Ballroom Marfa Art Fund

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Marfa Myths Highlights, Photos + Thanks

15 Mar 2017

Marfa Myths 2017: Holy cow! We can’t believe it really happened — a year in the making and over in a magical flash. Big love to our partner Mexican Summer; all of the local heroes that worked so hard to create an amazing experience; and all the folks who came from near and far, who made it so special. Some of our highlights…

No Nombres performing outside Marfa Public Radio, March 11, 2017. Photo by John Vogler.

No Nombres performing outside Marfa Public Radio, March 11, 2017. Photo by John Vogler.

During the festival, Marfa Public Radio graciously hosted an East-meets-West on-air partnership with Brooklyn’s The Lot Radio. A slew of incredible artists stopped by for interviews, DJ sets, and live performances (we currently have Chulita Vinyl Club‘s DJ set on repeat).

Watch the full archive.

Matt Craven's children's collage workshop at Marfa Studio of Arts, March 11, 2017. Photo by John Vogler.

Matt Craven’s children’s collage workshop at Marfa Studio of Arts, March 11, 2017. Photo by John Vogler.

Our artist-in-residence, Matt Craven, held an awesome children’s collage workshop on Saturday morning during the festival. Big thank you to all the children who attended, Marfa Studio of Arts, and Rae Anna Hample, who helped guide the workshop. We hope the future is a little brighter with collage artists.

Full Marfa Myths 2017 Schedule Now Available

25 Jan 2017

Hear ye hear ye, the full Marfa Myths 2017 schedule is now available! Latest additions: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith! No Nombres! Paul Drummond! We’ll continue to add delights as we get closer to the festival, so keep your eyes peeled. Many thanks to all the artists performing, and our wonderful partners and sponsors.

Buy tickets here.

(Residents of Presidio, Brewster and Jeff Davis counties may purchase a la carte Marfa Myths tickets at a 50% discount. Please see the Facebook Marfa Group for more details.)

Announcing Marfa Myths 2017: March 9-12

6 Dec 2016

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“the [Marfa Myths] festival is perhaps the most extreme example in a recent trend toward intimate, meticulously curated music events” – NY Times

“no VIPs, no velvet ropes, just long brambles called ocotillo, which look like the kind of menacing weeds you expect to find on your way into hell – which is to say, Marfa Myths is a music adventurer’s dream.” – Billboard

Marfa Myths expands in size and mind as Ballroom Marfa and Mexican Summer bring the festival back to Far West Texas for four days in March 2017. So pleased to announce the amazing lineup, which includes Pharoah Sanders, a collaborative performance by Weyes Blood & Perfume Genius, Allah-Las, Roky Erickson, and much more.

MARFA MYTHS 2017 LINEUP

Roky Erickson
Perfume Genius & Weyes Blood (Collaborative Performance)
Pharoah Sanders
Julia Holter
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids
Jenny Hval
Allah-Las
Cate Le Bon
Connan Mockasin presents: Bostyn ‘n Dobson
Zomes
Lonnie Holley
Rose Kallal
Tonstartssbandht
Botany & Shingetsu Billy White
Chulita Vinyl Club

Starting things off on Thursday, Texas psychedelic royalty Roky Erickson performs and is honored in a 13th Floor Elevators gallery retrospective curated by Boo-Hooray. Afterward, poet Eileen Myles and Ballroom Marfa curator Laura Copelin host Dirty Gay Movie Night at the illustrious Crowley Theater. On Friday, Baltimore duo Zomes perform at Wrong Marfa, and that evening, visual artist and musician Lonnie Holley performs solo and as part of a special collaboration with Florida duo Tonstartssbandht at the Strange Attractor opening at Ballroom Marfa. The group exhibition is curated by Gryphon Rue, and features historical works that take sound, site, and technology as their point of origin. Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids bring their spiritual San Francisco sound to an after party following the Strange Attractor opening. On Saturday, join us for a late afternoon of transcendent free jazz and experimental pop from Pharoah Sanders and Julia Holter. The marquee Saturday night concert at The Capri features Cate Le Bon, Allah-Las, Jenny Hval, and a Perfume Genius / Weyes Blood collaboration alongside a surprise or two. Marfa Myths closes out on Sunday with the premiere of Connan Mockasin’s new sitcom Bostyn ‘n Dobsyn with a surprise performance to be announced in the new year. In addition to unique installations and performances, Marfa Myths also hosts music and art residencies resulting in limited edition recordings and the annual Marfa Myths journal. This year’s participating visual artist is Matthew Craven, while Gustav Ejstes and Reine Fiske of the Swedish band Dungen collaborate with Jeremy Earl and Jarvis Taveniere of Woods for the recording residency. Marfa Myths is an annual music festival and multidisciplinary cultural program founded in 2014 by nonprofit contemporary arts foundation Ballroom Marfa and Brooklyn-based music label Mexican Summer.

