Noah Purifoy made art in order to enact social change. Created mostly from found objects, his neo-Dadaist sculpture both embodies and reflects the environment in which it was created - whether the burnt ruins of the 1966 Watts Riots or the unforgiving climate of the Mojave Desert. This book follows Purifoy's remarkable life and career, during which he transitioned from high-end furniture designer to assemblage artist, social worker, arts administrator and finally creator of a desert art museum. Illustrated throughout with works from every stage of Purifoy's career, this volume also includes essays by acclaimed curators, critics, journalists and fellow artists - all champions of this profoundly thoughtful sculptor whose work has been under recognized for far too long. Published in association with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. AUTHOR: Franklin Sirmans is the Terri and Michael Smooke Curator and Department Head of Contemporary Art at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Yael Lipschutz is a Los Angeles - based critic as well as the archivist for the Noah Purifoy Foundation in Joshua Tree, California. 80 colour illustrations