The Marfa.Org ®@ŋd¤m‡zЄ®

Film Studio Scrounges Oil Field Relics
[Kilgore News Herald] A representative from Paramount Studios was in Kilgore recently looking for oil field equipment circa 1905. Several local residents took Michael Scheer around town, showing him derricks, drill bits and all other types of equipment used in the early days of the oil field. Kevin Walker, location specialist for the Texas Film Commission, said Sheer is scouting for a film that will be made in Marfa beginning June 1. "There Will Be Blood," will star Daniel Day Lewis and will be directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson also wrote the screen play from an Upton Sinclair novel for the movie. "The film is the story of the early days of oil exploration in California," Walker said. "The area around Marfa is similar to that of Bakersfield, Calif., during that time." (thanks Marge)

Locals Have Grand Plans for Brownsville’s Art Scene
[The Brownsville Herald] He said Brownsville might follow the example set by the tiny West Texas town of Marfa. The once sleepy town was just a dot on the map, known for its Marfa lights — a mysterious celestial light show — has attracted a prestigious community of artists from all over the world. “All it took was one artist moving to this teeny town, and more artists followed,” Montalvo said. Ahh, if it was only that easy...

The Coolest Small Towns in the USA: Marfa, Texas
Chamberlain Symposium It's All in the Fit
--- Remember to register by April 1.
5.1 Acres Near Marfa, On Ebay Yet Again

Ballroom to Show Antis & Victor Lundy

Ballroom Marfa is showing an exhibition titled The Art and Architecture of Anstis and Victor Lundy which will be on view at the gallery March 25 through July 30, 2006. The exhibition, curated by art advisor, Suzanne Dungan of Houston and Marfa, will focus on the ground-breaking architectural works of Victor Lundy, the watercolor paintings of Anstis Lundy, and the interplay between the two.

Born in 1923, Victor graduated from the Harvard School of Architecture where he studied under Walter Gropius. In 1965, he was one of five architects who traveled to Moscow in connection with the federally-sponsored Architecture U.S.A. exhibit. (Others were Louis Kahn, Robert Venturi, Paul Rudolph, and Charles Eames.) Victor Lundy's work includes the design of the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, the U.S. Tax Court Building in Washington, DC, and the "Spaceflowers" structures featured at the 1965 New York World's Fair, St Paul's Lutheran Church, among others. He designed the first architect-designed inflatable building for the Atomic Energy Commission and pioneered the use of the catenary cable suspension system in architecture.

Anstis Lundy began painting seriously in 1970 after pursuing a successful career in architectural drafting. Her "Art World Jokes" series appropriates Pop Art images while other still life compositions feature mundane objects such as light bulbs or toast elevated to iconographic status.

Show: March 25 - July 30, 2006
Opening reception: Saturday, March 25, 6pm
Ballroom Marfa

The Marfa.Org ®@ŋd¤m‡zЄ®

On the Screen at the Library
Tonight, Tues, Mar 21, 8 pm - Kontroll
This Hungarian box office smash hit and winner of the Prix de la Jeunes award at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival takes place entirely underground in the Budapest subway system. A variety of personalities converge on the turnstiles, including a dashing young man, an exotic woman and a murderer, all of whom are desperately racing against time and their surroundings to find one another (?) before they are found themselves.

DeGuerin: The Hammer's Hammer
the light bright clear obvious
Judd Plywood Chair, 1993 [ebay]

The Marfa.Org ®@ŋd¤m‡zЄ®

Internet Land Boom
Various 5.1 acre parcels "near Marfa" in Presidio County were recently auctioned on ebay. 4 different lots sold within a week. The bidding frenzy that greeted the first couple of auctions soon fizzled however, as the first lot sold for over $1600.00, the second $1300.00, the third $200.00, and finally, the last parcel sold for only $99.00. The seller has more parcels and actually cancelled an auction after the disappointing showings. Now if the buyers can only FIND their parcels. [A recent buyer visited the forum here. Also see "Buy a Bit of Nowhere, 14 Minutes Remaining".]

Galleri Urbane is showing new work by artists Gail Peter Borden and Bret Aaker.
Tech Architecture Students Plan Community Meeting [BBS]
Christie’s to Auction Judd Work [BBS]
Border-town Muse: Architect Finds It in Tijuana

And finally, as I was hoping, Tommy Lee Jones' new film The Three Burials is great; it's almost a must-see for anyone interested in life and ranching near the border in far West Texas. The cinematography really captures the area. Much of the film was shot in Van Horn, including at The Sands Restaurant and Motel.

Artists For Chinati: Auction Lots Viewable

The works donated by artists for the benefit auction for the Chinati Foundation are now online at Phillips de Pury & Company's website. Marianne Stockebrand (Chinati Director) has written an introduction for the auction. Here's and excerpt.

Although Judd was skeptical of movements and absolutely saw the contributions of artists as specific individual accomplishments, he never considered himself isolated from his historical context. He valued the exchange with other artists and was very aware of how much he owed the generation that preceded him – Pollock, Newman, and Rothko. Therefore it was only natural for him to present works in Marfa by those artists with whom he felt a connection. Over the years, Chinati’s permanent collection grew to also include an outdoor work by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, a mixed media-installation by Ilya Kabakov, a room with drawings and paintings by Icelandic artist Ingólfur Arnarsson, sculptures by David Rabinowitch, and poems by Carl Andre. Judd also placed works by Roni Horn and Richard Long from his own collection. Based on his plans, but after his death, a gallery for the work of John Wesley was realized. He also extended his hospitality to a younger generation of artists and invited a number of them for residencies in Marfa—an effort that initiated the now well-established artist-in-residency program.

There are 62 pieces including work by Ken Price, John Wesley, Jeff Elrod, Tony Feher, Susie Rossmarin, John Chamberlain, as well as 3 pieces by Donald Judd including this nice wood cut series (in cadmium red light, ... oh so nice) .
Read the full introduction.
View all the lots.

On the Screen at the Library

Tonight, Thurs, Mar 9, 8 pm
Bride and Prejudice (2004) PG-13

The Marfa.Org ®@ŋd¤m‡zЄ®

Create Your Own Flavin Online!
Using virtual versions of the materials Dan Flavin used, you can express your creativity at the above website. The Hayward Gallery in London has launched the online tool in conjunction with their current Flavin retrospective. Submit your final pieces to us here at Marfa.Org and we'll post them all in the Gallery. Get to work now!

Recent Additions to the Marfa.Org Gallery
Artists Find Inspiration in Math (Nicholas Knight)
MISD Awarded $17K for Produce Program
Judd Sculptures to Christies [Artnet]
A Corrugated House In a Sunburned Land
Art Is Boring? Flavin Helps Children See the Light