Desert Junk: The Art of Change

How one radical sculptor changed the Southern California landscape.

At first glance, you can’t help but say, “Wait, what?” Then you begin to explore the work — and its poignant themes — and you realize you’re in the midst of something big. The artist’s name is Noah Purifoy — an African-American born in 1917 in the segregated south — with an extraordinary gift for creative expression and sobering commentary.

I could have wandered to 10-acre installation for days. Each turn I felt a sense of glee, as if I were the first visitor to this extraordinary gallery under the sun. The sculptures appear to be just as dramatic as I imagine they were when they were installed. Maybe even more so, as they become weathered and decayed — showing new layers of color and texture — over the last 30 years.

”From the Point of View of the Little People” (1994) is probably Purifoy’s most famous construction (Pic #7 below): a row of weathered jeans, boy-sized, “standing” over sneakers and placed in a row on an elevated ramp. Experts say this might be another visual reference to the practice of lynching, as in a larger piece titled, “Gallows.” (Pic #8).

Most of the time Purifoy started with found objects collected from the streets of Los Angeles. Later, when he moved to the desert, people started offering him things, knowing he was “looking for junk.” The artist once said, “The object turned into an idea.”

From 1987 until his death in 2004, Purifoy built over 100 environmental sculptures in Joshua Tree. The fierce desert winds and unforgiving heat have taken their toll on his work, but he always acknowledged that they would experience change. He seemed to have no issue with that — as he was quoted as saying, “I do artwork, I don’t do maintenance.”

Honestly, based on that statement alone, Noah Purifoy just might be the coolest artist I’ve never met.

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Did you know? Noah Purifoy also co-founded the Watts Towers Arts Center in 1964.   Please scroll down for the complete photo collection.