Most folks go to the Palm Springs, CA to hang at hotel pools and relax, & Yucca Valley to visit Joshua Tree National Park or to check out a band at Pappy & Harriets. Of course, so do I. But I also very much enjoy cool desert art. When you are looking for a more off the beaten path experience, here are some great places to check out.
Glass Outhouse Art Gallery
77575 Highway 62, Twentynine Palms, CA
Drive to 29 Palms, and you can find the Glass Outhouse Art Gallery, a vast outside sculpture & art museum with eccentric art spread throughout the grounds. Metal, glass, iron, wood. Very fun pieces here that will put a smile on your face.
Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Museum
Another cooler than anything art museum, also outside, is Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Museum. Made of assemblage sculptures, the pieces symbolize Noah’s life’s concerns. Grab a guide & be sure to donate when you enter. The guide has a map, with the titles of each piece. In this day of selfies, you will be guaranteed some incredible shots, with the mountains in the distance, Joshua Trees, & cacti as backdrops. https://www.noahpurifoy.com (icloud lost all of my photos from my visit here.)
Though I am not religious, I will not shy away from seeing religious art. There are some old religious paintings in museums that inexplicably make me uneasy. I don’t believe in past lives, so am unsure why I cannot even be in a room with them. But the art at Desert Christ Park is quite the emotional opposite. The museum is outside, and though admission is free, they do like donations. The sculptures are larger than life, depicting various religious situations, like the Last Supper (Statue 6) & Christ’s Ascension (Statue 10). All created by Antone Martin, these art pieces are meant “as a benchmark of peace for mankind” per the brochure I picked up at the entrance. A walk around this park is fascinating, with much respect due to Antone for his abilities. http://www.desertchristpark.org
In and around the Coachella Valley each spring is the art show called Desert X. The art is spread out, so you have to drive to each piece. They have a map on their website and an app you can download. I only went one year, but it was really a cool experience and I truly recommend going if you can. https://desertx.org
And, I previously wrote about the old neon signs in someone’s backyard.
Dart and Map 
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