MarfAdventure
I recently found myself in a very interesting, weird, artsy middle-of-nowhere town in Texas town called Marfa.
The first thought that comes to mind when I think of Marfa is: The motto of “Keep Austin Weird” somehow feels extremely overrated.
Marfa can feel like a ghost town at various points during the day, but it can come really alive at night. It’s full of galleries, installations, and really odd… stuff. The photos I was able to capture do a far better judgement than anything I could describe with words, so take a look at the Flickr set composed of some of the weirdest (yet best) photos I’ve ever taken.
I must say there was something in the air in Marfa for some of these images to be conceived the way they did.
Marfa is known for being an “art incubator” of sorts. Judging by the places and people we saw there, this truly seems to be an inspiring place for any kind of art in existence: music, painting, sculpture, modern art (with places like the Chinati Foundation, which reminded me a lot of Dia: Beacon in New York) and well-known installations like the famous Prada store (which we attempted very hard to find, but somehow couldn’t).
Coincidentally, we happened to have visited Marfa during a time where all the galleries and exhibitions were open to the public offering special shows and expositions, which sure made this visit extra special. It happens throughout a weekend once per year.
This town is also well-known for the Marfa Lights phenomenon. We certainly tried to see them at the specific location where people are supposed to see this occur. Despite being there for nearly 30 minutes under the beautiful moonlight, we didn’t see any lights appear. It was also very cold at that time of the evening, so we couldn’t wait for much longer. We ran into a couple of people who had been there for 4 hours and had not seen anything either. Hoax, perhaps?
So, should you visit Marfa? I say if you enjoy art to any extent, it’s worth the 7-hour drive from Austin or the flight to El Paso + the short drive.
I’m sure I haven’t quite seen a place like this in any of my previous travels. I doubt I ever will.