I apologize about this late update involving our last two stops in Texas. So here we go:



MARFA

The drive from Austin to Marfa should have taken about 6 hours based on Google maps. In reality the drive took my grandmother and I about 8 hours. This was mostly due to the many coffee and pee breaks that were taken along the way.

The drive to Marfa was a truly amazing experience. Once we got past Johnson City there simply was, well, nothing. The horizon spread out to infinity, and we were constantly dodging thunderstorms from a passing hurricane.

We arrived in Marfa around 6 and met up with my roommate Chris who was working at the Chinati Foundation. We spent the rest of the evening walking around the town and eating dinner.

The next morning we got to the Chinati Foundation at 10 and started the first half of the tour. The Donald Judd installations were truly amazing. The 100 aluminum pieces were beautiful and the setting was surreal.



The rest of the morning tour included a Richard Long installation and an installation by Ilya Kabakov. We wrapped up the morning tour back in town where there was a rather large exhibition by John Chamberlain.

After lunch we set out on the second half of our tour. The highlight was, of course, the tremendous Dan Flavin installation. It struck a strong contrast to the previous project that we saw in Houston. Along the way we also saw a Claus Oldenberg sculpture, and a series of poems by Carl Andre.

By the end of our tour my 96 year old grandmother was tired. So we bid farewell to Chris and we hit the road. The ride back to Austin was as beautiful as the out to Marfa.

We spent the next two days in Austin. We ate great food and spent one day at Lake Travis. I also saw my friend Alexer who was about to start at UT Austin. YAY, go Longhorns)

Our final stop on the trip proved to be the most amazing, Dallas/ Fort Worth will be updated tomorrow.

Be good,
Mark