Dismantling of Desert X begins

The Desert X art exhibition officially came to an end April 30 and some large pieces of the world-renowned artwork have been dismantled. But one of the most iconic pieces will remain in Palm Springs until October.

The “Monument,” an underground installation that had a statue of President John F. Kennedy has been removed. It required some heavy machinery to get it out of the ground.

“This piece is apparently going to a private collector in Europe so we are going to see how that goes,” said Tim Shockley, who was helping to remove the massive art installation created by Will Boone.

Desert X gets global attention

Other installations have already been removed including “Donation Box” in Palm Springs, which was piles of sand filled with cigarette butts representing a polluted desert. It’s back to what it was which is an empty shop in a strip mall.

The very popular “Mirage” mirrored house is scheduled to remain open until October.

Demolition of the “Curves and Zig Zags” wall in began Thursday.

Some local fans of these art installations said it might be a good thing that these pieces of art don’t become permanent fixtures.

“I think that the idea of having it last an long time but a limited time builds that kind of mystique, and people want to come catch it while they can,” said Mike Kunkle of Cathedral City.

It’s estimated that more than 100,000 people came to the Coachella Valley to see Desert X. The art exhibition is scheduled to return to the Valley in 2019.

JOE GALLI IS ON FACEBOOK AND ON TWITTER @JOEGALLINEWS