This amazing site-specific art form is the 20-plus year work of Michael Kahn and Leda Livant along with scores of friends who, over the years, gathered and recycled just about anything at all to construct the forms, structures, grottos, caves, galleries, living pods and gardens that comprise the Southwest's most stunning site-specific art installation.

The non-profit's caretakers, Tracy and Ryan, are working with Yavapai County to acquire permits to allow the public access; meanwhile, they work on funding to secure the land and preserve the site. Originally "leased" to Michael and Leda, the 3-plus acres on Oak Creek became home and sanctuary to the artists, who lovingly worked the landscape in a manner reminiscent of Simon Rodia's Watts Towers in Los Angeles.

Driving into the site and onto the grounds of Eliphante is surreal - the Oak Creek must first be forded, and then you walk onto softly-rolling hillocks of moss - or is that some desert grass? No, it's the much more prosaic "astro turf" that blankets the entire site, forming a pseudo-lush Alice's Wonderland playground.

The various buildings on the site are called HippoDome, Eliphante and Pipe Dreams, all surrounded by freeform sculptural works, ponds, out buildings, sinuous walls, benches, swings, lights, and pathways. A charming story-tellers nook, a mini amphitheater of stones and tiered astro-turf plinths, is announced by a playful shovel-cum-signpost.

Experiencing the partly-underground spaces is otherworldly - chilly, quiet and infused with a celestial light from the stained glass, soft burlap folds and refractive mylar overhead. Walls are obsessively-detailed friezes of mosaic, marbles, glass, stones, wood blocks, mirrors and branches. Passages wind back on themselves. Doors are hidden, surprises abundant.

The eclectic history and cultural significance of Eliphante have elevated Cornville to the unlikely status of art Mecca.

~ Jacques Laliberté

Source: http://poprocketpress.com/main.asp?SectionID=3&SubSectionID=28&ArticleID=259

Eliphante Limited's 2011 Annual Report is now available for download in PDF, with a file size of ~ 19MB.

This year's annual report segments are:
On-going Goals and Objectives,
President's Overview,
General Report,
Supporters of Eliphante,
Volunteer Recognition,
Docent Programs,
Campaign Committee Callout,
Special Events Committee Accomplishments,
Fiscal Report,
& Ways of Giving to Eliphante, Ltd.

April Genius(es) Day @ Eliphante
April 2nd, 2010 
11am-8pm

{(∞)}

Scavenger Hunt early, Live Music 'til late
Great Food & Local Vendors all day
Silent Auction: Goods, Services & Fine Art

Music by:  Weatherhouse, Bradley Blalock, Jake Payne, Brandi Jack, Old Toy Trains

$10-25 donation per person
visit Eliphante.org/events.html 
or call (928) 634-2687

Visit the organizational profile of Eliphante on Idealist to follow our organizational process while we network among non-profits and groups of similar attentions. 

This full-color tri-fold brochure features photos of Eliphante, installation history and preservation details, including a quick mention of the community project Roadrunner Speaks. This is a great media piece to use for promotional material, public relations, press release material, or high resolution graphics of Eliphante.

Photo Gallery: www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/01/30/garden/0131-ELIPHANTE_index.html
Article link: A Handmade Home - Joyce Wadler, January 31, 2008 -- 3 years ago today!

Thanks for visiting Eliphante Village online! We are excited to launch a new home on the web for our visitors and organizers. Initially, this blog will be the home to articles, photos and slideshows of present and past Eliphante.