December 28-29, 2018
Before this trip I had never heard of Marfa, Texas. Why would I have? The population is less than 2,000. The nearest big city is Odessa, 170 miles away, and El Paso is almost 200 miles away.
Little did I know that Marfa is the Funky Heart of Texas.
MARFA BURRITOS
Our first introduction to Marfa was a hole-in-the-wall burrito joint with a cult-like following.
Matthew McConaughey (bottom left) is apparently a fan, as is Mark Ruffalo (center). The one who surprised us, however, is the great food travel writer Anthony Bourdain (top left).
Ramona's kitchen had some nice appliances, but the walls and ceiling could best be described as "quaint."
The burritos are large, overlapping both sides of a dinner-sized paper plate.
The filling was, well, average. I'd like to go back and try the carne or the asada burrito. Maybe THEY are what all the fuss is about. However, I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to detour to Marfa just for the burrito.
The truest endorsement might be TripAdvisor's: "Best Burritos in Marfa." (Remember, Marfa has a population under 2,000. How many burrito joints can there be?)
What is most important about Marfa is not its burritos, however. It turns out that Marfa is a center of the minimalist art movement. Who would've thunk? But before I get to that, it's important to know about the two structures that bookend the city.
MARFA PRADA
About 25 miles northwest of Marfa on the main highway is an eye-popping mirage: a freestanding Prada shop--yes, that Prada, the extremely expensive luxury Italian clothing company. Surrounded by dry prairie, it looks like it was picked up from 5th Avenue and dropped here by a tornado.
However, the front door cannot be opened, and it has never sold anything. It was "established" in 2005 as a piece of landscape art. It is meant to be a criticism of consumerism and luxury branding, and yet somehow it made me desperately want to go shopping.
The "store" houses luxury goods--shoes and purses--from the Prada 2005 collection. However, it only includes one shoe of the pair and the purses don't have bottoms, a tactic meant to be a deterrent to thieves. It was actually robbed on the first night it was stocked, and since then it has had a sophisticated alarm system installed.
It's become a big tourist draw, especially for the twenty-something generation. Bob and I were definitely the oldest patrons.
MARFA TARGET
On the other side of Marfa, about 60 miles from town, is the world's smallest Target. One day in 2016, an unknown person or persons remodeled a tiny cinderblock shack with the well-known red bulls-eye logo and block lettering. Unlike the Prada store, there is nothing inside except for desert sand and an occasional lizard. It seems like an appropriate response to Prada, don't you think?
DONALD JUDD
What is it about Marfa (besides the burritos and Prada and Target) that draws people to this isolated West Texas locale? Marfa's appeal is all about an artist named Donald Judd who made his home here between 1979 and 1994. Judd was a leader of the minimalist movement, which focuses on geometric abstraction.
Marfa is the site of The Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum based on Judd's work and containing art by his fellow minimalists. (Judd actually named one of his children Flavin after his friend and contemporary minimalist, Don Flavin.)
The Chinati Foundation has two parts--a building that houses many pieces of art we were not allowed to photograph . . .
. . . and an extensive outdoor art installation that we were allowed to photograph. Can you see it in the photo below?
Here is some help:
I especially liked the ones that provided a frame for the scenery.
We also spent some time at Judd's home in Marfa, referred to locally as "The Block." Judd bought this property--which comprises a full city block--and the buildings on it in 1973. It was here that he transformed to large hangers into display spaces for his art. The property included a two-story house that was once the office of the U.S. Quartermaster Corps. Judd turned this into his personal residence, remodeling it to make it suitable for his wife and two children. No photos were allowed here either, so these are from the internet.
The house has a very unique front door that pivots from a center anchor. The stairs would be terrifying with young children, whose bedrooms were in a loft area upstairs.
No cabinets in the kitchen. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.
Judd had a large library of more than 13,000 volumes, so he needed his own library, which is also part of The Block. The library and almost all of its books have been preserved. I found these photos of his unique library online:
However, Don Judd is not the only artist who is identified with Marfa. The legendary James Dean also has a home here--of sorts.
JIMMY DEAN
Marfa was the filming location of the 1956 movie Giant, starring James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards and was Dean's last leading role. Just west of Marfa is an unusual tribute to both the stars and the movie: a ginormous installation that was erected by muralist John Cerney just two months before our visit. The scene includes Dean's character, Jeff Rink, a car driven by Rock Hudson, and the house where a lot of the filming took place, complete with a woman (Elizabeth Taylor?) riding a horse and the film crew. All of it is 2-D.
The car's license plate says "GIANT," and Jimmy is holding his iconic cigarette.
There is a woman on a horse, the lighting man, and the camera man.
Recent pictures of the site show a ginormous Elizabeth Taylor in a cowboy hat leaning against a fence. She's been added since our trip.
Both James Dean and Rock Hudson were nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, but the award that year went to Yul Brynner for his role in The King and I. However, George Stevens did win the Oscar for Best Director.
The movie, based on a book by Edna Ferber of the same name, is an epic western that includes a love triangle (I'll bet you can't guess among which three characters), oil wells, and, somewhat surprisingly, an exploration of racism in mid-century Texas. Here's a teaser:
Before this trip I had never heard of Marfa, Texas. Why would I have? The population is less than 2,000. The nearest big city is Odessa, 170 miles away, and El Paso is almost 200 miles away.
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| Presidio County Courthouse |
MARFA BURRITOS
Our first introduction to Marfa was a hole-in-the-wall burrito joint with a cult-like following.
There isn't anything fancy about Marfa Burrito, including the signage.
The restaurant has taken over the home of Ramona, the owner/chef. When we were there, a long line snaked through what used to be the living room.
