Noah Purifoy, Untitled

2000

Noah Purifoy lived and worked for most of his life in Los Angeles and Joshua Tree. This relief sculpture was created during his time in the desert and features numerous junkyard elements, including radiator parts and polished plaques. An influential figure in L.A.’s Black Arts Movement, Purifoy’s earliest sculptures were constructed from the charred debris of the 1965 Watts riots. Purifoy dedicated himself to the found object and art’s potential as tool for social change.