marfa texas road trip - chinati foundation open house weekend (written 2006)
http://photos.liveauctioneers.com/houses/resize/phillipsdepury/8968/0001_1_600_600.jpg
(limited edition print John Waters copyright 2003)
this blog lists why anyone would want to drive 9 hours into the west texas desert. the what, how to get to there, where to stay & what's to eat. the low down on the art scene is covered in the 2nd part of this blog below ;) Who knew marfa had any claim to fame aside from those mystical lights?
WHAT TO DO::
CHINATI FOUNDATION
Donald Judd, internationally renown minimalist artist must have known something. Judd with the help of the Al Dia Foundation (of NY) bought a ranch in the Chinati Mtns. "casa perez", "the Block" aka la mansana de chinati, a lovely storefront on Marfa's main drag Highland Avenue for the offices of his Chinati Foundation, and lest we forget the abandoned acreage of ex-military base, Ft. Russell to house the mammoth permanent installation of his & other notable artists' work.
Open House is an amazing rare moment one weekend a year where thousands of Texas outsiders (the international art culturati) descend on a tiny ranching community graced with monumental epic art installations. It's a site to behold, especially as a Texan. So many foreign tongues trying to interpret a rural snapshot of the Texas state. Judd's minimalist installations at Ft. Russell (aka Chinati Foundation) are a wonder of the modern world. Those cement blocks are the kind of epic construction to excite archaeologists for ages. www.chinati.org
CHINATI HOTSPRINGS
The Chinati Hot Springs are largely unknown, as they are off the beaten road in the Rio Grande valley near the Mexican border of the Chinati Mountains. The springs stay at a steady temperature of 110 F (43 C). Many forms of wildlife live in the desert near the springs, and bird watching is particularly interesting. You can take short walks or extensive hikes into the surrounding area to observe and photograph desert plants and animals, or just enjoy this rough and beautiful country of deep canyons, distinctive geological formations and stunning sunrises and sunsets. Star-gazing is at its very best in these dark and normally clear skies.
Five adobe cabins for people to stay the night were built in the 40's, maintained by a nonprofit who keep it privately run… lovely valley with canyon hikes, hammocks in trees, mineral water at 108 F degrees on tap. Stone pools, antiquated tile pools or rustic steel baths. Modern communal kitchen with enough amenities for a good nosh if bring your own groceries & vino. www.chinatihotsprings.com
[[2nd part of the blog tells about my visit to the hot springs the next year & scroll to the bottom for a link to my photo gallery of the springs]]
To get to the hot springs, take Hwy 90 to 2810. From there, travel about 20 mi (32 km) to Pinto Canyon Road. Much of the road is unpaved, so smaller vehicles may have problems getting through. It is about 50 mi (80 km) from Marfa. It is extremely steep and winding. If this road were a video game it would be the super advanced extra scary level. I loved it. The 40 ft. drop offs on an extremely narrow dirt road was exciting. It was like slowly driving on marbles along the edge of deadly peaks and canyon ridges. If you have a weak heart, take the longer way through Presidio (an extra hour). Not recommended at night or without a high clearance vehicle.
MYSTERY LIGHTS
The Marfa Mystery Lights has a public viewing center operated by TXDOT. They say the viewing center places the highway in between your line of vision and the actual lights. The locals also say its easier to see the lights driving east of town on Hwy 90 between Marfa and Alpine. I slept thru the trek to the see the lights (sadface). But almost everyone I saw swore they had seen something plain as day. Different colored lights chasing each other almost in the distance. Definitely my incentive to go back next year [[see 2nd part of this combined blog to hear about my visit to the viewing center]]. I don't want my x-files badge to get revoked . http://www.nightorbs.net/
MCDONALD OBSERVATORY
In Ft. Davis, just 20 minutes from Marfa in the Davis Mountains is the largest observatory in this region for several states (major telescope action!!). They have Star Parties that start at 9pm on Tues./Fri./Sat. September thru October for $10 per person. I suggest you get there early & do the Twilight Program hour long educational tour before hand at 7:30pm They have combo discounts for doing both. http://mcdonaldobservatory.org
SHAFTER GhostTOWN
Shafter is a real abandoned ghost town (est. 1880) used in multiple old westerns & "the andromeda strain".<> >Its about an hour southeast of Marfa. There are lots of abandoned structures and much mood. An old mining town shriveled up after the closing of Ft. Russell when WWII ended in the 40's. http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasGhostTowns/ShafterTexas/ShafterTexas.htm
PRADA MARFA
Prada is an international fashion house that I'm just sure you've heard of. You can't actually buy a pair of shoes at its Marfa location because it really just a deceptively simple, permanently enclosed art display located to the west near the town of Valentine. In 2005, the site specific installation was created by the artists Elmgreen and Dragset. It was broken into once but the vandals were probably disappointed trying to fence only the left shoes of the 2005 collection lol.
