Painted wood with parasol armature and handle, found wood, pasted papers, backgammon and poker chips, fishing pole, wire, bird cage parts, and other materials
Not on view
As a young artist in Los Angeles, Purifoy was profoundly influenced by the 1965 Watts Rebellion, six days of civil unrest by residents of Watts and other predominantly African American neighborhoods of the city in response to decades of racial injustice. In the event’s aftermath, the artist collected charred debris from the streets and assembled it into a series of sculptures, a technique that would define his practice for years to come. Unknown, though more joyful and playful than Purifoy’s Watts works, is a rare surviving example of his early assemblages. With its easily identifiable castoff objects, it suggests a question central to Purifoy’s practice: “How . . . you tie the art process in with existence.”
2020
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Noah Purifoy
American, 1917–2004 4 works onlineFor a week in August 1965, Watts, a historically African American neighborhood in Los Angeles, burned. The fires were a protest against decades of the community’s marginalization and mistreatment at the hands of police.
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Assemblage
A three-dimensional work of art made from combinations of materials including found or purchased objects.
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