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GOLDFIELD, Nev. — Odd doesn't begin to describe it.
"You don't see this every day," said Zak Sargent. "It’s odd enough.”
Is it a junkyard? An art project? Or the scene of a very bad accident?
"It’s very apocalyptic," Sargent said.
Sargent is one of the guys who helped build it and his daughter Alison is one of the stars.
So, what is it? Art or junk?
"It could be both,” said Sargent. “It’s whatever you want it to be.”
A sign proclaims it a "junk car forest" — the largest, but not necessarily the only one in the world.
"It’s called the International Car Forest of the Last Church," said artist and co-creator of the Car Forest Chad Sorg.
It may be art because Sorg helped design it, but it may be junk because co-creator Michael "Mark" Rippie owned a junkyard.
You don't see this every day. It's odd enough.
–Zak Sargent
Rippie couldn't join for the tour.
Sorg describes Rippie as an "outsider" artist.
"An outsider artist is someone who really doesn't care about the art establishment and they just go and do it,” Sorg said.
"I like cars and kooky things,” said Sargent. “And so, these are cars, and it's pretty kooky."
The artistic design?
"Random, as random as it could be," Sargent said.
And there are random touches of creativity.
"The famous burning bus, Rippie set it on fire,” laughed Sorg. "There was no point at all.”
Those who wish art would make a point or in other words, those who think this really is junk and not art, maybe they can't see the forest for the trees.
"Well, it's, you know, the reaction that we get is kind of the point of it. People are sort of astonished that 40 cars are standing in the desert,” Sorg said. "Where it's located is sort of 'why is this here?' and we like that reaction. That’s the point.”
