The Marfa.Org ®@ŋd¤m‡zЄ®

We're sure you've heard:
Giant Screening Sold Out!

Giant screening makes waves in the state-wide news:
W. Texas Town Recalls When It Became Giant (Houston)
Woman shares 'Giant' memories 50 years later (El Paso)
'Giant' anniversary is huge in Marfa (Dallas)
Film made huge impression on documentary maker (Odessa)
Fifty years later, "Giant" remains movie classic (Fort Worth)

Get in the mood with:
The Marfa.Org 'Giant' Photo Gallery
The Riatta, The Most Viewed Pic In Our Gallery

Other news:
Marfa Public Radio Looking at New Antenna Site
Another Image Collection of Chinati

Marfa Moment - Call for Entries

The Marfa Studio fo the Arts is offering a unique opportunity for any Texas artist that can capture the essence of a Marfa Moment. The selected artist will receive an exhibition of their proposal in the MSA gallery during the second week of October. Of course this will coincide with the annual Chinati Open House event which draws thousands of art lovers from around the world, so the winning exhibition will be seen by many.

Interested artists are asked to submit a written statement "explaining the premise of the exhibition", resume, and samples of work. Proposals must be received by July 1st - so hurry! See the Marfa Studio fo the Arts website for more information.

The Marfa.Org ®@ŋd¤m‡zЄ®

New Mayor Questions Credit Card Bills
- BBS reports "Lanman also accused Sauceda of “buying favor of people” with city funds, alluding to Sauceda taking parties of people out for meals on the city card. “It’s totally inappropriate,” Lanman said. “The people are offended and I’m offended.”
Martha Hughes Studio Website
- Martha made a helpful list of local business hours.
Brewster County Freecycle, Includes Marfa
- Open to those "who want to "recycle" that special something rather than throw it away. Whether it's a chair, a fax machine, chicken wire, a piano or an old door, feel free to post it. Or maybe you're looking to acquire something yourself!"
Colomo Marfa
- You can rent this 3000 sf spot for group events.
The Quarters, Guest House and Gallery
Bar of Soap Sells for $18,000
- Current art market soars. (A Judd mention)
Meager Turnout for Dean Fest in Indiana
- I hear that our Giant Screening on July 2 is in no danger of same.
Newest Marfa.Org Gallery Pictures

We Found the Hidden Art! - Part Two

When I came to my senses after the owl-in-face experience in part one of the story, I found that I had an interesting little document in my hand. To be exact, a doc in a ziplock bag. It is actually very ironic that the owl was in the sign because the cracksinthepavement.com art piece appears to draw a parrallel between the Stardust sign and a tree. The piece is signed by Katherine E. Bash and William L. Fox, a past Lannan Writer in residence. The booklet is about 4 pages long and on the front is a library index card for "Varieties of Visual Experience" by Edmund Burke Feldman. On the first page is printed 'trE (TKST) - MARFA. The first portion of this is the pronunciation for tree. I haven't the foggiest what TKST means. Pages 2 and 3 are where the heart of the info is; various definitions for tree, from the obvious to the diagramatical. The back cover has the artists' signatures and a link to cracksinthepavement site.

In the artists' statement at cracksinthepavement.com, both writers tell us about wonderful experiences climbing trees, Ms. Bash in her childhood and Mr. Fox right here in Marfa:

"There are no rocks to climb in Marfa, Texas, a town in which I have found myself happily in residence as a visiting writer. But there is an Arizona cypress with which I have developed a relationship, a forty-foot-high specimen planted in mid-20th century that offers a way up over the horizon. On flat ground a person of average height can see about twenty-five square miles of the surrounding terrain. By climbing that tree I can encompass very nearly a hundred times that territory... I sit in the cypress, as careful as I can be not to bruise its thin bark, and listen to what voices are brought me by the wind in the afternoon."

Makes me want to climb my own tree in my yard (which I'm going to do right after I finish here.) But part of me thinks maybe this booklet is yet a clue. Should I search for his tree? Should I find and look through the Feldman book? The answer is yes. Whether it's a clue or not, something is there.

We Found the Hidden Art!

You may have read in the Big Bend Sentinel about the interesting international art project called "Cracks in the Pavement: Gifts in the Urban Landscape". The project coordinator, Heather Johnson, invited artists to place (or hide) a piece of their art in the landscape. The intent is to "call attention to the “in-between” spaces encountered throughout everyday life. The project focuses on details within the urban landscape and encourages close inspection of our social space." By following clues on the project website, it was clear that one of the art objects was hidden in Marfa, probably near the Stardust Motel sign at the west edge of town. I think anyone in town would know this from the photo clue.

I rolled into town from Van Horn at 3:30am on Friday morning. As I approached the sign, my curiousity negated my fatigue and I decided to have a quick look around. In a hole in the bottom of the sign, something was taped to the inside of the metal surface. (Wow, could it be that it hasn't already been found?) As I peeled the tape from the tin, causing a harsh noise that broke the intense silence, a large owl blasted down out of the hole and flew away into the night sky! Definitely one of the most vivid experiences in my life.

All about the art (or is it another clue?) in the next post. Stay tuned.

Word of the Day

Main Entry: death rattle

Function: noun: A gurgling or rattling sound sometimes made in the throat of a dying person, caused by loss of the cough reflex and passage of the breath through accumulating mucus.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

The Marfa.Org ®@ŋd¤m‡zЄ®

Going Hollywood, The Story of Giant
Giant Screening in Marfa, July 2
Visual Culture Has Text on the Ropes - Judd, Hickey
Alpine & Marfa - Dallas Morning News Comparison
Replica James Dean Porsche Visit Recapped
One of their favorite stops was Marfa, Texas. The small town was the primary filming location for Giant, Dean's third and final movie. "They put on a huge parade for us and just treated us like royalty," Greenberg said. "These people have a very good memory, there are still people in town who were teenagers, youngsters or even married couples at the time the movie was shot. For a small town, a huge movie like that coming in makes a huge impact."
Original Aquatint Etching #87 by Judd, Auction

May 7 Election Chaos

There's a new Big Bend Sentinel story that attempts to recap the current situation with the May7 election. If you haven't been following the story, it may be difficult to decipher. The whole election is very difficult to put into a nutshell, but let's just say that, at the time of writing the newly elected officials, including Mayor David Lanman, had still not taken office. There are "allegations of wrongdoing by certain city officials" which include postponing the swearing-in by refusing to canvass the votes. The losers of the election are demanding a recount of the votes, in the hopes that the count is significantly different than the original count. If so, a new election may be possible; the result that seems to have been their goal from the beginning.

"Late last week, Lanman and Chavez filed a writ of mandamus against the city, claiming that the two were being denied their duly elected offices “due to the wrongful acts of defendants.” The defendants named in an amended copy of the law suit filed Tuesday are City Administrator Florencio Sauceda, the City of Marfa, Martinez (who served as Mayor of Marfa for the past four years), out-going council member Gloria Rivera and Mayor Pro Tem Chiropractic Dr. Dan Petrosky."

As I follow along at home, it occurs to me just how ill-prepared Martinez & Company were for actually losing this election. Meanwhile, more than 60 concerned citizens rallied at City Hall on Monday demanding that Lanman and Chavez be sworn in immediately.