Odd Art in the desert

[calmloki]

I'm a sucker for odd art. Sometimes junk is more than just junk. Came across this today and will be going up to find it and explore. Has the feel of Salvation Mountain, Bombay Beach, Cadillac Ranch.

https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/noah-purifoy-outdoor-museum-mojave-desert/

The man saw movement and flow and had a way with toilets.

Anyone else have favorite strange art sites?

 

[JoeWras]

I like this stuff. It is where engineering crosses art. I don't have an artist mind and could never think of this stuff.

The NC Museum of Art has a huge park next to it with all kinds of displays. Free. Below are examples. I added the bike "longing" for a place to put its wheel.

 

[Ronstar]

Cool stuff!

I came across bottle tree ranch in Oro Grande Ca on our rte 66 trip. The creator sadly passed away recently.

https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/n...m_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Skimlinks.com

 

[dixonge]

I like places like this almost as much as my wife! A few we have run across:

Quigley's Castle - Arkansas

Tinkertown Museum - New Mexico

CarHenge - Nebraska

Enchanted Highway - North Dakota

 

[yakers]

You would love Burning Man, unbelievable art environment

 

[cathy63]

If you're in Southern California, definitely go to Galleta Meadows to see Ricardo Braceda's sculptures. https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/borrego-springs-ca/attractions/galleta-meadows-estate

 

[calmloki]

If you're in Southern California, definitely go to Galleta Meadows to see Ricardo Braceda's sculptures. https://maps.roadtrippers.com/us/borrego-springs-ca/attractions/galleta-meadows-estate

It is fun roaming around Borrego Springs finding the sculptures. Met the artist a couple years ago while driving down Ca 79 near Aguanga. He has a whole field full of his sculptures out there for sale. Said he started by doing a creature for his daughter. Nice guy with a great eye for scale and fine metalworking skills, but pretty sane. I like the artists a bit further out on the whack-a-doodle scale. Art is sure a strange and mysterious thing.

 

[donheff]

I drove along the Salton Sea a couple of weeks ago and saw Bombay Beach, Salvation Mountain and Slab City. It was like an alternate universe. I wanted to see the Museum of History in Granite near Yuma but time didn't permit. It looks like another odd roadside attraction:

 

[f35phixer]

love this stuff, didn't know about these places!!! But its now bucket list retirement trip,
thanks for the link.

 

[f35phixer]

I drove along the Salton Sea a couple of weeks ago and saw Bombay Beach, Salvation Mountain and Slab City. It was like an alternate universe. I wanted to see the Museum of History in Granite near Yuma but time didn't permit. It looks like another odd roadside attraction:

Look at the SIZE of the shadows !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[REWahoo]

Look at the SIZE of the shadows !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Low sun angle and downslope make them appear huge.

 

[f35phixer]

Low sun angle and downslope make them appear huge.

Yes i know Wahoo

 

[COcheesehead]

Very old rock circles, human height in size, discovered along the Old Spanish Trail near St George Utah.

 

[Uncle]

Highly recommend Franconia Sculpture Park in MN. Similar kind of odd art. https://www.franconia.org/



https://www.google.com/search?q=fra...iw=1280&bih=579&dpr=1.5#imgrc=-ilhbQtdsV8gRM:

_______________________

 

[calmloki]

Very old rock circles, human height in size, discovered along the Old Spanish Trail near St George Utah.

Cool - are the rocks "suntanned" with the exposed surfaces a different color than the buried part? Any suggestion on how old they are? Wonder if they are Indian? The Blythe intaglios are maybe 1100 years old and were spotted by an Air Corps pilot in 1931. A fair amount of tire tracks that have disturbed the suntanned rock and marred the original art.

We are just back from Joshua Tree and the Noah Purifoy desert art museum. Outstanding! Mr. Purifoy died in 2004 and his art is showing the effects of the brutal high desert climate, but it was funny and spooky and way better than I'd hoped. Maybe 8 other people seen up there while we walked around, nobody telling us what we were looking at or directing us to the (non-existent) gift shop.

Bio + Chronology — Noah Purifoy Foundation

 

[like2]

The Blythe Intaglios are definitely worth a visit if you happen to be passing that way.

Blythe Intaglios, A Photo Gallery

Lots of cools stuff in the desert!

you can view these pretty good on google maps.

 

[Souschef]

Then there are the Nazca lines in Peru