Arturo Bandini at Ballroom Marfa

17 May 2016

Screen Shot 2016-05-12 at 12.47.17 PM Vapegoat Rising, the micro-exhibition from Los Angeles-based artist collective Arturo Bandini, is only on view here in Marfa for a few more weeks, closing on May 29, 2016. Find updated images of the installation on Bandini’s website, and stay tuned for more information about their upcoming micro-exhibition, Dengue Fever, coming to the Ballroom Marfa courtyard on June 3 and on view until August 21. This upcoming program, also part of Ballroom’s ongoing After Effect exhibition, will include work from Kelly Akashi, Marten Elder, John Finneran, S. Gernsbacher, Drew Heitzler, Sarah Manuwal, Calvin Marcus, and Roni Shneior. Do Easy Art Do Easy Art recently spoke with Michael Dopp and Isaac Resnikoff of Arturo Bandini about “the origin of their collaboration and their aspirations for the two-part exhibition” …

Was the desert landscape a big influence on your curatorial decisions?

We used the curatorial premise of the show inside the main gallery space as our organizing principle. Although we did enjoy the idea of imagining our friends works out there in the Texas landscape.

How do the two shows connect to each other? Is the second show a denouement or does it play a counterbalancing role?

Maybe it’s counterbalancing? Mostly we wanted to be able to have two shows. To ephasize that Arturo Bandini functions as a gallery, not a singular installation. It also allowed us to include the works of more people we like. We came up with two shows both reflecting different types of landscape. The first one, Vapegoat Rising, is rock and fog, so it’s a desert show of sorts, but a foggy dessert. The second show is jungle. Dengue Fever, is denser and more colorful. The work is less austere.

Keep reading at Do Easy Art, and find Fredrik Nilsen’s documentation of Vapegoat Rising in our After Effect photo archive.

Marfa Myths 2016 Wrap-Up

22 Mar 2016

Marfa Myths 2016: What an insanely beautiful weekend. Thank you to everyone for making Marfa Myths so epic! Big love to Mexican Summer, and all of our amazing partners and local heroes that worked so hard to create an amazing experience. Here are some snapshots from the weekend, courtesy of Alex Marks and Luis Nieto Dickens, and check out this year’s Polaroid series here. More photos and full shout-out after the jump. Until next year! William Basinski performing at the Arena at The Chinati Foundation, March 12, 2016.   Photo by Alex Marks.
William Basinski performing at the Arena at The Chinati Foundation, March 12, 2016. Photo by Alex Marks. Hailu Mergia performing at El Cosmico, March 11, 2016, Marfa Myths.   Photo by Alex Marks.
Hailu Mergia performing at El Cosmico, March 11, 2016, Marfa Myths. Photo by Alex Marks. Mary Lattimore performing at Wrong Marfa, March 11, 2016, Marfa Myths.  Photo by Alex Marks.
Mary Lattimore performing at Wrong Marfa, March 11, 2016, Marfa Myths. Photo by Alex Marks. Fred and Toody at Lost Horse, March 10, 2016, Marfa Myths. Photo by Alex Marks.
Fred and Toody at Lost Horse, March 10, 2016, Marfa Myths. Photo by Alex Marks. Dan Colen and Susan Sutton at the opening of After Effect, March 11, 2016.  Photo by Alex Marks.
Dan Colen and Susan Sutton at the opening of After Effect, March 11, 2016. Photo by Alex Marks. Heron Oblivion, performing at the opening of After Effect, March 11, 2016. Photo by Alex Marks.
Heron Oblivion, performing at the opening of After Effect, March 11, 2016. Photo by Alex Marks.

Maria José Arjona: You Are Splendid! at Kunsthalle Osnabrück

28 Jan 2016

Maria José Arjona,the inaugural artist to show at Ballroom Marfa in October of 2003, will open an exhibition,performance and workshop project at Kunsthalle Osnabrück on January 31, 2016. You Are Splendid! “is a process that continues until the end of the exhibition on Easter Sunday.”

 

Arjona’s project at Ballroom, Vault, in her own words:

Vault is a space transformed by the motion of a body. It is a process of meditation where drawing is the basic tool to address evolution, simplicity and life. The piece contemplates the cycles of matter and its deconstruction in order to create again.”
–Maria Jose Arjona

Read more about the project in our archive.

Arjona
Maria José Arjona: Second messenger, 2015
Photo: Lisa Palomino
Courtesy: The artist and Flora-arsnatura

You Are Splendid!
An exhibition, performance and workshop project by Maria José Arjona
31 January – 28 March 2016
Kunsthalle Osnabrück

Two swings float through the former nave of Kunsthalle. A nest of cotton, shadow play of a corkscrew hazel, bird calls and a performance artist in plumage who is drawing with tobacco:You Are Splendid is the outcome of a research project lasting more than two years, which the Columbian artist Maria José Arjona dedicated to the world of birds in her home country. This work bears autobiographical elements in that Arjona began her observations of migratory birds while she was living in New York, the most northerly point of the hemisphere the artist from the equatorial region has ever lived.