HOW TO GET THERE
Marfa is in the middle of the West Texas Desert. About 2 hours East of Big Bend National Park. Driving from Dallas was about 9 ½ hours. If you want to fly near Marfa, you still have a 2 hour drive into town from either of the nearest airports (Midland or El Paso). Driving is a big part of this desert adventure. Taking Palo Canyon Rd. to the Chinati Hot Springs was terrifying and exhilarating but the views are amazing. It's a very long drive between civilization and Marfa. Only burgs are Abilene, Midland and Odessa… blink and you'll miss your only chance to keep a full tank of gas.
FOODING
The Brown Recluse has the most incredible freshly roasted coffee beans in Texas. You can order them online (100% organic & fair trade). They make each cup of joe, french press by hand & their breakfast menu & cappucino is a blessing in the desert. Only open Sat. & Sun. from 7am till 2pm. Indoor or patio seating. Hwy 90 West http://www.bigbendcoffee.com/
Mando's is on Hwy 90 too. They serve burgers & the worst Mexican food made by Mexicans ever. Cheese had run out by Friday afternoon for them. No bueno. Noted.
Food Shark on Highland Avenue was a shiny silver concession stand that served Middle Eastern fare. It had huge crowds all weekend. I didn't join them this time.
I did find myself at Marfa Burritos on Hwy 67 South across from our camping backyard. Greatest burrito for $3 ever & limonada para gratis. Older couple running the show with no English between the two of them. She taught her customers Spanish with the hola tour and a quick point at ingredients. 3 kinds of salsa, and burritos the size of pillows. Muy excellente!! 6 am – 6pm Sat & Sun (don't let the outside fool you)
Gallery Hopping day brought much walking on the town square and regretfully leaving my sunscreen at camp. By the time the desert caught up with me I was glad to have a moments rest at the marfa oasis… Squeeze Juicebar. So urbane it takes 6 adjectives to order a vitamin infused smoothy. Highland Ave. (Sat & Sun 9am – 2pm)
[[my review of the Pizza Foundation is in the 2nd part of this combined blog below from my visit the following year]]
There is junk food like Dairy Queen (who offers free wi-fi) & the Subway in the gas station. But everything closes super early and many restaurants run out of ingredients by Sunday. There were very few cigarettes for sale as well.
Sunday afternoon we abandoned the crowds & stopped at the historic Ft. Davis Drugstore on the way back East. Old fashioned fountain drinks like egg creams & milk shakes to die for. Sit at the counter & the waitresses call you hon'.
WHERE TO STAY
Reservations at hotels in Marfa or surrounding Marathon, Alpine and Ft. Davis should be made many months in advance, from chains to dives all hotels are all full. The weeks prior to the big weekend, the chamber of commerce keep a list of hotel room cancellations & waiting lists.
Marfa is the center of the action open house weekend. This tiny ranching town has a typical Texas square layout with the Presidio County Courthouse in the center. Most of the 20 or so galleries are walking distance from downtown. Many are out of town, nomads showing for the wknd.
There is great camping in both the Ft. Davis mountains (State Park 1 hour away) and Big Bend (National Park 2 ½ hours away).
