Nash’s subject is the grandeur of iconic sculptures and scrappy camps set against elemental desert vistas. David Best’s 2002 Temple of Joy is a towering, astonishing confection of wood lace. Last year’s star attraction, Uchronia, built by a Belgian crew led by Jan Kreikels and Arne Quinze, was a 200-foot-long, five-story-tall Frank Gehry–esque tidal wave of wood. Nash doesn’t show it, but when Uchronia burned, it shot spectacular tongues of fire into the night sky. But even bathed in the desert sun, the structures inspire awe. You feel the punk jerry-rigged do-it-yourself anti-commercial spirit that animates the event, and the art. It gives you the itch to go.
Greg Cook is an artist and art critic for the Phoenix.
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