above: The check-in to the RV park.
Let me start by saying that I don’t claim to know anything about art. I have always ascribed to the adage that art (beauty) “IS in the eye of the beholder”. That may be a cowardly statement to make and if thrown into the New York art scene, I’m sure I would be referred to as a cretin. But, I do consider myself open minded and am always looking for ways to exercise my creative side and a trip to Marfa definitely stretched my imagination and tested my open mindedness.
You know your in Texas when ………….
Marfa is a tiny dried up dirt patch in southwest Texas. It’s not exactly a place that one would expect to find art. You know, the kind of art that you would find circulating in the hoity toity galleries of New York City. But, famed artist, Donald Judd, saw it as a perfect place to exhibit his large works on a permanent basis.
left: Marfa’s one flashing light and mainstreet.
right: The Courthouse.
Judd rejected the way art was handled by the big city galleries and museums. He felt that the way art was displayed was more of a spectacle and that the value and dignity of the work suffered because of it. So, he bought a 340 acre defunct military base in Marfa to create a museum (Chinati Foundation) where his art and a few other’s could be displayed permanently and receive the respect he felt the work deserved.
Fort D.A. Russell was originally built in 1910. It had undergone many incarnations over the years and was finally decommissioned in 1946. It contained many large buildings, barracks, a gymnasium and other assorted smaller buildings. The space within the buildings and the expansive landscape that surrounded them were the perfect combination he was looking for to install his large pieces of work.
above: A portion of Judd’s Untitled Works in Concrete.
Judd was a minimalist which to most of us lay people gets a reaction of “huh?” The “less is more” concept seems to to be too complicated for our simpleton minds to process. I began to feel my inadequacy when we stepped onto the grounds to begin the tour. A couple, obviously (by their accents) in from New York, began to pump the docent for information about the concrete works in the field and began to extrapolate how they thought it related to the landscape and possibly parallel the railroad tracks behind etc. etc……..
I cocked my head quizzically as I listened to their interpretation and followed that with a shake of my head repeating to myself “in the eye of the beholder, in the eye of the beholder”. (by the way, the railroad was perpendicular and on the other side of town out of view. I know this because we parked the RV next to them.)
We stepped into the first of the two largest buildings which house his 100 aluminum blocks. The blocks are approximately 4’ x 4’ x 6’ and made of 3/4 inch polished aluminum. Each has a different interior design with a shelf this way or that but none was a complete block which annoyed the heck out of the Big Dude. He raced through both buildings on a quest to find a complete block. He never did. When I inquired about this, the docent responded with “ a complete block does not invite interaction”.
Judd wanted his pieces to interact with the landscape. I caught this reflection of the landscape with Judd’s blocks inside. Does that look artsy? Does that make me an artist? Do you think Judd would be pleased with my interpretation?
I was actually inspired by and drawn to the buildings themselves. Old decrepit buildings have a patina that invites one to ponder its previous inhabitants and its place in history. At one point, these buildings housed German prisoners of war. Over one doorway, written in German, it said “It is better to use your head than to lose your head”.
Artist Ilya Kabakov turned one of the barracks into an abandoned Russian schoolhouse complete with peeling plaster, yellowed papers strewn about and scattered broken desks. The Big Dude emerged again wide eyed and shaking his head.
We moved on to a Dan Flavin’s work with light that encompassed 6 barracks and took 20 years to complete. It took us 40 minutes to tour all the buildings and again the Big Dude emerged agitated as if he had just found out that he had been conned.
left: Claes Oldenburg & Coosje van Bruggen – Monument to the Last Horse.
We went on to view works by Claes Oldenburg, Coosje van Bruggen, Ingolfur Arnarsson, Carl Andre, David Rabinowitch, John Wesley and John Chamberlain. Chamberlain’s sculpture from the 70‘s included pieces of smashed up old cars (now really old) soldered together. Those pieces get more fascinating with time since they don’t make cars out of metal and chrome anymore.
right: John Chamberlain’s work.
Photography was not allowed so there aren’t many pictures to share but I guess it’s a place one has to experience for themselves, as Judd intended. Art moves people, although not necessarily in the same direction and there certainly is the entertainment aspect of it. I can say without a doubt that the Big Dude was moved by the experience and that I was definitely entertained by watching him refine his thoughts on art.
left: After the tour, we took our thoughts to the local beer garden complete with Teepee, ring toss, ping pong and deck. (Oh, and sodas for the boys.)
right: Ring toss game.(Mommy got pretty good at it)
above: The enterance to the teepee.
above: The Hippygeek and the Big Dude discuss the finer points of art in the teepee.
right: The Lil’ Dude discusses the finer points of art with the parrot on the bar.
Don’t let my sarcasm make you think I don’t like art. I do. I appreciate the effort and sometimes the bravery it takes for artists to expose their own world’s to the public eye despite the reaction their art may receive. I also believe that artists NEED to “get out” whatever it is they need to get out. Art, whatever it’s appearance or configuration serves to transform. The Big Dude and I certainly were transformed by the experience. But despite one’s level of appreciation, I still stand by my opinion that art (beauty) IS in the eye of the beholder whether it be the artists eyes or yours.
above: A portion of Judd’s Untitled Works in Mill Aluminum.
“The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke.” Jerzy Kosinski
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