You're inside, and you can see the environment 0:04:07.160,0:04:09.220 framed by Andrea's designs, 0:04:09.220,0:04:11.750 really consciously and intentionally. 0:04:15.280,0:04:17.519 [ZITTEL] Now, we have the communal kitchen, 0:04:17.519,0:04:18.870 and the outdoor showers, 0:04:18.870,0:04:21.608 and the composting toilets. 0:04:21.608,0:04:24.439 This is a sort of communal living situation 0:04:24.439,0:04:27.300 that only works because it's a certain amount[br]of time 0:04:27.300,0:04:30.849 and we send people all of these protocol sheets[br]out before they come. 0:04:30.849,0:04:36.659 Okay, so if you want to follow Dean and do[br]that on every one-- 0:04:36.659,0:04:37.939 the double layer. 0:04:38.980,0:04:42.940 And, if you want, you could take that, too, 0:04:42.949,0:04:46.809 and then just put a like little edge four[br]inches in. 0:04:50.680,0:04:53.110 I think that the Wagon Station Encampment[br]was sort of 0:04:53.110,0:04:58.120 slowly walking into a situation of inviting[br]other people to come be here. 0:04:58.120,0:05:01.499 We always say it's sort of a cross between[br]a retreat and a residency 0:05:01.499,0:05:03.199 and a normal campground. 0:05:04.060,0:05:06.680 It would be redundant to create, like, 0:05:06.680,0:05:10.380 another art residency when there's so many[br]of them. 0:05:17.699,0:05:20.909 Everybody has their desert fantasy. 0:05:20.909,0:05:27.639 And so my particular fantasy was probably[br]living on an alien landscape. 0:05:27.639,0:05:30.590 When NASA tests habitation on Mars, 0:05:30.590,0:05:32.229 they have a station in the Mojave Desert, 0:05:32.229,0:05:34.050 and I always thought that was so interesting, 0:05:34.050,0:05:36.930 that this is the landscape that was chosen 0:05:36.930,0:05:39.449 to be most representative of another planet. 0:05:39.940,0:05:41.980 I think the aesthetic of these was, sort of, 0:05:41.990,0:05:44.090 a sci-fi pioneer aesthetic. 0:05:44.090,0:05:46.439 And I don't know if that's my aesthetic now, 0:05:46.439,0:05:48.999 because it's constantly changing. 0:05:52.129,0:05:54.279 My great grandparents were pioneers just south[br]of here, 0:05:54.279,0:05:56.539 and they settled in the Imperial Valley. 0:05:56.540,0:06:00.400 The temperatures in the Imperial Valley[br]are about ten degrees hotter than here-- 0:06:00.409,0:06:02.409 and this gets pretty hot. 0:06:02.880,0:06:05.540 When I feel like complaining, I keep thinking[br]about them. 0:06:05.550,0:06:07.080 They would live in a tent, 0:06:07.080,0:06:08.839 and I guess they poured water over the[br]tent 0:06:08.839,0:06:10.779 to cool things off. 0:06:20.800,0:06:23.580 It's so funny, I get upset when people say there's nothing here. 0:06:23.940,0:06:24.560 [ZITTEL] Okay! 0:06:25.040,0:06:25.920 [WOMAN #2] Thank you so much! 0:06:25.920,0:06:26.480 [ZITTEL] Sure. 0:06:26.480,0:06:28.920 [WOMAN #2] It was really magical and inspiring[br]and awesome. 0:06:28.930,0:06:29.610 [ZITTEL] It was good to meet you. 0:06:29.610,0:06:31.240 [WOMAN #2] You too, and what an honor. 0:06:31.240,0:06:31.640 [ZITTEL] Bye! 0:06:31.660,0:06:32.380 [WOMAN #3] It was really nice to meet you. 0:06:32.380,0:06:33.700 Thank you so much. 0:06:33.700,0:06:34.760 It was awesome. 0:06:34.760,0:06:36.539 [ZITTEL] Have a good trip! Bye! 0:06:36.539,0:06:38.789 [ZITTEL] But, there's something about the[br]space 0:06:38.789,0:06:41.680 that I think really calls to people who want[br]to try 0:06:41.680,0:06:45.040 and invent their own structures for living.