Prada Marfa Architect Ronald Rael's TED Talk Creates Provocative Dialogue Around Borders

Architect Ronald Rael delivered a thought-provoking 10 minute TED talk in Dec. 2018 about borders in general and the Mexico-US border specifically. It's an excellent watch in these complicated times.

Rael built the famous Prada, Marfa store in the middle of nowhere. I've written about Marfa but never understood until now -- with further reading -- that 1) Prada, Marfa is made primarily of dirt; and 2) Prada, Marfa was a deliberate political installation, as well as an art installation in an upscale, educated, artistic place in Texas. You MUST read the next two paragraphs. Marfa link also in comment:

Visiting Rael’s website, I learned so much more about the political experience of creating the Prada Marfa store.

“ On July 13, 2005, 22 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border, patrol agents from the Marfa Sector of the United States Border Patrol surrounded five people traveling through the Chihuahua Desert in West Texas. Suspecting illegal activity, the agents had been informed that illegal immigrants were detected by the tethered aerostat radar system hovering overhead that provides counter-narcotics and border crossing surveillance and can distinguish targets down to a meter across at ground level.

It is not uncommon that coyotes, smugglers involved in the profession of human trafficking, drive the desolate roads searching for “wets”, the derogatory term for illegal immigrants, in the vast desert expanse surrounding Marfa. When the five suspects were questioned on the nature of their business the answer was not so clearly comprehended by the Border Patrol. The suspects were a gallery curator, a photographer, an artist, and two architects who were discussing the selection of the future building site of Prada Marfa, a minimalist sculpture that replicates the luxury boutique where the Fall 2005 line of Prada shoes and bags were to be displayed."

Aline Weber Hangs Out At Prada As We Drop Into Marfa, Texas

Snuggled in a vast expanse of desert, nearly 20 miles from the next town and some 200 from the nearest major airport, the place is the subject of much modern lore—people return awestruck from the tours of the Chinati Foundation, filled with wonder from the desert landscape and starry nights, and amped up on their great Instagram snap in front of Prada Marfa. Needless to say, Marfa has amassed a lot of hype.

Aline Weber Hangs Out At Prada In Marfa, Tex By Marc Pilaro For ODDA Spaces Issue

When Prada first opened a store in Marfa, Texas, lots of people were incredulous. After all, in 2007, Marfa Texas, population 2,485, went dark. The town was so broke that it couldn't pay its electricity bills, requiring the new mayor to turn off Marfa's streetlights -- every last one. 

"Today, Marfa lights up the sky," wrote City-Journal in a recent article. In 2015 an estimated 38,000 tourists -- mostly art lovers -- traveled from worldwide destination to this West Texas town. More than 45,000 are expected this year. 

Marfa has become more than a place. It is a “destination,” an arts-world station of the cross, or, to mix religious metaphors, a mecca of minimalism. What Lourdes is to ailing Catholics, Marfa is to aficionados of conceptual sculpture and painting. Think Art Basel in Miami, or Documenta in Germany. The temperature here in June can be scorching, but Marfa, in any season, has become supercool. “London, Paris, Rome, Marfa,” boasts a popular T-shirt sold at Squeeze, a tiny deli in the heart of town that specializes in chocolates and fruit and vegetable drinks.

In March 2016, Vogue writer Steff Yotka spent a weekend in Marfa, writing:

Snuggled in a vast expanse of desert, nearly 20 miles from the next town and some 200 from the nearest major airport, the place is the subject of much modern lore—people return awestruck from the tours of the Chinati Foundation, filled with wonder from the desert landscape and starry nights, and amped up on their great Instagram snap in front of Prada Marfa. Needless to say, Marfa has amassed a lot of hype.

GQ toured 7 of the Coolest Homes in Marfa, Texas in their current issue.

Writing about Tom Ford's new Golden Globe nominated film 'Nocturnal Animals', Mr. Porter drops into West Texas, with a stop in Marfa. Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Amy Adams for Best Actress. Tom Ford received nominations for Best Director of a Motion Picture and Best Screenplay of a Motion Picture.