The Joshua Treenial returns this weekend, April 12-14, with a new slate of artists who look at the desert — its people, its environment, and its off-the-grid spirit in “Paradise::Parallax.”  One never knows what to expect at this home-grown desert art expo – anything from drawings and installations, to happenings and performances – but it’s free and worth the trek.  They’ve presented some highlights of this past decade’s desert art scene, and at the Treenial two  years ago, at its second iteration, I found certain work equal to Desert X presentations.  Especially memorable was a nighttime sound/video performance by Jesse Gilbert, Carole Kim, Moses Hacmon and Matthew Setzer that projected onto the boulders behind BoxoHOUSE — epic and trippy.

Among two dozen or so artists participating this year will be Lewis deSoto, a Cahuilla artist born in San Bernardino, presenting his heritage in the performance piece “Tired of Eternity.”  He will read from his new book “Tired of Eternity” and engage with the audience as Coyote, the legendary desert trickster.   At the Integratron in Landers, Scandanavian artist Per Platou will present a live mixed sound installation utilizing moving ultrasonic (hyperdirectional) loudspeakers and Ivan Wong will perform a sound work mixing recorded and live elements.  (The program is sold out, alas.)

Aili Schmeltz, “Object/Window/Both/Neither”

For an immersive piece, check out Ryan Campbell’s “Chamber,”  a chamber lined with gold leaf that is meant to be energy-focusing.  Visitors are invited to enter after taking off their shoes.  In the installation “Object/Window/Both/Neither” Aili Schmeltz mounts an 8-foot diameter black disc in the rocks as a disruption in the landscape.  And one of the longtime veterans of the desert art scene, and a personal favorite, Diane Best, will hold screenings of her film “Mojave Parallax” at Studio D in downtown JT.  As before most of the programs take place at BoxoHOUSE located at 62732 Sullivan Road in Joshua Tree, and several parallel programs will be at the Art Queen and other locations nearby.   Check out the full schedule at http://joshuatreenial.com/