Alfredo Barsuglia: Secret desert pool artist

Full Frame

Alfredo BarsugliaAustrian artist Alfredo Barsuglia discusses his latest work, a secret pool in the Californian desert.

How do you define art? Most art works end up in galleries, the lobbies of grand buildings, or public places like a town square or city park for everyone to see.

The Social Pool is not that type of art installation. Far from it!

It’s the brainchild of Austrian artist Alfredo Barsuglia. The Social Pool is an actual swimming pool – complete with a solar-powered filtration system.

Alfredo Barsuglia: Secret Desert Pool Artist

Austrian artist Alfredo Barsuglia discusses his latest work, a secret pool in the Californian desert.

But to Alfredo, part of the art is…well, the art of finding it.

“The Social Pool is an art installation in public space located in the southern Californian desert,” explains Alfredo. “It’s a secret place, some sort of oasis in the middle of the desert.”

Visitors should expect hours of desert driving then a final trek on foot.
Alfredo says that the process of getting there – and all of the hours of personal reflection that the journey affords – is as much a part of experiencing the art as the opportunity to actually see it.

“It is not the pool which is the artwork, but it’s the way to the pool that is the project,” says Alfredo.

On this week’s Close Up, Full Frame’s cameras set out with two volunteers, Trina Albus and Drew Baldwin, on their quest to see if the end truly justifies the means?