Cabinetlandia: Update No. 3

Long-time readers of Cabinet will have witnessed the mind-boggling transformation of a half-acre of scrubland in Deming, New Mexico, into a complex of structures that has fundamentally changed the tourist industry in the American Southwest. At the heart of this DIY utopia, originally purchased for our 2003 issue on “Property,” is the Cabinet National Library, designed and built by Matthew Passmore and Friends in the summer of 2004. In February 2005, we received from Cabinet contributor Steve Rowell a series of disturbing images he had taken depicting recent flood damage at Cabinetlandia. It does not rain much in this part of New Mexico, but apparently the entire year’s ration poured upon our little bit of land all in one night. Our mailbox has fallen over; the mud has piled up against the lowest compartment of the Library, making it impossible to access the snack bar and snake bite kit; and the humidity has encouraged mold to invade all the issues of Cabinet housed therein. Please send Get Well cards to Cabinetlandia care of the address in the masthead. We will publish the most heartfelt card as part of a future update.