The Palace Hotel is the posh bed in town stayed in by the likes of James Dean & Liz Taylor during the months they stayed in Marfa filming "Giant". $230ish a night, lovely bar downstairs in the gilded lobby.
Thunderbird Motel is a very nicely renovated $200 a night place even though it's a u shaped drive up. They loan their guests bikes & typewriters. The hotel's bar, Thunderbird Lounge had good conversation and the best beer selection in that town. The hotel offered great maps for visiting art pilgrim. No restaurant on premises but they have a tamale vendor on Open House weekend and a bitching rock band Friday night (flyer tagline: WAXPLOITATION! 3dys *Soul Funk*psychOdelia "meet the beautiful people who live… and die in a freaky, try anything world… printed on brown kraft paper with op-art moiré backgrounds and naked pinup girl)
The town of Alpine sounds like a good pick. Its is a German settlement with wonderful food from the region. They are clever enuf to schedule their Oktoberfest to coincide with Open House weekend. Thank you. Apparently the best views of the mystery lights are south of highway 90 between marfa & alpine anytime after dark.
Rustic cabins at the Chinati Hot Springs are on my wishlist for next year. If you skipped the section as a destination above. Scroll back & think warm thoughts of hot mineral water.
But this is all afterthought. Our reservations were mysteriously cancelled by Overland Trails cabins in Ft. Davis. Thankfully we brought airmattresses & snuggly things for the frigid 40 degree desert nights. Big love to dollar general on Hwy 90 for cheap linens & mattress pads. We ended up staying at a campground suggested by the marfa chamber of commerce. its full of sunflowers & awesome.
It seemed to be a converted backyard & adjoining acreage with rv hookups. The lovely couple who lived in the master house were bilingual and very accommodating about of our lack of tent. Coincidentally they had a spare already set up in the backyard for out of town guests. $10 a night. Shower facility was adequate on hostel standards. As many tents that popped up in the little shanty town, there was never really a bad line for the facilities. Like a night in the dorms. Lol The communal outdoor kitchen was wonderfully practical.
We were a little weirded out by the lack of room service. But the bounty of nic-nak-bric-a-brak was surreal & uplifting. Trolls & mushrooms & many many sunflowers on every surface. I liked having the tent 10 feet from the fire ring because it was under the only shade trees on the property. But the karaoke singing around the campfire at 3 am was unavoidable for this voyeur. I had to wake up & see to the clatter…giggle with the kids from Austin. good times.
marfa 2008 chinati open house
This year's Chinati Open House in Marfa Texas was held from Friday October 5 through Sunday October 7 officially. Unofficially, its an entire international art week squirreled away in the surreal landscape of the West Texas desert. Private Cessna's bring the collectors and carpools of artists and academics start pouring in days before the weekend and even we didn't find ourselves headed East of Marfa until the following Tuesday. Shhh… don't tell anyone; we don't want THEM all to come to our little secret.
I'd like you to know … whenever you are trekking out into the unknown desert or planning to be stranded on a desert island (whichever comes first of course), definitely bring all that you will need to be comfortable and best able to express your creativity.
Just like last year, no matter how intricately I planned and juggled my schedule there are still places on my must-see list that I never found enough time to get to. Because once you hit Marfa, activity swirls by in fast forward without much of a sweat as the location has this halcyon effect on time where the day leisurely unfolds before your feet. It's the carnival of art fair week without so much desperation of overtly vulgar commerce. Clean white gallery rooms, desert horizons that climb into endless sky, a dichotomy in the art of the void compared to the rural simplicity of a ranching community.
And so, next year I must return to see the Shafter Ghost Town, Luz de Estrella Winery, Casa Perez and the McDonald Observatory's Thursday night fundraiser/stargazing party. But this year we did make it to some wonderful places that now I will share with you. This blog includes reviews of art by MC Farris, curation by SF gallery Queens Nail Annex, a performance by Sonic Youth and more creativity in the desert than you would ever expect to find in a place like Texas.
