Along a bare stretch of Highway between Marfa and Valentine, TX, a unique shop stands alone on the side of the road. The only structure in sight. This building is known as Prada Marfa. Although it is not open for business, this little installation has become well-known for its unique window shopping experience.
Prada Marfa is a permanent sculptural art installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset along Highway 90, in the vast Chihuahuan Desert. It was created on October 1, 2005 with the purpose of allowing it to slowly degrade and be overcome by its surroundings. Although the building has no actual connection to Prada, they were given permission to use the trademarked logo and actual Prada wares including shoes and handbags from the fall 2005 collection were provided by Miuccia Prada and are displayed in the two large windows.
The door itself is non-functional and it is purely meant to see how luxury goods stores would look if taken out of their normal context. Prada Marfa was constructed from adobe so that it would naturally decay over time. However, in January 2005, just after the installation's formal opening, it was vandalized. The building was graffitied, shot up, the door was pulled off by a truck, and the bags and shoes were all stolen. Although the original intent was to never repair the installation, they made an exception and Ballroom Marfa helped the artists repair the installation and Prada donated 3 new bags and the right foot shoes (since the left foot shoes had been stolen.) They also cut out the bottoms of the bags and added security cameras to discourage theft.
Ballroom Marfa is "an internationally recognized non-collecting contemporary art museum located in Marfa, a rural town of less than 2,000 people in Far West Texas." Their goal is to help artists and musicians achieve extraordinary projects. And I don't know about you, but I am excited to see what cool projects are coming next.
People have made this installation their own and have even put locks on the fence that surrounds the building to mark their time there.
It also sits across from railroad tracks and we also got to wave to the train conductor while there!
Prada Marfa has taken on a life of its own and has seen visitors from thousands of miles away. I, personally, met someone named Arno from Belgium while I was there. He was very nice and we even met up again in my hometown about a month later. So, you never know how window shopping may bring people together.
So, go for the experience, stay for the shoes, and never be afraid to dillydally.
- Amber
If your singing talents don't take you to fame and fortune, your writing skills might just do the trick. Thanks for the Texas history lesson. Just proves once again even old folks (like me) can learn something new everyday. Thanks for the tour :)