THE MARFA SESSIONS
Curated by Regine Basha, Lucy Raven & Rebecca Gates
27 September 2008 – 1 February 2009

Emily Jacir, Nina Katchadourian, Christina Kubisch, Louise Lawler, Iñigo-Manglano Ovalle, Kaffe Matthews, Angel Nevarez & Valerie Tevere, Dario Robleto, Steve Roden & Stephen Vitiello, Steve Rowell & Simparch, Deborah Stratman & Steven Badgett, Julianne Swartz

Opening Reception:
Sat. 27 Sept., Ballroom Marfa, Noon

Performance by Steve Roden & Stephen Vitiello:
Fri. 26 Sept., Chinati Foundation, Sundown

David Toop & Joshua Kun in conversation:
Sat. 27 Sept., Liberty Hall, 4pm

Live Music with Kurt Wagner of Lambchop & DJ Damon Locks:
Sat. 27 Sept., Liberty Hall, 9pm

Opening in the fall of 2008 is The Marfa Sessions, Ballroom Marfa’s first exhibition devoted to artists working with sound.

Independent curators Regine Basha, Rebecca Gates and Lucy Raven will bring together fifteen artists with specific interests in sound work and its potential as a transgressive medium across place and geography. Individual sound projects will be installed at Ballroom Marfa and embedded within the public spaces and private corners of Marfa, creating a sonic portrait of this unusual West Texas town.

Ballroom Marfa, the exhibition’s headquarters, will feature a visitors center sound hub, hosting artworks and providing information and maps that point to the sound projects throughout the town. The eleven works in the exhibition include already extant pieces adapted for installation in public spaces throughout Marfa, and six new site-specific works specially commissioned by Ballroom Marfa and created by: Kaffe Matthews; Nina Katchadourian; Christina Kubisch; Deborah Stratman & Steven Badgett; Steve Roden & Stephen Vitiello; and Steve Rowell & Simparch. In some cases artworks will occupy frequented public venues such as Marfa Book Company, local eateries and Marfa Public Radio airwaves; others will be discovered in natural settings near the outskirts of town.

The Marfa Sessions will include built sound environments and acoustic spaces; sculptural works with an integral aural element; and sound by visual artists who usually work in other media.  With a broad, interdisciplinary approach to sound works, The Marfa Sessions positions artists who are not usually thought of as “sound artists” alongside those who are established in the field, expanding the interpretative possibilities of sound in relation to place.

Marfa, as a desert town, is a remote location by any standard. It is also a uniquely central destination and an historical confluence of various phenomena that include one of the world’s largest astronomical observatories–The McDonald Observatory, Big Bend National Park, The Marfa Lights, a U.S. border patrol station, The Chinati Foundation (also formerly a WWII military base), the Judd Foundation, as well as the filming locations for Giant, There Will Be Blood, and No Country for Old Men.

With site-specific works activating various locations across the town, and with the collaboration of the community, The Marfa Sessions aims to amplify the varied set of physical and metaphoric characteristics that define “Marfa” – its geopolitical position, local identity, myths, as well as its significant relationship to 20th Century Minimalism and Land Art. The Marfa Sessions seeks to call the ear to Marfa and its environs, noting the aural and conceptual depth and breadth of this complex setting.

The opening weekend of The Marfa Sessions begins on Friday 26 September with an original site-specific sound performance on the grounds of the Chinati Foundation by Steve Roden & Stephen Vitiello. Titled from perfect cubes to broken trains..., Roden and Vitiello’s performance will use voice, movement, percussive tools and other incidental materials to compose a piece that invokes the mathematical logic of Donald Judd’s 100 untitled works in mill aluminum and its relationship to the surrounding desert environment.

Following the opening reception on Saturday 27 September, there will be a conversation at Ballroom Marfa between authors Josh Kun and David Toop on the various ways of listening to place, and the overlaps of history and personal memory.

On Saturday evening at 9pm, Kurt Wagner will perform live at Liberty Hall. Called "one of the most singular, and best, songwriters of our time” by Salon Magazine, Wagner is leader of Lambchop, from Nashville, TN. Whether rooting around America's soul, country, or jazz legacies, with Lambchop or solo, Wagner offers a singular vision with music fluid in nature and grand in scope. Following his performance is DJ Damon Locks who, as lead singer & keyboardist of the Chicago-based band The Eternals, is well known for luring listeners into a brand new world of music.  In addition to bringing outrageous tunes to the people, Damon is a fantastic illustrator, designing countless album covers as well as providing art for features in URB, XLR8R, Flaunt and Resonance. He is also currently performing with the Exploding Star Orchestra.

For more details on The Marfa Sessions Opening Weekend, Music, and Public Programs, visit: ballroommarfa.org and themarfasessions.wordpress.com



Generous support for The Marfa Sessions has been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, Cowles Charitable Trust, Foundation for Contemporary Arts and the Marfa Chamber of Commerce.

Ballroom Marfa would also like to recognize the following members for their generous matching grant donations: Suzanne Deal Booth, Fluent~Collaborative, Texas Gallery, Anonymous, Meredith Dreiss, Deborah Green, Chris Mattson, Cynthia Toles, Molly Cumming, Molly Davies and ttweak.

In-kind support provided by the Chinati Foundation, Glen & LeAna Clifton, the Crowley Foundation, Marfa Book Company, Janet & Dave Scott, Michael M. Stevenson, Permian Basin Distributing, Alpine, TX and Titos Vodka, Austin, TX.

Special thanks to KRTS Marfa Public Radio

Ballroom Marfa is proud to have Art Lies magazine as a partner for The Marfa Sessions Opening Weekend. Ballroom Marfa Members are invited to subscribe to Art Lies at a discounted yearly rate. For more information visit: artlies.org



Ballroom Marfa is a dynamic, contemporary cultural arts space that provides a lively intellectual environment where varied perspectives and issues are explored through visual arts, film, music and performance. As an advocate for the freedom of artistic expression, Ballroom Marfa's mission is to serve international, national, regional and local communities and support the work of both emerging and recognized artists working in all media.

Ballroom Marfa is particularly interested in helping artists and curators achieve projects that have significant cultural impact but would be impossible to realize in a traditional gallery or museum setting.

Visit www.ballroommarfa.org