ON A FEW ACRES OF DESOLATE CALIFORNIA DESERT, a man named Noah Purifoy settled in and went about making art for the final fifteen years of his life. His outpouring of sculptures, many of which are big enough to walk through, are now an outdoor museum. After I managed to locate the museum at the end of a narrow track off an obscure dirt road in the Mohave desert, I was so taken by the creative energy pulsing through the site that I could barely hold still to take proper photographs.
Below is part of a large sculpture made from discarded objects, Purifoy’s material of choice. In this piece, fabric has been cut, torn, glued and stapled to a wood surface, then subjected to at least ten years of desert sun and wind.
Walking around and into the installations moved me to look carefully and think differently about materials and their relationships. Purifoy’s spirit is catching. I wanted to jump in and join him, even though he’s been gone for ten years. Just to see what would emerge, I cropped the photo and converted it to black and white, revealing expressive folds and torn edges in the cloth that might evoke a landscape of thwarted desire. Or something else entirely – this is art that invites participation. At the top of the page is my reflection in part of another sculpture which involves a broken mirror and glass on the ground, enclosed in a complex, room-like structure. Soon I’ll post more photos of Purifoy’s sculpture.
“I do not wish to be an artist. I only wish that art enables me to be.”
Noah Purifoy (1917-2004)
The WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge for this week is to share a photo of something that is art in your eyes. Purifoy’s work is art to me, and it moved me to tweak my photograph of his art, making more art…
More WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge “Art” experiences can be found here.
The Noah Purifoy Foundation:
http://noahpurifoy.com/foundation/foundation.html
bluebrightly 
Amazing find, thanks for sharing this…
On one trip through the Mojave, just east of Joshua Tree, I passed a small wooden sign with an arrow that simply said “Artist” pointing down a narrow two track leading to one of those huge granite boulder piles. Why I didn’t stop, I can’t remember, but in the years since I’ve learned to be a little braver and accept what is clearly an invitation.
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Great story! Yes, I bet you follow those hints now. 🙂
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Most fascinating…great textures, nicely emphasised in your black and white images. The colours must have been even more vibrant when these pieces were first created 🙂
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Yes, years of harsh weather have stripped them of their original vibrancy but they’re so soft this way, and evocative.
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Amazing what comes out of the desert sun. Can’t wait to see the rest of what you have to show us.
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I’m workin’ on it!
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I think this amazing artist would be pleased with your photographs.
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Too kind! Thank you!
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Looking forward to seeing more!
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I’m getting there. He was prolific – there are a lot of pieces, and I took a lot of photos.
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Everything in the first image ‘sings’ to me – the colours, the patterns, the rhythms, the textures are all sheer joy. The black and white version shows the textures well but, for me, by comparison this image lacks the vitality of the coloured pictures. What was the size of the original works and what was their setting?
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Good question – I was aware that was missing. There are so many pieces out there that I can’t begin to remember them all. But it was fairly large. I will have more “context” photos when I make a post of the whole place – soon! And I agree, something’s missing when you take away the color.
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Fascinating! Great to find something so different.
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Different it is!
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What a story, and what great photos. His work is so unusual and unique. I like that! Are the pieces protected from the harsh desert environment?
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No, they’re not protected at all, and parts of his outdoor work ares are there, also unprotected. Things gradually change and morph with the elements beating down on them, and that’s another story…
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Love the shots and love the story behind them. To travel and find something like this that expands our thinking of what it is that we ‘see’ and call ‘art’ is exciting, thanks for sharing.
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It does – expanding our notions of things, thinking differently – it’s all good! Thank you for commenting!
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How excited you sound BB , isn’t it wonderful when something touches you in a creative way and you just have to see where the process takes you !
You’ve certainly come out of the desert inspired 🙂
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It was a great trip – I saw so much! Thank you Poppy!
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I like your idea. Did you make the case yourself?
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It’s actually not a case – it’s part of a sculpture by an artist named Noah Purifoy. I’ll be posting more of his work soon and you can get a better idea of what it looks like – this was just a close up. Thanks!
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Wonderful images from the Purifoy site.
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Pingback: Who is the greatest artist? | Words & Pics
fascinating!
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I love that the artist uses discarded objects, and then the corrosive power of nature, to create his works. It’s really fascinating, and inspiring.
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Thanks for the engaging post and for quoting him: ” “I do not wish to be an artist. I only wish that art enables me to be.”
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