The walls are covered with pictures of Ramona, famous people, and Ramona with the famous people. Note Beto O'Rourke in the center below.
The menu has seven items. Bob ordered the egg and cheese, and our son and I had the Primo, judging by the price that it was the biggest and best.
Ramona's kitchen had some nice appliances, but the walls and ceiling could best be described as "quaint."
The filling was, well, average. I'd like to go back and try the carne or the asada burrito. Maybe THEY are what all the fuss is about. However, I certainly wouldn't go out of my way to detour to Marfa just for the burrito.
The truest endorsement might be TripAdvisor's: "Best Burritos in Marfa." (Remember, Marfa has a population under 2,000. How many burrito joints can there be?)
What is most important about Marfa is not its burritos, however. It turns out that Marfa is a center of the minimalist art movement. Who would've thunk? But before I get to that, it's important to know about the two structures that bookend the city.
About 25 miles northwest of Marfa on the main highway is an eye-popping mirage: a freestanding Prada shop--yes, that Prada, the extremely expensive luxury Italian clothing company. Surrounded by dry prairie, it looks like it was picked up from 5th Avenue and dropped here by a tornado.
However, the front door cannot be opened, and it has never sold anything. It was "established" in 2005 as a piece of landscape art. It is meant to be a criticism of consumerism and luxury branding, and yet somehow it made me desperately want to go shopping.
The "store" houses luxury goods--shoes and purses--from the Prada 2005 collection. However, it only includes one shoe of the pair and the purses don't have bottoms, a tactic meant to be a deterrent to thieves. It was actually robbed on the first night it was stocked, and since then it has had a sophisticated alarm system installed.
It's become a big tourist draw, especially for the twenty-something generation. Bob and I were definitely the oldest patrons.
On the other side of Marfa, about 60 miles from town, is the world's smallest Target. One day in 2016, an unknown person or persons remodeled a tiny cinderblock shack with the well-known red bulls-eye logo and block lettering. Unlike the Prada store, there is nothing inside except for desert sand and an occasional lizard. It seems like an appropriate response to Prada, don't you think?
What is it about Marfa (besides the burritos and Prada and Target) that draws people to this isolated West Texas locale? Marfa's appeal is all about an artist named Donald Judd who made his home here between 1979 and 1994. Judd was a leader of the minimalist movement, which focuses on geometric abstraction.
Marfa is the site of The Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum based on Judd's work and containing art by his fellow minimalists. (Judd actually named one of his children Flavin after his friend and contemporary minimalist, Don Flavin.)
The Chinati Foundation has two parts--a building that houses many pieces of art we were not allowed to photograph . . .
. . . and an extensive outdoor art installation that we were allowed to photograph. Can you see it in the photo below?
Here is some help:
This is iconic Donald Judd work--concrete hollow boxes in varying configurations, some with open walls. It's a bleak art form for a bleak landscape.
I especially liked the ones that provided a frame for the scenery.
I'm not sure how many distinct structures there were. Maybe 16-20?
Somehow I did get pictures of these two indoor pieces made by Judd. Similar pieces are in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
We also spent some time at Judd's home in Marfa, referred to locally as "The Block." Judd bought this property--which comprises a full city block--and the buildings on it in 1973. It was here that he transformed to large hangers into display spaces for his art. The property included a two-story house that was once the office of the U.S. Quartermaster Corps. Judd turned this into his personal residence, remodeling it to make it suitable for his wife and two children. No photos were allowed here either, so these are from the internet.
The house has a very unique front door that pivots from a center anchor. The stairs would be terrifying with young children, whose bedrooms were in a loft area upstairs.
No cabinets in the kitchen. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity.
Judd had a large library of more than 13,000 volumes, so he needed his own library, which is also part of The Block. The library and almost all of its books have been preserved. I found these photos of his unique library online:
However, Don Judd is not the only artist who is identified with Marfa. The legendary James Dean also has a home here--of sorts.
JIMMY DEAN
Marfa was the filming location of the 1956 movie Giant, starring James Dean, Rock Hudson, and Elizabeth Taylor. It was nominated for ten Academy Awards and was Dean's last leading role. Just west of Marfa is an unusual tribute to both the stars and the movie: a ginormous installation that was erected by muralist John Cerney just two months before our visit. The scene includes Dean's character, Jeff Rink, a car driven by Rock Hudson, and the house where a lot of the filming took place, complete with a woman (Elizabeth Taylor?) riding a horse and the film crew. All of it is 2-D.
The house has three figures in front of it.
There is a woman on a horse, the lighting man, and the camera man.
Both James Dean and Rock Hudson were nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, but the award that year went to Yul Brynner for his role in The King and I. However, George Stevens did win the Oscar for Best Director.
The movie, based on a book by Edna Ferber of the same name, is an epic western that includes a love triangle (I'll bet you can't guess among which three characters), oil wells, and, somewhat surprisingly, an exploration of racism in mid-century Texas. Here's a teaser:
All in all, I found Marfa to be well worth the time we spent there. It is one of the most bizarre places we've ever been--a mishmash of the Old West, natural beauty, and offbeat art. I'm not sure I ever need to go back, but I'm glad we paid a visit!
READING
Giant gets four stars on Amazon. The Audible version, which runs 15 hours 21 minutes, gets 4.5 stars. Maybe I'll tackle that one.
Marfa was worth going to because we had to to get to where we were going. That's a little harsh, but not by much. The burrito place was horrible and we had to wait a long time to get it. Judd's exhibit would have been a fun place to play "army" as a kid. But this was more of your thing anyway and I'm glad you had some fun with it.
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