On the Road: Marfa, Texas – Part I
Even the sheds have a Judd-like quality in Marfa. That's my shadow in the foreground. Marfa is made for biking. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
One taxi, two planes and a three-hour drive in a rental car conveyed me from Manhattan to Marfa, Texas last week — a roughly ten-hour journey– and, despite the distance and cost, it was utterly worthwhile.
I visited Marfa — aka Donald Judd land — with a group from Houston’s Menil Collection. Judd began visiting Marfa in the early 1970s and bought dilapidated properties on the cheap. He saw aesthetic potential in the ruins, including a supermarket, bank, army barracks and an old wool and mohair warehouse.
Forty years later, Marfa retains a mystical allure due in large part to Judd’s vision and the work of his foundations which carry on his mission. Judd died in 1994.
The Menil trip included all the prime spots, including Judd’s Chinati Foundation, a museum where his own work, and that of his artist friends, is installed on 340 acres at a former army base. Our tour of the Judd Foundation included visits to Judd’s studios and homes. The affable Menil curator Michelle White, who is currently working on Richard Serra and Vija Celmins shows, was an intelligent and good-humored addition to our group.
We also visited Ballroom Marfa, a non-profit art space, where director Fairfax Dorn has curated a stellar exhibit, Immaterial focusing on the artistic process, materials, shape and form.
One surprise was the caliber of the food. We did not have a single bad meal. We dined at the superb Cochineal (twice), Maiya’s,the Pizza Foundation (where the former Chinati director Marianne Stockebrand joined us for a slice) and enjoyed a healthy lunchtime feast provided by the Food Shark. We even hit Padre’s, the local funeral parlor turned watering hole, for a round of tequila shots.
Here are a first round of photos. More to come.
Thunderbird Hotel where we shacked up comfortably for three nights. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Next morning at the Thunderbird, blue skies. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Sign on route to Chinati Foundation. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Judd's "100 Untitled Works in Mill Aluminum" (1982-86) installed in two artillery sheds, clearly the inspiration for Dia Beacon and the highlight of the Chinati visit. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
One of Judd's boxes made from unfinished aluminum and displayed with natural light. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
German text on the wall, a vestige from when the building held two hundred German prisoners of war during WWII. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
© Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Judd's favored pivoting doors at wool and mohair warehouse used to display John Chamberlain sculptures. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
John Chamberlain sculptures on view at Chinati Foundation, one of the weaker installations of the bunch. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Marfa library, loved the earnest sentiment printed on the wall. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Bank building bought by Judd and used as studio and living quarters. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Another Judd building, used to display art, and store his vast library. Part of Judd Foundation, no interior photos permitted. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Marfa has attracted other artists besides Judd. Here is the studio where painters Christopher Wool and Charline von Heyl work. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
A building, once used as a horse arena, used as a dining hall at Chinati. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
The sublime Judd chair I was permitted to sit on during lunch. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Judd courtyard behind the arena. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Another view of the courtyard behind the arena, Calvin Klein-eat your heart out. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Richard Long sculpture made of rocks at Chinati Foundation. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
New Carl Andre installation at Chinati, laid between a pair of barracks. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Another highly successful and dramatic installation at Chinati is Dan Flavin's "The Marfa Project" consisting of barracks installed with neon sculptures. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
View of exterior of barrack with Dan Flavin "Marfa Project" inside. Opened in 2000. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Another view of one of Flavin's "Marfa Project" spaces. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Here's what those barracks look like in the other direction, spare and serene. Photo: © Lindsay Pollock
Room filled with John Wesley paintings at Chinati. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Roni Horn installation at Chinati. © Photo: Lindsay Pollock
Amazing. Thanks, Lindsay! Always wanted to go there xo Mallory
Humble thanks from a reader who lives in a cultural backwater in the South of Brazil.
It looks quite amazing…
Two connections to Marfa – a car illustrator, who bought the towns Palace movie theatre and made it into his studio – he complained about Fed-Ex’s reluctance to pick-up in Marfa..
And Rackstraw D. who showed there.