My absolute favorite show in Marfa this year was the nomadic exhibit at the Waypoint location curated by Queens Nail Annex from San Francisco. Amazing art, great crowd, divine video installation including work by Christian Marclay. Photography by Jim Jocoy included at booklet offering an interview with the artist by curator Audrey Marrs: "One of the great aspects of Punk is that it has the power to bring the performers and artists, who would otherwise be regarded as icons, down to the level of their audience. In your work, an opposite movement seems to take place in which the average party-goer looks like a superstar. But it goes beyond this, its almost as if you are drawn to anyone, celebrity or not, who is a celebrity in their own mind. Very much, I guess celebrity suggests someone with something special. People's beauty and style are special and an inspiration for me. If you dress for attention, I'll give it to you…..When you see someone with style, its easier to take a good photo. I guess as writer Kurt Vonnegut said, 'You are what you pretend to be.' I'll pretend I'm a fashion photographer and you can be the supermodel. It works all the time."
Julie Speed opened up her Marfa Studio to us for Open house weekend. I'm pretty sure I first saw her work in Austin which seems to be her alternative home base. Her illustrations are distinctive, but I really connected to her surrealist assemblage shadowboxes. www.juliespeed.com Open Studio on El Paso Street and ongoing exhibit at Galleri Urbane on San Antonio @ Russell in Marfa till February 2008.
One of my favorite finds this trip was artist, M.C. Farris. I have a weakness for things on canvas with a street flavor. Pop iconography, classic tattoo imagery done in way that defies me to reveal my suspicions of Mr. Farris's graffiti detailings. M.C. Farris www.blindluckindustries.com graduated with a MFA from our very own Commerce in 1998 before going on to the creative hot bed that is Skowhegan. Legend has it he has now moved all the way to Brooklyn, or at least left his mark there. There are TONS of pix of his work in my flickr gallery and I'm embarrassed that my notes do not include the name of the space in Marfa that shared his work with us. Bad blogger. Bad. Of course, the lapse in memory may be due to the number of nomadic galleries set up in empty houses or business locations during the art week.
Ike E. Turner is a simple man who makes wonderful paintings full of fun color and simple images. I have adored his work for years. The Webb's were in Marfa last year at the Do Right space and it was an essential stop on my trip. http://webbartgallery.com/artist/ike/ike.html
Its about time for my pilgrimage to Waxahachie for a visit to the anchor location of the Webb Gallery. They specialize in outsider art and amazing primitives. Their personal collection of folk art, freak show posters & tent revival hangings are a testament to the human creative spirit. But Ike is really something special.
Trying to explain that unique spark to someone that doesn't get art frustrates me. Know how you always think of something more clever to say the day past the confrontation? Having a blog lets you do it over. I have a lot of respect for people that work with their hands, use tools, manufacture and craft tangible objects. The spark can be in that, those few times it a unique process or design. Otherwise the handicraft of a fine art object is inherently owed to the designer, the architect, the conceptual developer. Without the spark of that idea, there would be no plan to create.
When I hear, "Oh I could do that, my 12 year old paints like that, bla bla bla"… we must remember that anyone might but they don't. they never learned how, they never practiced, they never continued, they never opened the conduit of inspiration. The artist designs and births in repetition, creating objects for the sake of art itself. Making art for me personally is catharsis. I literally dream about my work as it is developed. Synchronicity brings me the ephemera to pull apart and put back together as a new thing, oddly decayed and reinforced glistening.
I got into such an ugly argument about this at the Thunderbird (do note christy's opinion of my handling of the situation in the pic above lol). It's the one where I'm making the face that says "no, the guy that poured the concrete isn't as much an artist as the architect or engineer." I had one of those moments where I said ciao and took my crew elsewhere where I might find the multitude of others in town with a like mind. But I look back at the Thunderbird Lounge as a great time, sporting conversation and the best beer selection in that town. The hotel has great maps for visiting art pilgrims and their rooms offer complimentary bikes and typewriters with your room.
