Official Marfa slogan: “Tough to get here, tougher still to explain, but once you get here, you get it.”
Our third VIA trip was to Marfa, Texas. An apt destination for our ongoing need to travel without lists. Allowing us space for opportunities, conversations, and questions. Marfa is a magical place for those who are seeking. Immediately upon arrival we knew this trip would fundamentally change the way we see the world.
Donald Judd was a firm believer in context and time. “Spend as much time making as thinking about where the object will live.” During his lifetime, he eliminated the division between life and work spaces, firmly rooted in the conviction that you must live with your work for it to be truly informative. His works and spaces are practical, untitled, symmetric, and exude permanence.
We toured his studio, residences, and installations and were mesmerized by the lines blurring and overlapping these spaces. We fell in love with the transformation of existing simple structures into open areas with meticulous spatial arrangements. Filled with natural light and only what was absolutely necessary.
As we toured, sketched, drank mezcal and watched javelinas trot off into the sunset, we fell in love with this tiny desert town. Realizing that it wasn’t necessarily these physical spaces we were so charmed by, but the possibility that any object/room/building/town could become your ideal. Marfa takes the experience of “looking” to a whole new level, by reminding us that art and simple beauty surround us every day everywhere.
