If you were to tell me that a hundred or so miles outside of Los Angeles lies a place where your childhood dreams and nightmares come to life… I’d probably believe it. As the City Of Angels most recent Cleveland transplant not named LeBron James, I am slowly realizing Southern California has everything. Literally everything. Though I’ve only been a resident of the Golden State for a few weeks, I had a couple experiences worth telling you all about, and RoboLights might be the best one yet!
Over the holiday weekend my girlfriend and I took a trip to Palm Springs. Two Kaiju monsters finally enjoying the glory of the desert. Insert your recycled joke about heat here. While making a quick stop by the Frank Sinatra Estate we noticed something rather unusual a little farther up the road…
… three massive sculptures. Each painted brighter than the early September sunshine. Naturally I had to see exactly what was going on the other side of that fence. It took a little bit of work and a little bit of luck but we were able to get in.
I’ll start out be saying it’s hard to find a comparison to RoboLights. I would say Banksy’s Dismaland would be the closest thing I could think of, minus the statement on society. It’s like an art amusement park completely constructed by the hands of artist Kenny Irwin Jr..
Once you’re through the arch, you step into a world of pure imagination. I don’t think Willy Wonka could’ve ever envisioned this enduring landscape on the best day of his life.
There’s going to be more photos but now I’ll take the time to explain how to enter this beautiful wonderland. Pay attention because it’s important. You can’t just walk in to RoboLights. You have to make an appointment. Google the place and right away the Facebook page shows up. Call the phone number. It’s (760) 774-0318. Don’t be surprised if nobody answers. It may take a little while but you’ll either get a return phone call or text message. If you do, congratulations! Now you’re able to schedule your appointment. He’ll provide a window of time for you, and you coordinate from there.
Upon arriving, make sure to put some money in the donation box. RoboLights is free to tour but come on bro, don’t be a cheap ass. I promise, you’re not going to regret it.
Stay on the concrete paths during the course of your time at RoboLights and you can take all the photos you want!
Each piece of art was built by hand out of either found or donated items.
If you look closely, you might spot Archangel Batman spinning beats.
Do not underestimate the amount of giant robots and dinosaurs you will see.
And sharks…
And altered icons of pop culture…
Honestly, there’s so much stuff, even I don’t know if I saw it all.
Believe me I have more photos but I wanted to include enough to entice you to make the trip to the desert. Hell, you can hit Joshua Tree afterwards. That place is also the bomb!
I personally encourage any form of exploration and enlightenment so everyone… get out there and live life. Especially in Southern California, dude there’s so much to do out here. If you like art, or maybe you want to do something other than standing in line for two hours to get this month’s best cookie in LA County, make the trip to RoboLights.
RoboLights is located at 1077 E Granvia Valmonte in Palm Springs.
Check out the Facebook page for hours and contact information.
By Adam Chmielewski
@PolishKaiju
Photo Credits- Adam Chmielewski
Have you ever been to RoboLights? Let Nerdbot know in the comments!!