So we continued over to Building 98 next to the Chinati Foundation and just down the street from our tent set up under the very old leafy tree at the corner of 67 and Madrid. We had the greatest camping spot in the history of ever. Two tents, one hammock and picnic basket, each of us with a bike, a chair and a sleeping bag. I rode the bike strapped with the picnic basket for our road trips and my companion's bike basket carried my porto-bar case from the 50's. Our hosts had both bathhouse and communal kitchen with what may have been a Spanish speaking saint slow cooking chiles and pork in a black cauldron over an open fire all afternoon. Heaven is a barely day old chipotle pork with plenty of lime, rice & hominy for less than $5. Health department be damned, it was worth the accepted risk.
The exhibit at Bldg. 98 was curated by Wayne Gilbert and offered a room called ApocaLYPSTICK. The space had an exquisite variety of good art, places to lounge and someone's version of the ryder project. Excellent video installation by Ramzy Telley featuring the gruesome viscerality of the Angola Prison Rodeo. http://www.rodeocircusfilms.com/ The same room had floor to higher than high ceiling draped fabric hangings painted by Bill Hailey. I also noticed the delightfully surreal bird paintings by artist Ryan Geiger whom I helped represent in Miami last December.
The brilliant project the Velcro Van was listed as a "mobile gallery of miniature art" and featured fabric sculpture and hanging pieces affixed to the interior and exterior walls of the van that had been completely covered in Velcro. Hosted by Lorna Leedy of www.fancyponyland.com/ and Caroline Rankin with Shark Safari, the van offered tequila and champagne, great music and a multitude of small scale fabric art by crafty b!tches Victoria Cabrera, ricki hill, Katherine Shaughnessy, Carol Cutshall, MatJames among others. We caught up with the van at the shop Delores (next door to the Brown Recluse coffee shop). This local shop not only carried some of the work featured on the van in addition of custom handmade clothing, retro goodness, bike rentals, gifty nik-naks and one of a kind furniture like the plexi enclosed day glo tumbleweed coffee tables.
I was unimpressed with this year's display at a certain local marfa gallery mainstay on San Antonio that was so very good last year that I am not going to print their name for this year's infraction. Not enough risk taking in the curation and I found myself compelled to escape through a nearby window and make my way out through the backyard of the gallery much to the surprise of the girls with me. They were the only ones in the room at the time, and one did comment that it turned out to be a surprisingly graceful exit.
Next, I was brought back to my senses at the Eugene Binder gallery offering me a selection featuring Kiki Smith, Carl Fudge, Sara Ishii among others. Other good shows that I did not need to seek escape routes from, but rather was impressed enough to note here for your review included three or four other galleries showing works by Texas Biennial artist Tom Matthews, San Antonio's Gary Sweeney, and the inventive portrait photographer John Langford from Austin www.johnlangford.com LOVEd the mobile video installation genius of www.brink.com
One of the most interesting audio performances i saw in marfa was by Noisefold who creates the most wonderful improvisational sound/video collages. These two musicians from New Mexico had macs modded with motion sensitive, theremin-like detectors and a freshly built 20' X 10' projection screen artfully stretched over a custom frame. Those clever fellows even customized the look of their software making generic the controls, hiding the wizard behind the curtain just like djs who cover their labels. The Tillie Arts Gallery is just behind Dairy Queen before the railroad tracks. Just when the guys got the beats all worked up, a freight train came tearing through with its high decibel whistle and chugging wheels of steel, grinding away. Not even blinking, the duo improvised and played off the relentless industrial noise much to my delight. That was me hopping up and down like a kid on Christmas. completely dug the theremin action with the laptops. brilliant and very performance friendly working with the x and y axis of the theremin concept. & who says electronic noise isn't fun to watch? www.myspace.com/noisefold
Sonic Youth solidly delivered to an enormous crowd of art hipsters, rocker mod students and wishfully detached collectors. The energy in the performance was palatable. I can't say they played a room since the building is incomplete with large open bay doors, exposed walls and a wide courtyard in back. The front lot was even shoulder to shoulder during the performance. As undone as the building itself was, the stage was professionally equipped and the band rocked like it didn't matter who we were or where any of us were. They even played an encore I'm told they still made it to their gig the next night at House of Blues in Dallas. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Sonic+Youth
