マイケル·エルムグリーンとドラッグセットのエントリ
МАЙКЛ ЭЛМГРИН И ИНГАР ДРАГСЕТ

prada marfa

source: nytimes.
Prada, the Italian luxury-goods house, has plenty of impressive stores — in Milan, Paris, around the world. But its most exclusive is a 15-foot-by-25-foot adobe building in the Chihuahuan desert, 35 miles northwest of Marfa. It contains six bags (without bottoms, to discourage theft), 20 shoes (the rights only, for the same reason), and hundreds of dead flies (thieves, help yourselves). Since opening in 2005, it has also drawn thousands of tourists, including, last summer, Beyoncé. She was not allowed entrance. This store is so exclusive that its door is always locked.

That’s because Prada Marfa is not a retail store but a permanent installation by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, Scandinavian artists based in Berlin. It is also at the center of a controversy.

Nearly eight years after opening, Prada Marfa has been classified by the Texas Department of Transportation as an “illegal outdoor advertising sign” because it displays the Prada logo on land where that is prohibited. This could lead to forced removal of the installation, although the department has not yet decided what action it will take.

For the artists, the logo is essential to the meaning of the work. “It was meant as a critique of the luxury goods industry, to put a shop in the middle of the desert,” Mr. Elmgreen said.

From the state’s perspective, the logo is defined by state and federal law as a sign. And because the “sign” sits on unlicensed land bordering federal highway U.S. 90 and lacks a permit, it violates the 1965 Highway Beautification Act signed by president Lyndon B. Johnson and championed by his wife, Lady Bird Johnson.

Prada Marfa’s artists have never considered obtaining a permit because they reject the idea that their piece is an advertisement. Miuccia Prada, Prada’s chairman, permitted the artists to use her brand’s logo. She also picked and provided the shoes. But there is, Mr. Elmgreen noted, “no commercial relationship.” The $80,000 project was paid for by the New York nonprofit Art Production Fund in collaboration with Ballroom Marfa, a local contemporary art gallery.

The Prada Marfa dispute joins the recent art-versus-advertising debate that has been agitating the town of Marfa since June, when Playboy Enterprises planted its own installation on the same highway, just a mile northwest of town.

The controversial piece — a 1972 Dodge Charger on top of a box in front of a 40-foot neon Playboy bunny sign — was designed by the artist Richard Phillips for Playboy, which paid for the installation. The name, Playboy Marfa, might seem to be intended to attract the magnitude of attention enjoyed by the earlier installation.

It succeeded. But Playboy could be Prada’s undoing. The intense interest in Playboy Marfa, which the transportation department deemed in July an illegal outdoor advertisement because of its use of the trademarked Playboy bunny logo without a permit, now has some people, including the department, wondering whether the same logic could be extended to the Prada work.

State officials have been scratching their heads about this for weeks. Assistant Attorney General Oren Connaway, who was involved in discussions about Playboy Marfa’s legality, questioned Prada Marfa’s status on July 9, writing in an e-mail, “Aren’t the fake PRADA MARFA store signs on US90 in Valentine illegal ads, too?”

Wendy Knox, the transportation department’s supervisor of the Outdoor Advertising Regulatory Program, replied that the Federal Highway Administration had confirmed it was illegal — meaning the piece was determined illegal by both state and federal definitions of “sign.” “And we will take action on it,” Ms. Knox said.

What that means remains to be seen. The department will only note that “we are still working on this issue.”

Prada Marfa’s defenders, however, were happy to weigh in. “I would have thought the statute of limitations had expired,” said Boyd Elder, a local artist and the site representative for Prada Marfa. “It’s not an advertisement; it’s an art statement. And it’s on private property.”

That is true of the building, which sits on property owned by Carmen Hall. The awning, though, stretches over the right of way, an encroachment the department flagged as a second violation.

Prada Marfa’s creators say the piece had nothing to do with marketing. “There’s a difference between being commissioned by a company to do something for them and using their logo, and using their logo on your own,” Mr. Elmgreen said. Artists, from Andy Warhol to Ai Weiwei, he pointed out, have produced works that feature logos.

“If they want to remove it because of bureaucracy, we tear it down,” he said. “And then we can say that one of the quite well-known permanent artworks — that hasn’t cost taxpayers anything and that has been elected one of the most-worth-seeing roadside attractions in the States — is no longer.”

The news took Mr. Elmgreen by surprise. “If it really is against the regulations, they should have found out in 2005 when it was erected,” he said. “If I were head of the office there, I would fire the person who came up with this. This is a waste of taxpayer money.”

That reasoning may resonate in Texas, where many — regardless of how they feel about art — take a skeptical view of bureaucrats.

“Controversy is just more fuel for the fire,” Mr. Elder said. “Let it rip.”

Or in other words, come and take it.
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source: ifitshipitshere
Prada Marfa, A Full Scale Replica of a Prada Boutique In Texas: Art or Advertisement?

Perhaps you’ve heard of Prada Marfa, or at least have seen photos of it. But what exactly is is? Read on to learn all about Prada Marfa. Its history, its venue, why it exists, how to save it and who has photographed it.