Announcing the Full Marfa Myths Schedule!

13 Jan 2016

We are pleased to announce the final Marfa Myths festival line up for 2016, including the addition of Connan Mockasin’s Wet Dream (a one-off collaboration between Connan and some special friends); Fred & Toody of the legendary Portland band Dead Moon; Hailu Mergia, the Ethiopian musician rediscovered and championed by Awesome Tapes From Africa; Bay Area bashers Heron Oblivion; and recent Mexican Summer signees Pill.

Not to mention that we’ve added David Fenster’s psychedelic mushroom movies, soundtracked by local Marfa musicians, to Sunday’s film lineup. Not. To. Be. Missed.

Buy tickets!

Don’t forget, residents of Brewster, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties get a Marfa Myths discount until March 1, 2016. Come by the Ballroom Marfa gallery to purchase.

Marfa Myths

MARFA MYTHS SCHEDULE

Wednesday, March 9

2-4pm
Real News “Around Town” at Jett’s (Free)
Stop by and contribute gossip, get interviewed, entertain, share youtube videos, etc.!

Thursday, March 10

2-4pm
Real News “Around Town” at Dairy Queen (Free)
Stop by and contribute gossip, get interviewed, entertain, share youtube videos, etc.!

7:30pm
Welcome party with Pill and Fred and Toody (Dead Moon) at the Lost Horse (Free)

10:30pm
Midnite Movie at the Crowley Theater (Free)
featuring A Poem Is a Naked Person, about singer-songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Leon Russell as filmed by documentarian Les Blank between 1972 and 1974.

Friday, March 11

2-4pm
Real News “Around Town” at Freda (Free)
Be part of history!

5pm
Mary Lattimore at Wrong Marfa (Free)

6pm
Opening reception for After Effect at Ballroom Marfa with Heron Oblivion (Free)

9pm
Afterparty with Hailu Mergia and Awesome Tapes From Africa at El Cosmico (Free)

Saturday, March 12

11am
After Effect walkthrough with artists at Ballroom Marfa (Free)

1pm
William Basinski performing in the Arena, presented in partnership with The Chinati Foundation (Free)

3-5:30pm
Open viewing and workshop at The Block with 5pm performance of a site-specific work by Maria Chavez. Presented in partnership with Judd Foundation. (Free)

6pm
No Age, Parquet Courts, Connan Mockasin’s Wet Dream, Lower Dens, Quilt with Mary Lattimore, Sheer Mag at The Capri (Ticketed)

Sunday, March 13

11am
Release of Real News Marfa Myths Edition at Marfa Book Company. (Free)

2pm
Anthology Recordings presents David Fenster’s mushroom movies with local musicians; Raum with Paul Clipson; and Dungen scoring The Adventures of Prince Achmed at the Crowley Theater (Ticketed) (Online tickets are sold out for this event, though we will be selling limited standing-room tickets on the day of the show.)

MM Digital Schedule

Thanks to all of our amazing partners for opening their doors to us, not to mention the general community of Marfa. Discounted Marfa Myths tickets available in the Ballroom Marfa gallery for Ballroom Marfa members and all residents of Brewster, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties until March 1, 2016. Tickets to the Saturday night concert $15.

Ballroom Marfa & Mexican Summer Present Marfa Myths, March 10-13, 2016

2 Nov 2015

Marfa Myths.    Design by Hilary duPont and Rosa McElheny.

Marfa Myths is a cultural program taking place March 10 – 13, 2016 in Marfa, Texas. Curated by Ballroom Marfa and Brooklyn-based record label Mexican Summer, Marfa Myths features artists and musicians from within and outside of the label’s roster working creatively and collaboratively across music, film, and visual arts contexts. Following a successful 2015 program bringing more than 600 international attendees, Marfa Myths enters its third year in 2016.

2016 programming for Marfa Myths includes a recording residency with Natalie Mering (aka Weyes Blood) and a special collaborator to be announced during the festival, a daytime performance by William Basinski, a Friday night after party featuring Awesome Tapes From Africa, and new audio/visual performances by Dungen and Raum (Liz Harris/Grouper and Jefre Cantu-Ledesma) with Paul Clipson, along with a selection of short films at Crowley Theater presented by Anthology Recordings, the reissue subsidiary of Mexican Summer. Live programming throughout the weekend includes performances from Parquet Courts, No Age, Quilt with Mary Lattimore, Sheer Mag, and LA legend Emitt Rhodes‘ first live show since 1973.

