These [Shoes] aren't Made for Walkin'
PRADA "OPENS" IN MARFAby Luke Warm
Photos courtesy Lizette Kapre,
Ballroom Marfa, and the Art Production Fund
West Texas gets a Long-Overdue
Infusion of Whimsy by German-based Artists
| Courtesy Lizette Kapre, Ballroom Marfa, and the Art Production Fund |
I was still bemoaning the disappearance of the Oasis Gas Station between Valentine and Fort Davis, when "our man in West Texas" called to tell me that the Oasis had "been replaced" by something or someone named Marfa Prada.
When I Googled Marfa Prada, I half-expected to see the girl who sat behind me in 9th grade science class, but I soon learned it was actually Prada Marfa - a piece of art. Store as sculpture. Searching images - it appeared before me - a beautiful lighted-from-within 15 x 25 box with no unsightly utility lines or detracting parking lot. |
| Courtesy Lizette Kapre, Ballroom Marfa, and the Art Production Fund |
West Texas has a history of faux-ruins. Beginning in the 50s, flatcars arrived from California carrying "Riata." This huge prop became the plywood-thin mansion of Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson in Giant. The mansard-roofed prop bravely weathered the West Texas climate for years. It's last appearance was a cameo appearance in Fandango.
Then there was the Oasis Gas Station for the movie Dancer, Texas, pop. 81 and finally Contrabando - a complete faux-village built just north of the Rio Grande on highway 170 that has appeared in both US and Mexican movies - at least one of them named Contrabando.
But Prada Marfa takes the proverbial cake. Movie sets are meant to be art but seldom are they wry statements. Prada Marfa is (was) both.
It's "Grand-opening" / showing occurred on October 1st, 2005. (My invitation was probably lost in the excitement of hurricane Rita.) When I first saw the photos of the sculpture - I knew that the glass windows and doorway probably didn't see the sunrise of October 2nd. (Actually, the vandals took three days to arrive.) |
| Courtesy Lizette Kapre, Ballroom Marfa, and the Art Production Fund |
A time-released time capsule.
The artists and supporters of this project knew this too. Made of earth-friendly earth, this biodegradable adobe building will slowly melt back into the landscape once the looters have removed the merchandise. The slow fade to oblivion will provide countless hours of conversation for motorists driving through West Texas. Starting with simple questions like "What the hell was that?" it's sure to inspire more thoughtful dialogue - like "When is advertising art?" or "When is art advertising?" Or (for really long trips) "What is art, anyway?" My question is: If it wasn't Marfa Prada, then who did sit behind me in 9th grade science?
Texas' most famous outdoor sculpture is probably the weather-worn, graffiti-covered "Cadillac Ranch" outside of Amarillo. It's been baking and freezing in the Panhandle for 30-some years now and still going strong. But like the man said about progress - there's nothing wrong with it - it just went on too long. Prada Marfa may never outlast those bodies by Fisher, but it's already become the most talked about sculpture of the 21st Century - despite the puny traffic count of highway 90. |
| Courtesy Lizette Kapre, Ballroom Marfa, and the Art Production Fund |
Tabloid Theory
Someone (name withheld by request) has suggested that Prada Marfa isn't a sculpture at all - but a trap set by aliens wanting to abduct humans. One has to admit that a desolate West Texas highway might just be an excellent place for specimen gathering. There might be a connection with that 24-hour taxidermy shop that suddenly appeared outside of Toyah, Texas in 1998 and disappeared about two weeks later. What if that taxidermy store was to lure male specimens and "they" decided a second one was needed to lure females? Walk in for a handbag and next thing you know you're being prodded awake by Clingons. Yikes! |
Cruel Shoes
The first batch of comments about Prada Marfa that we read (on one of the 72,000 entries on Google) was thoughtful - and mostly anonymous. One person called the sculpture "a cruel mirage." I guess if I stopped and waited an hour for it to open before figuring it out - I might call it a cruel mirage, too.
As time passes, fewer people will slow down to gawk. My suggestion would be to do it again as a hologram. Let the vandals come and spray paint walls that aren't there. Better yet, it could be a convenience store / gas station hologram with a sign showing $1.85 gasoline. Now there's a cruel mirage. |
"I can't take 'em back, honey, I, uh, lost the receipt."
Some people are concerned with what role Prada played. Was it a simple blessing or a partial sponsorship? Who cares? A bigger concern should be the foot problems that will soon arise when local women start walking around in mismatched pairs of shoes. The shoes in the sculpture were actual items from the Fall 2005 Prada collection - but from the photos they appear as solitary shoes.
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Texas Escapes |
