If you happened to be driving through the desert outside of Joshua Tree California and suddenly came upon Noah Purifoy’s 7 1/2 acres of desert sculptures, you might think you’d stumbled into Burning Man after a mysterious, mass alien abduction.
Strange structures emerge from the sun-bleached landscape and burn themselves into your retinas. There is no sound save for the wind rustling through constructions made of discarded rain gutters, bicycles, chicken wire, glass, and old porcelain bathroom fixtures. There are no humans, no cars – nothing but you, the sculptures, the bees, the bunnies, and the wind.
It’s a little creepy and a lot mind-blowing. Purifoy started creating assemblage sculpture in the 50s and this spot in the desert was the culmination of his life’s work. His art includes commentary on our consumer culture, racism, and other social problems, as it incorporates materials that would have otherwise been trash.
As I walked through the landscape of discarded detritus, I was stricken by how us humans impose ourselves on nature. But nature still has the upper hand. Bees and birds find places to build nests within the structures and life goes on.
Purifoy died a few years ago, but the Noah Purifoy Foundation continues to protect and preserve his work.
Images:
Structure, Nest: Vanessa Barrington
Legs: Susan Fleming