I didn't make most of the afterparty because I was not going to miss my mystery light quest this time. Last year the reviewer from artnet made such a serious face when I laughed at his experience with the lights, how can I be skeptic if I have never tried. So, a friend and I went to the viewing station and noticed an abundance of distant traffic lights and twinkling cellphone towers. The locals insisted in my research that it was necessary to drive all the way to Alpine on 90 to get away from the man made illumination. An open mind and a suspension of disbelief locked in, I can't tell you for sure just what we saw moving out there. red lights and a few white ones, not quite sure what it was. It was fun like ghost stories around a campfire. Just promise me you'll get gas before you hit the road into the desert ;) http://www.nightorbs.net/
On Sunday morning I slept in after the afterparty for the Sonic Youth afterparty where I stayed up way too late catching up with the editor of Artlies, the lovely and clever Miss Gupta. It was awesome catching the end of the first afterparty though. I got only one abstract picture of the pink bunny suit after the gallery's band. Best surprise was running into Tomas who generously offered to find me a ride with a friend (who turned out to be Anjali!). My traveling companions went on to breakfast at Foundation Arena without me (love you ladies!!).
I'd been to the foundation last year and really only had interest if they were displaying the new work, hopefully by this year's lecturer Andrea Zittell. I was still pretty disappointed that the Chinati/Judd whatever hadn't organized overflow seating for the lecture series this year. I had zero desire in fighting a crowd for limited seats at the readings and lectures that included David Adjaye, Trevor Smith and a conversation between David Rabinowitch and Kenneth Baker. We'll hope they work that out next time.
The threat of a rainstorm encouraged us to pack up camp instead of rushing to the Judd Ranch's barbeque down Pinto Canyon Road. We opted for the intimacy of the Chinati Hot Springs and their simple communal kitchen that has camping luxuries like a divine ice machine and whatever kitchen gadget your heart desires.
Even though most people we met had a cellphone that worked in the city limits of Marfa proper. It is important to note that neither Christy's satellite radio nor my cellphone worked in the depths and precipices on the unpaved way to the Chinati Mountains. We ran into the nicest German family on our way to the Chinati Hot Springs taking the treacherously thrilling Pinto Canyon Road. It is so interesting to see a group of strangers working together to figure out how the rental car jack and spare work. & Mr. Beech loves his mother ;) Everything worked out in the end and we didn't have to deliver any messages in a bottle. ="">
We were able to get our tent up at the Hot Springs before sundown and those stranded travelers were rescued by a couple of friendly and handy local gentlemen. Kindness of strangers is a good thing.
On our way back to civilization, we passed through Ruidosa and Presidio taking the longer distanced, less exciting, shorter travel time path back to Marfa. We were graced the pleasure of road food by the Pizza Foundation. They only custom craft around 20 pies a day because they see it as art. I was puzzled that they were closed during the high traffic weekend earlier. They felt the crowds an imposition with their demands and hurry. It was great hearing deliveries scheduled for the single delivery boy's time. "We have an opening for a pizza at 7:30, we hope that reservation works for you." As pretentious as it sounds, they were right. Their pizza IS art and they can take whatever liberties they choose. I've had pie in Chicago, Miami and Brooklyn and this little place in the middle of nowhere is AMAZING. High quality gourmet ingredients that make one glad for the existence of miracles in the desert.
marfa is a beautiful thing, but its capacity crowds are fickle and unpredictable. the magic of marfa is the simplicity. its not quantity but quality. there may only be 3 people in the room. one of them may be an editor for the largest art mag in the country. or a rock star art collector, or whatever. its an amazing thing to observe. but much like a flash mobs, rooms fill up quick and restaurants close when they run out of food for the day. reservations are your friend.
flicker gallery of marfa 2006
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79115451@N00/sets/72157594345209447/
flicker gallery of marfa 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79115451@N00/sets/72157602704412670
flickr gallery of chinati hot springs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79115451@N00/sets/72157602706881837/
