Why do Deserts Attract Artists?

Deserts have long been artistic havens and places of freedom and experimentation. A journey around the California deserts proves this to be true.

Near Joshua Tree is the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum, composed of acres of bizarre structures ranging from large structures that people can climb on to small objects. What is most interesting about these structures is the materials they are made of - mostly garbage, ranging from toilets to old tires, to used toys.

Just two hours from there is the East Jesus art museum, located in Niland, California. The first time I visited East Jesus, I remarked how it reminded me almost exactly of the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum. It is also composed of sculptures made from garbage and salvaged building materials. One can walk through a tunnel made of old washing machines, climb aboard a pirate ship and admire the museum's walls composed of empty, glass bottles. One of the most iconic artworks at this museum is the wall of old TVs. The televisions are all stacked on top of each other and each one has a phrase written on it that comments on it that critiques what is shown on TV such as “you have the wrong opinion” or “insecurity we trust.” Like the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum, East Jesus is fully open air and interactive, meaning visitors can touch, photograph, and climb on the art pieces.

Just thirty minutes from East Jesus is another place that bears a very strong resemblance to these two museums. Bombay Beach is a former resort town located on the Salton Sea. Once a playground for the rich and famous, it is now largely abandoned and is now inhabited by some of the most bizarre and surreal artwork you will ever see. It’s abandoned buildings have become museums with paintings and poetry scribbled all over the walls. In one building, hanging from the ceiling are at least one hundred toilet brushes. All over the beach itself are structures that seem to make no sense, bearing statements such as “the only other thing is nothing.” Even more bizarre are the larger structures, such as a shipwreck, a life-size replica of the bar in town, and a living room that are randomly on the beach for people to use as they wish. Bombay Beach has become such an important place for artists that it began hosting the Bombay Beach Biennale in 2015, “a renegade celebration of art, music, and philosophy that takes place on the literal edge of western civilization.”

These places are only three examples of many of garbage-centered, surreal art in the desert and it begs the question: why do deserts attract this sort of art? Is there an existence of a genre of art that we could call “desert art?”

I have a few ideas as to why this sort of art seems to flourish. For one, the desert is full of vast, open spaces, allowing enough land for open-air art museums to exist. Furthermore, the location away from large cities allows artists to be more unique and take risks with their art. Artists are not confined to tiny apartments or studios or subject to the constant judgement and expectations of others that they are in a crowded place like Los Angeles. This actually gives them space to think and create.

In addition, deserts are landscapes that are beautiful in unusual ways. Being surrounded by the stars, sand, and this vastness that can sometimes feel empty, allows people to see the landscape as a canvas for their own art and expression.

The existence of wastelands and modern-day ruins such as the abandoned resorts of the Salton Sea also supply artists with the garbage and building materials they need in order to create this genre of art. There is less pressure to create “normal” art when what you are creating is only to be seen by those who are willing to venture into the somewhat “undesirable” landscape of the Salton Sea - composed of a smelly, toxic lake and sand littered with fish bones.

Lastly, deserts have long been home to experimental communities. Perhaps the most iconic example in California is Slab City, a squatters’ community that has been around for well over fifty years. Communities like this encourage free-thinking and also allow their residents to live either rent-free or cheaply, which allows people more time to focus on their art. Off-grid and alternative communities also have non-traditional methods of dealing with their garbage, which may allow artists more access to it as supplies.