Fine Art in the Desert

The desert isn't without its Artists in Residence. I posted some of the murals that are in town, but there are quite a number of other public art pieces around. All of these pieces had caches either in them or very close by. Here's a giant cross beside the highway that looks like a cactus from a distance (it even has a crown of thorns)...

But up close you can see that it's made of hundreds of horseshoes.

These next two may look a little grainy, but that's because they're done in oil pastels right on the asphalt street outside the museum. As they wear away, more are done further along the road.

Don't get in the way of this character outside the art gallery (yes, there was a cache in the middle of it).

This large piece (it's about 25 feet tall) was untitled by the artist, bur it's known locally as "spokes" or "sun burst". It seemed to be reaching to the setting sun as I got there. I was so taken by the scene that I almost forgot to retrieve the cache from one of the arms.

Here's a more complete view of it, before the sky stole the scene:

In case you forget where you are, these 8 foot numbers as you enter the city will remind you.

This "Chain of Life" beside the Visitor Centre had its cache in the base...

We found this spontaneous piece out in the desert as we were looking for a cache. The cache was about 5 feet away, I doubt the artist even knew it was there.

Finally, here's one of a set of three pieces, celebrating the sport of rock climbing that Joshua Tree Park is renowned for.