Road trip to Texas (part 2)

Today's pictures were all taken in Marfa, in far west Texas (nearly in Mexico, actually!). With a population of only a couple of thousand, this tiny town evolved into an artists' community after Donald Judd moved there in 1972. Over time, he purchased and rehabbed a large number of empty properties in the town and surrounding area, making it not just a home base for his family, but also a series of studios, personal libraries, and meditative spaces. In addition to commercial buildings, he essentially acquired an entire decommissioned military base outside of town that had been unused since 1945. All of Judd's acquisitions were rehabilitated to his exacting aesthetics and repurposed into art and gallery spaces, including a public institution for the arts called The Chinati Foundation. Thus today's Marfa is a curious balance of decrepitude and modernity; a fantastic architectural hodgepodge of late 19th century Spanish haciendas, angular Art Déco beauties, and Mid-Century Modern sleekness and kitsch. I LOVE IT. True, there are many old buildings in advanced states of decay, but that only adds to the beauty of the place. Much of Marfa has been lovingly and creatively restored, hewing carefully to each building's original period but somehow completely modern and cool at the same time. There are almost no modern-day structures at all.

Pat and I were so excited to finally see Marfa, we didn't even bother going to our hotel first. We just drove and walked around for a couple of hours, taking pictures of everything we saw. Here are some of my favorite images of my first impressions of this fascinating town.

The Chinati Foundation, Donald Judd's legacy.

Many of the buildings in town bear the name Judd. This one houses the Judd Foundation. I couldn't stop taking pictures of it.