Reality Still Exists

A Counterculture Conversation with Alexandra Cassaniti, Cofounder of Klemo Foundation

Words by Laura L. Rubin | Photos by Colin Erie

What’s the opposite of going viral? That’s what Alexandra Cassaniti is looking to accomplish with her recently minted 501(c)(3) in Leucadia, California. Don’t expect Klemo Foundation to be running ads on Meta (or even have an Instagram account). Her approach to marketing mirrors the mission of the organization. 

Half teaching farm, half sculpture park, Klemo offers a place for post-punk ethics to take root, a moratorium on our near-constant state of incessant disruption and distraction. 

“If you come here, you’ll walk away knowing that an Instagram post is similar to littering or turning a light switch on forever,” says Cassaniti, referring to digital infrastructures' massive data centers that are powered by carbon-intensive sources. Effectively, every streaming video we watch, every post we make contributes to collective carbon emissions. (In case you need another reason to put down your phone, there’s a good one.)

Photo by Elisa Shea

Originally from the Encinitas area, Cassaniti and her mother moved to sculptor James Klemo’s property when she was 10 years old. It was Klemo’s request that Cassaniti’s mother continue his work when he passed away because of her career as an artist and their shared background in steel (Cassaniti’s grandfather had a steel yard where James Klemo sourced many of his raw materials). So Cassaniti grew up among his large-scale sculptures and structures, on the property that James Klemo established in the 1950s — when Encinitas was the flower-growing capital of the world, with little infrastructure other than dirt roads leading to the region’s now-famous surfing beaches. 

Being raised as a teen amidst large-scale site-specific art wrought in iron alloy influenced her. “I had this idea that if you wanted to make something, you just go and make it, right?” she says. “It’s one thing to have ideas; it’s another to execute them when they’re that monumental.”

Still, as a teenager, she says she “couldn’t get away fast enough.” But feeling the tug to return to her roots, a few years ago she moved back.

"We want to instill habits that tread lightly on the planet. We'll have a farm, farmstand, an outdoor classroom, and workshops. We'll host dinners. We'll be open to people who want to teach. We want to do things that are not on the Internet." — Alexandra Cassaniti

“I’ve thought about his work my whole life, and it’s so nice to be [back] around it. I love it. I’ve always wanted to show other people and invite them in,” she says. “Too often, art is shown because the artist is friends with certain people, or they have a gallery, or it’s part of a career path. I think he was a quiet worker — he worked so much on his art. There are 40 sculptures here, which is a lot.” 

Inspired by Klemo’s pioneering, artistic spirit, Cassaniti and her cofounder, Lauren Swank, are transforming the 2.5-acre space into a territory for experimentation, agriculture, exploring creativity, and what she calls “radical rest” — free from technological distractions. “We want to instill habits that tread lightly on the planet. We’ll have a farm, farmstand, an outdoor classroom, and workshops. We’ll host dinners. We’ll be open to people who want to teach,” says Cassaniti. “We want to do things that are not on the Internet.” 

That offline ethos is how Cassaniti is planning to engage with the immediate community, as well. Far from scalability, their approach is more clipboards and conversation than SEO.  

“I don’t care about someone in Australia giving me a thumbs-up on social media,” says Cassaniti. Instead, tapping post-punk ethics, Klemo Foundation is trading social media strategy for hand-painted signage, print ads in the local newspaper, and grassroots dialogue, such as going into high schools to speak with (and listen to) teenagers about their climate change concerns and phone usage. Klemo’s farmstand will offer goods from master artisans and growers, and become a platform for educational hands-on programming, offering a full curriculum of sustainability and offline life skills programs including cooking, gardening, and horticulture. 

"Reality still exists, time is relative, and how we spend it matters."

“We want to instill practices that are so simple but disappearing… like directions if the power goes out and our phones die. How do you get two miles from here without a phone? That shouldn’t be hard, but I think it is now,” she says. “People are so dependent on apps, and these habits take a lot of electricity. We think it’s invisible, but we’re using it all the time.” 

And she’s far from alone in her vision. Klemo’s neighborhood is a breeding ground for organizations with similar intent: “There are seven nonprofits nearby — maybe more now — and they’re all within walking distance. We’re in a valley where people come to appreciate plants, agriculture, and outdoor life. We have the Botanic Garden across the street, Farm Lab next door, a community garden on the corner, Coastal Roots Farm on the other side of the street, Fox Point Farm up the road.” To this mix, Klemo Foundation is adding a space for sculpture, performance, and their own take on community-based agriculture. 

“A counterculture is happening," says Cassaniti. “They’re hungry for ways that still exist. Reality still exists, time is relative, and how we spend it matters.”