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The Atlas Obscura Podcast

The Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.61.6K Ratings

🗓️ 5 May 2022

⏱️ 17 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The artist Noah Purifoy built sprawling, intricate sculptures… made out of trash. Or that’s what it might look like at first glance. To get the full picture, you have to get to know Noah. Noah Purifoy’s Outdoor Museum: http://www.noahpurifoy.com/joshua-tree-outdoor-museum Learn more about Dale Davis: https://dalebdavis.com/ Listen to our episode about Leimert Park: https://pod.link/1555769970/episode/1a593d4fba52c8d48fd9e62728a2a16f Listen to our episode about the Watts Towers Art Center: https://pod.link/1555769970/episode/18849745a4259a207da75f53dfa6e657 READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/noah-purifoy-s-outdoor-desert-art-museum

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Your destination is on the left.

0:05.4

Our first clue was an old sailboat looking very lost in the middle of the desert.

0:10.4

It was propped up on its end, sticking straight up in the air.

0:14.5

That used to be a knacker cat.

0:18.8

And it only got more surreal from there.

0:26.2

My dad, my sister and I, had driven out to Joshua Tree, a couple hours inland of Los Angeles.

0:32.7

We parked in front of an archway made out of car tires.

0:37.1

Letters of the word welcome were hand-painted or hubcaps used to be.

0:41.2

But the letters were out of order.

0:46.0

I walked through the arch, and into more than a dozen busted TV sets.

0:50.6

They were lined up and stacked on top of each other, like a vintage storefront for a business

0:55.7

that sold broken electronics.

0:58.9

Behind that, my dad spotted a wave made out of a bunch of baking pans suspended in mid-air.

1:05.0

Why do you think it was?

1:06.6

It looked like a helix.

1:08.6

Oh!

1:09.6

I think it looks like a caterpillar.

1:13.5

There were dozens of these structures made out of everything from corrugated metal to

1:18.8

bicycle wheels and bowling balls.

1:21.9

And they were all around us.

1:24.1

Spread out over 10 acres of desert sand.

1:29.3

I'm Sarah Wyman, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible,

...

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