Prada Marfa

Prada Marfa
Artist Elmgreen and Dragset
Year 2005 (2005)
Type Adobe, plaster, paint, glass panes, aluminum frames, MDF, carpet
Dimensions 15 ft × 25 ft (4.6 m × 7.6 m)
Location US 90, Valentine, Texas
Coordinates 30°36′12″N 104°31′07″W / 30.60346°N 104.51850°W / 30.60346; -104.51850Coordinates: 30°36′12″N 104°31′07″W / 30.60346°N 104.51850°W / 30.60346; -104.51850

Prada Marfa is a permanently installed sculpture by artists Elmgreen and Dragset, situated 1.4 miles (2.3 km) northwest of Valentine, Texas, just off U.S. Highway 90 (US 90), and about 26 miles (42 km) northwest of the city of Marfa.[1] The installation was inaugurated on October 1, 2005. The artists called the work a "pop architectural land art project."[2]

The sculpture, realized with the assistance of American architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello,[3] cost $80,000 and was intended to never be repaired, so it might slowly degrade back into the natural landscape.[4] This plan was deviated from when, six days after the sculpture was completed, vandals graffitied the exterior, and broke into the building stealing handbags and shoes.[4]

Sculpture

Designed to resemble a Prada store, the building is made of "adobe bricks, plaster, paint, glass pane, aluminum frame, MDF, and carpet."[2] The installation's door is nonfunctional. On the front of the structure there are two large windows displaying actual Prada wares, shoes and handbags, picked out and provided by Miuccia Prada herself from the fall/winter 2005 collection; Prada allowed Elmgreen and Dragset to use the Prada trademark for this work.[1] The sculpture was financed by the Art Production Fund (APF) and Ballroom Marfa, a center of contemporary art and culture.

Prada had already collaborated with Elmgreen and Dragset in 2001 when the artists attached signage to the Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York City with the (false) message "Opening soon—PRADA". Prada Marfa is located relatively close to Donald Judd's Chinati Foundation. The minimalism of Prada's usual displays that are mimicked in this work play off the minimalism that Judd is known for as an artist. The site-specific of Prada Marfa invites for a comparison with other art movements such as minimalism and land art, which are equally dependent on the site where they are placed. Prada Marfa relies almost entirely on its context for its critical effect.[5] The "sculptural Intervention" can be interpreted as criticism of consumerism, luxury branding and gentrification, but whether intentionally or not, it reinforces the capitalist values it criticizes.[5] Therefore, this work of art experienced a change of meaning and gained an ambivalent moment, that the artists did not expect. Along a ledge that runs around the base of the building, hundreds of people have left business cards, weighed down by small rocks.[6]

Vandalism

A few days after Prada Marfa officially debuted, the installation was vandalized. The building was broken into, its contents (six handbags and 14 right footed shoes) were stolen, and the word "Dumb" as well as the phrase "Dum Dum" were spray painted on the sides of the structure.[4] The sculpture was quickly repaired, repainted, and restocked. The new Prada purses do not have bottoms and instead hide parts of a security system that alerts authorities if the bags are moved.[4] The vandalism shows the strong reaction and interaction between the sculpture and the viewers, being created among other things by the site-specific. The direct physical relationship between the sculpture and the viewers achieved extensive local and international press coverage.[5]

The exhibition was again vandalized in March 2014. The structure was painted light blue, hung with fake logos for Toms Shoes from the awnings, and posted with a political manifesto on the door. Ballroom Marfa issued a statement decrying the vandalism and pledged to restore the site.[7] A Texas artist, 32-year-old Joe Magnano (using the pseudonym 9271977) was subsequently arrested and tried. Magnano pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief and agreed to pay Ballroom Marfa $10,700 in restitution as well as a $1,000 fine.[8]

Response from Texas Department of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is currently discussing the fate of the installation now that it considers it to be a billboard that does not fit permitted specifications.[9] As of March 2014, no final decision had been made regarding the installation and its location. Michael Elmgreen commented on the allegations that Prada Marfa is an illegal advertisement for Prada. He stated: "There is no company behind the artwork. I was not commissioned by Prada [...] They never, ever asked me to do advertisement for them."[10] In September 2014, TxDOT officials announced that the structure would be reclassified as a museum, with the Prada Marfa as its only exhibit. This action exempts the structure from the same signage rules that forced the removal of a 40-foot-tall (12 m) neon bunny previously installed nearby by Playboy magazine.

References

  1. 1 2 Wilson, Eric (September 29, 2005). "Front Row; Little Prada in the Desert". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Jodidio, Philip (2007). Architecture Now! (5). Slovenia: Taschen. p. 202. ISBN 978-3-8228-1810-7. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ Mendelsohn, Adam (October 2005). "Stealing the Show". Artforum.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Novovitch, Barbara (October 8, 2005). "Vandal Hated the Art, but, Oh, Those Shoes". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 Nicky, Ryan (April 2, 2009). "From New York to the Congo via Marfa: Branded Occupation" (PDF). Proceedings of the Conference held at the University of Brighton. Occupation: Negotiations with Constructed Space. pp. 3–4. Retrieved February 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ Beal, Daphne (November 22, 2009). "In Marfa, Texas, Minimalist Art and Maximum Flavor". Boston Globe. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  7. ↑ Heddaya, Mostafa (March 11, 2014). "Prada Marfa Vandalized". Hyperallergic. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  8. ↑ Fetcher, Joshua (November 14, 2014). "Prada Marfa vandal who turned store into TOMS protest pleads guilty". San Antonio Express-News. San Antonio, TX. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  9. ↑ Llorca, Juan Carlos (September 23, 2013). "TxDOT: Prada Marfa Is Illegal Roadside Ad; Structure Installed in 2005 Along a Rural Highway". Austin, TX: KXAN-TV. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ Mari, Francesca (October 14, 2013). "So, Is it Art? Talking to Prada Marfa Artist Michael Elmgreen". Texas Monthly. Retrieved February 27, 2014.

Further reading

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