Prada Marfa, Wrap Your Head Around This One
I've been sitting on this thread because I'm not sure how to process it. You may have heard by now that Saturday, October 1st, is the opening of an installation art project called Prada Marfa. The artists Elmgreen & Dragset state, "The work will be located on the outskirts of Valentine, Texas near Marfa on desolate ranching land with no other visible trace of civilization. As one drives toward the artwork it will appear to be a large minimalist sculpture, as one gets closer it will look like a luxury boutique where a display of Fall 2005 high-heel Prada shoes and bags will be seen through the store front windows... [It]blends into the exciting historical structures of the area in which it will be placed... As we purposefully will not preserve Prada Marfa, it will eventually become a ruin so that even in a future decayed state it will remain relevant to the time in which it was made..." Talking amongst friends, a common reaction seems to be one of mixed confusion - uncertain whether to laugh or cry. From the website materials, it is unclear what the sociopolitical stance is (is there one?) Is this a commentary on the frivolity of fashion? Is it contrasting the accoutrements of urban life vs. the necessities of the rural? Or is it a simple suggestion that high fashion is art? It seems that a project pre-loaded with this much potential controversy would come with a clearer agenda. According to Fashion Week Daily, Prada's corporate art division, Fondazione Prada, is partially funding the piece. It is uncertain if this is correct, but if it is then what does that suggest? Maybe the opening will reveal the secrets. What are your thoughts?
posted by Mark permanent link
14 Comments:
I think it's pretty sad, personally. I'm totally cool with installation art and converting unused land into something thought-provoking. But this just seems like a tacky advertising ploy disguised as art. And keep in mind, I sell advertising for a living. Mucking up the countryside like this is tasteless.
Don't mess with Texas. This sounds like littering to me.
I am not sure what the meaning is although it could be any of those. I don't think I am familiar with their work but it does seem to be about juxtaposition, forcing people to look at space in new ways, and in this case there are all of the juxtapositions that you mentioned plus the idea that what was once bright, shiny and new (like boom towns or even countries) everything eventually not only goes out of style but decays and becomes a ruin. I saw The Gates in New York City last spring and I think that sometimes pieces like that or Prada Marfa don't have clear agendas. The pieces are often more emotional than intellectual even if there is an intellectual component -- I think sometimes artists are curious to see what happens. As to why Prada would contribute probably because it is good marketing for them. It continues to link them with a younger more hip crowd and they should get press from this even if some of it is "that is stupid" or WTF? I don't know, it is a curious project and maybe the point is to be superfluous, to get people riled up.
how would this be any different than all the other interlopers that have plagued Marfa for the past ten years? At least you don't have to listen to it.
If you wear Prada or got to art shows with people who do, it's a clever 'juxtaposition.' If you don't, it's a showy advertising gimmick meant to capitalize on Marfa's new hip cache. (Remember: it's not even in Marfa, or even Presidio County - it's outside Valentine.)
It's not worthy to gather the crumbs from under Christo's table, I'm afraid. Christo doesn't need a luxury brand name - or the name of a suddenly hip little town - to make his point. There's a lot of amazing art in Marfa, but this is ... silly.
As to how this is different from the rest of the Marfa circus, well, there's a line in there somewhere between bringing something to town and just using the place, gobbling it up to serve your own ends. Thank god a lot of the new arrivals fall in the former; I reckon, however, that we will see more and more of the latter as the years go by.
I just saw the installation by accident while on vacation in big bend state park. Whether the premise is good or not, I can tell you that all the people I met who drove by the building were talking about it. No one knew what it was but EVERYONE stopped, got out out of the car, investigated and talked about it. Maybe that in itself is enough. Also, in terms of contrast it was ten times more effective than the gates.
I heard that the installation was already vandalised. Doors broken and all the shoes etc stolen. Pulled the door off with a chain and truck...Anybody confirm this?
No excuse for such behavior!
Sounds just about as interesting as a smashed car or an aluminum box...
Looks like a plug for publicity by the Art Production Fund, Prada, and the artists (and maybe free bags and shoes thrown in for all of them).
I just have to say that I LOVED it. Granted, it is a huge waste of money that could have been put to a much better use, but all the negativity by the nay sayers is uncalled for. I was lucky enough to have seen it, just driving through, and it was brilliant. Thought provoking, fun, a real conversation piece if ever there was one. The pure contrast of a Prada store front in what is literally "the middle of nowhere". My only hope is that they decide to keep its appearance up rather than let it deteriorate. As it stands in its stark perfection, it is much more affective.
Talking amongst friends, a common reaction seems to be one of mixed confusion - uncertain whether to laugh or cry. From the website materials, it is unclear what the sociopolitical stance is (is there one?)
This is just sad, that a group of artists are unable to address a work of art without a cheat sheet handy.
Good lord, some people, they just can't think for themselves.
Well, allmighty one, let's hear what you think about the art. Or are you more interested in throwing grenades from the sidelines?
Here's a couple of good photos in the Marfa.Org Gallery:
Valentine's Gas Station: http://photos.marfa.org/displayimage.php?album=11&pos=10
Prada Marfa at night: http://photos.marfa.org/displayimage.php?album=11&pos=0
Ok. You people need to stop hating on the Prada Marfa. Its art just as much as the Mona Lisa is art.
Just because you cant afford to have luxurys like some of us, you dont need to get all butthurt about it.
So all of you people who say its tastless and its littering, i suggest you have some class for maybe once in your poor pathetic lives.
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