The Chinati
Festival
The Chinati Festival
is serious art.
It's so serious,
in fact, that it's hard for some folks to discuss with a straight
face. This is not your typical painting-hanging-on-a-wall kind
of art. This is big, intellectual stuff that prompts a lot of discussion
-- and a few puzzled smiles. And we want to be on the record that
we're not making fun of it.
This is the annual
celebration and display of the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, Texas.
The Chinati Foundation,
among other things, is a refuge for serious artists far from the
pressures of big cities.
Of course that
puts the burden on the viewer to drive (or fly) all the way to
the Big Bend to see this stuff. Perhaps after coming that far,
some viewers are more inclined to be appreciative, thus justifying
their trek.
In particular,
it offers a unique Texas-sized setting for the installation and
presentation of enormous works of art -- in particular sculpture
and leftover bits of construction materials.
The Chinati Foundation
has taken over a former military installation and revamped the
existing buildings to a new destiny.
Some of these
enormous rooms (galleries) are given over to art that consists
of two strings hanging from floor to ceiling. (One of these strings
can just barely be seen in the left side of the photograph above.)
Such a concept
leads to a great deal of discussion and scrutiny as viewers study
(and question) these works. Is it string or twine or cord?
To the uninformed,
many of these galleries would be considered empty rooms, but the
discriminating aficionado will discern the single item that transforms
the space into art. Whether it be a single wall hanging, a series
of pages of typographical errors, or the aforementioned string
(or cord or twine), the viewer is challenged to consider this rarified
communication between artist and civilian.
There is a crack
squad of (unarmed) security guards posted, actively preventing
wayward toddlers from damaging the half-inch thick sheets of polished
aluminum.
The Chinati Festival
annually draws people from far and wide, including other countries
and attracts assorted VIP art folk from big cities, universities,
and galleries. There are organized discussions and programs, as
well as the impromptu sort.
And -- by the
way -- if you've read this far you know that we lied above. We
are making fun of it -- in a purely respectful way, of course.