A central objective of Marfa Myths is to engage with the Marfa community and its esteemed cultural institutions. An artist enclave tucked into the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in Far West Texas, Marfa has become a destination for contemporary art since the arrival of Donald Judd and the establishment of The Chinati Foundation in 1986. This year, Marfa Myths and Judd Foundation will partner for a Saturday afternoon performance of a site-specific work by New York artist and turntablist Maria Chavez at The Block, Judd’s residence and studio in Marfa.

Ballroom Marfa was established in 2003 in a 1927-era ballroom, now converted into a nonprofit contemporary art and performance space. Since 2003, Ballroom Marfa has organized over 40 multidisciplinary art exhibitions and performances, including work such as Elmgreen & Dragset’s Prada Marfa and Rashid Johnson’s Shea Butter Irrigation System. Ballroom’s past music programs include concerts and commissioned work from Julianna Barwick, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Tinariwen, Beach House, Alex Waterman, and Graham Reynolds.

DC 1974
Dan Colen
Coming Down Again, 2014
Oil on canvas
89 1/2 x 119 in

Ballroom Marfa will open a group exhibition developed with New York-based artist Dan Colen — with a reception on Friday, March 11 — to coincide with the Marfa Myths weekend. This visual arts program will examine the medium of painting in Colen’s most recent body of work, offering new interpretations of landscape, sublimity, and spirituality.

As with last year’s event, there will be an exclusive, limited edition 12″ documenting Weyes Blood’s residential collaboration alongside a Marfa Myths journal designed by Hilary duPont and Rosa McElheny and featuring contributions from Marfa-based artists and writers along with participating festival artists.

Marfa Myths.   Design by Hilary duPont and Rosa McElheny.

Buy tickets to Marfa Myths here. Residents of Brewster, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties may purchase tickets at a discount in-person at the Ballroom Marfa gallery. Read our tips for getting to Marfa and where to stay (and you can always check out last year’s guide).

Agnes Denes, The Living Pyramid

22 May 2015

Agnes Denes. Photo by Stefan Ruiz, courtesy of the New York Times.

Agnes Denes. Photo by Stefan Ruiz, courtesy of the New York Times.

In 2005, Earthwork artist Agnes Denes, known — according to Interview Magazine — for her “stunning and environmentally confrontational public works,” created her large-scale work Pyramids of Consciousness for Ballroom’s exhibition Treading Water. Three of the pyramids were filled with various substances –– clear water, oil, and polluted water from the Rio Grande. The fourth pyramid was a mirror that allowed viewers to see themselves, and consider their relationship to water and its current environmental concerns.

Last Sunday, Denes presented another large-scale pyramid project, The Living Pyramid, installed on the East River waterfront at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, New York. The work was created using several tons of soil and planted grasses, and stands 30 feet high and 30 feet wide with the city skyline as its backdrop. Visitors at the opening were invited to participate in planting wildflowers along the outside of the structure, contributing to the pyramid’s growth as it remains on view until August 30th.

In a May interview with Maika Pollack in Interview Magazine, Denes discusses the function of pyramids in her work, as well as the process for her other iconic works such as Wheatfield–A Confrontation (1982) (where she planted and harvested a wheat field on a landfill in lower Manhattan) and Tree Mountain-–A Living Time Capsule, a manmade forest she planted in a mathematical pattern in Ylöjärvi, Finland.

Sam Falls Limited Edition Vinyl from Ballroom Marfa

1 May 2015

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Created in collaboration with a group of musicians, this limited edition, blue-marbled vinyl stems from a sound piece by Sam Falls, which plays on a loop in Ballroom Marfa’s gallery as part of his 2015 solo exhibition. The limited edition record features a woman’s voice repeating the word “now” alongside simple chords played by four musicians. The LP that plays in the exhibition contains a thin metal strip that causes the record to skip, creating an original composition with each rotation. This sound work speaks to another work in the show, Falls’ video piece Untitled (Now), where he continuously writes the word ‘now’ into sand with a stick before it gets repeatedly washed away by waves at the ocean shore. Roshe Run For Womens
Together the works reflect the artist’s interest in capturing the passage of time and its elements, providing viewers with various mediums in which to consider the present.

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Sam Falls
Untitled (Now, record), 2015
12” Vinyl LP with turntable and speakers
17 x 13 x 5 inches
Courtesy of the artist and Ballroom Marfa
Photo © Fredrik Nilsen

“I wanted to visualize how we can see or hear time as it passes to be reminded of its unified past, present, and future; every moment is ‘now,’ or will be ‘now,’ or was ‘now.’ ‘Now’ is a temporal shifter as I see it, and so these works regenerate the word to inform the moment both as specific and as the works progress elliptically ‘now’ becomes abstracted and wholly representational.” — Excerpt from Sam Falls artist statement

Click here to read more in the Ballroom Marfa shop. See more of our limited editions here.