Gestures W'06_07 FINAL 2.indd - Temple University

student news
Destination: Marfa,TX
Twenty-one students in the painting, drawing and sculpture
(PDS) MFA programs ventured to Marfa, Texas, for four
days in May this past summer. Marfa is hometown to the
Chinati Foundation, a contemporary art museum based
upon the ideas of its founder, Donald Judd. The specific
intention of Chinati is to preserve and present permanent
large-scale installations to the general public. The emphasis
is on works in which art and the surrounding landscapes
are inextricably linked.
The Chinati Foundation is located on 340 acres of land on
the site of former Fort D.A. Russell in Marfa. Construction
and installation at the site began in 1979 and opened to
the public in 1986 as an independent, non–profit, publicly
funded institution. Chinati was originally conceived to exhibit
the work of Donald Judd, John Chamberlain and Dan Flavin,
but has since grown to include other artists.
Erin Arnold, Sarah Kohn, Joe Protheroe, Meaghan Bates in
front of a Dan Flavin installation at the Chinati Foundation.
Margo Margolis, chair of the PDS department, organized
the venture to Marfa. Margo stated, “Although this work
is familiar to artists and art students, you feel like you are
seeing it for the first time because the work is in its intended
context—the integration of art, architecture, landscape and
light. These pieces take on a complexity never represented
in most installations and reproductions.” Three other faculty
attended: Frank Bramblett, Winifred Lutz, and Jude Tallichet,
along with the director of exhibitions and public programs,
Sheryl Conkelton.
14 TYLER GESTURES WINTER 2006
Student Response: Maria Walker
“The Marfa trip certainly offered us experiences we could
never have from the home base of Philadelphia, and expanded
our notions of what it is to be an artist in profound ways. As
artists, it is extremely important to go out into the world and
see as much as possible, both in relation to art itself and to
expand our daily visual experience. The landscape of that area
of Texas, the installation of the Judd pieces in that landscape,
the difference of space, time, light, and color, inspire and
challenge my thoughts of my own studio practice.
“If the aim of graduate school
is to open up and challenge
our understanding and vision
of what it is to be an artist,
then the Marfa trip remains
invaluable.”
- MARIA WALKER,
GRADUATE STUDENT
The Chinati Foundation
was a specific vision
for Donald Judd. It was
great to see the full
expanse of that vision,
from the organization of
the Foundation to the
installation of the pieces.
Living so close to the New
York art world, it is easy
to limit one’s notion of art
to the white gallery space.
It was also invaluable to
take a trip like that with my fellow graduate students. The
excursion helped us bond outside the structure of school and
to acknowledge our relationships as a community of artists.
This community is very important since it will be, for most of
us, the foundation of our futures as professional artists.”
Student Response: Sarah Kohn
Students and faculty at Marfa, Texas
this past May.
“It was interesting to see how much the presence of art can
completely change a town. Everything from the population to
the industry to the economy was changed because of Donald
Judd’s determined fixation of the town of Marfa. The cultural
and social impact that art can facilitate is made especially clear
in the microcosm that is Marfa.
We spent time in the actual town of Marfa touring the various
foundations and attractions and then traveled to a natural hot
spring. Ultimately the best part of the trip was being able to
spend time with my peers, running around and exploring a
very strange place at the end of the year. I remember talking
to a few people about how nice it was that our relationships
with each other over the course of the four days were moved
in such a positive direction. I feel fortunate to have been able
to go to Marfa and I am leaving Tyler with an especially warm
feeling for the whole department.”