Go See Robolights: The Quirky and Creepy Christmas Light Display
Robolights is Christmas-inspired explosion of quirky and colorful sculptures created from found objects. This large lot has a path that snakes through the property, with an array of robots, lights, and creepy holiday decor in every direction. It’s fascinating to see all the intricate details of the pieces Kenny has put together. So much creativity and inventiveness has gone into the massive display.
To Get There
2021: Currently this exhibit is closed because it is currently moving to Desert Hot Springs, just a short drive away (hopefully will open again soon)
If you want to see some of Kenny Irwin’s creations, there are a few sculptures on display at Desert Hot Spring’s town hall (2022).
Images are from Palm Springs 2018, Robolights Palm Springs went from 1986-2019.
When To Go
The Holiday Season of course!
The History
The creator, Kenny Irwin, was encouraged to use the private property in Palm Springs by his father who was also an artist. He received his degree in fine arts from CCAD in Oakland CA. In 2018, Robolights drew in 60,000 visitors.
“Kenny’s art has been influenced by space exploration, spiritual pursuits and a search for man’s place in the universe. A consistent theme found in his work would be human relationships to material consumption and machines.”
Robolights Art Exhibit
There are so many things to look at, and new things are added every year. The true meaning is left up to interpretation, but to me if feels like a commentary on the abundance of material things, which is at its height during the holidays. It would also make sense that Kenny chooses to create everything from scraps, essentially repurposing all these items into this strange wonderland.
Once the new Desert Hot Springs location is up and running go and give Robolights a visit. Night is the best so you can see the insane amount of lights everywhere. This is a great place to discover the holidays in a very unique way. There is a lot to be interpreted here as far as what the artist is trying to say. What do you think it means?