All about Prada Marfa
What Is Prada Marfa?
Prada Marfa is a site-specific, permanent land art project by artists Elmgreen & Dragset constructed in 2005. Modeled after a Prada boutique, the inaccessible interior of the structure includes luxury goods from Prada’s fall collection from that year. The door does not open, ensuring that the sculpture will never function as a place of commerce. Art Production Fund and Ballroom Marfa co-produced the project.

Prada Marfa is a favorite subject of photographers, both professional and amateur. I found some fabulous images and have featured them throughout this post.

Artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset:
“Prada Marfa is an artwork initiated by ourselves and realized in a collaboration with the not-for-profit cultural organizations Art Production Fund and Ballroom Marfa in 2005. It was not a work commissioned by the fashion brand Prada nor had the fashion brand any involvement in the creation of this work. They kindly gave us the permission to use their logo after we asked them, due to the founder Muccia Prada’s personal interest in contemporary art, and she donated shoes and bags, which have never been renewed but stay the same – as a historic display – inside the sculpture. The right definition of advertisement must be based on criteria more accurate than just including any sign which contains a logo. It is advertisement only when a company either commissions someone to make such a sign, pays for its execution or makes a sign themselves in order to promote the company’s products. And this is not the case here since Prada Marfa never had any commercial link to the fashion brand Prada, unlike the Playboy bunny which went up this summer initiated by Playboy itself.”

“Prada Marfa is firmly positioned within a contemporary understanding of site specific art, but also draws strongly on pop art and land art – two art forms which were conceived and thrived especially in the USA from the 1960s and onwards. Many artists, from Andy Warhol with his famous Campbell soup cans to Andreas Gursky with his grand photographic documentation of retail spaces have appropriated and dealt with the visual language of commercial brands. In an increasingly commercialized world, we see the independent artistic treatment of all visual signs and signifiers as crucial to a better and wider understanding of our day- to-day surroundings, including the influence of corporations.”

“It comes as a big surprise for us that the Texas Department of Transportation now after eight years may declare this well-known artwork to be illegal and we think it would be a shame for the local community if it disappeared after being there for so long since the work clearly is one of the strong points for the cultural tourism, which is such an important financial factor in this region. However, we are very happy to experience the fantastic support from both art professionals internationally, locals and others, who have even created a Facebook page named “Save Prada Marfa” that after just a short while has received almost 4000 likes and daily receives plenty of new posts, stories and images from people who once visited this site.”

Yvonne Force Villareal & Doreen Remen, Co-founders, Art Production Fund:
“Within our 13 years of producing and presenting important public art, few works have been as eagerly embraced than Prada Marfa by Elmgreen & Dragset. With full integrity, the artists refused for us to ask any corporation, especially Prada, for monetary donations to support the making of this project. It took us over a year of intense fundraising from local and international private patrons to realize this authentic and pure permanent artwork. The family of the late Walter Alton “Slim” Brown, even generously contributed to the project by lending their land. Great public art empowers people and gives them alternate ways to understand the times that we live in; Prada Marfa is a civic gift that has become one of the great worldwide pop icons.”

Fairfax Dorn, Co-founder and Executive Director, Ballroom Marfa:
“Prada Marfa is a living sculpture, an installation that has taken on a life of its own. In the eight years since its creation, Elmgreen & Dragset’s work has become part of the cultural and physical landscape of Far West Texas. At the same time it has entered into international art history discourse. It’s part of what people think of when they think of Marfa, either as art lovers on a pilgrimage, or as surprised passersby.

It’s also a non-profit project — supported entirely by funds from foundations and individuals — and the antithesis of commercialism. Prada Marfa is an embodiment of the Ballroom Marfa mission to combine innovation and accessibility without compromising on either front. We are encouraging engagement with art. Prada Marfa has been a precursor to other public art projects in Marfa, from temporary installations to our current work creating a community gathering place and performance venue with the Drive-In.”

Where is Prada Marfa?
​Despite its name, the sculpture is not located in Marfa, but 37 miles northwest on highway 90 in Jeff Davis county, just outside of the town of Valentine, TX.

Who are Elmgreen & Dragset?
Working together since 1995 and drawing from disciplines as varied as institutional critique, social politics, performance and architecture, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset’s interdisciplinary practice reconfigures the familiar with characteristic wit and subversive humor. The static, staged environments they have presented across the world question our expectations by enacting paradoxical, seemingly misplaced scenarios that challenge our habitual notions, often to surprising or shocking effect. As a result, throughout their collaborative artistic partnership, Elmgreen & Dragset, from Denmark and Norway respectively, have redefined the way in which art is presented and experienced.

Michael Elmgreen (born 1961 in Copenhagen, Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (born 1969 in Trondheim, Norway), based in Berlin and London, have worked together as an artist duo since 1995. They have held numerous solo exhibitions in art institutions worldwide, including the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam (2011), ZKM Museum of Modern Art in Karlsruhe (2010), MUSAC in Léon (2009), The Power Plant in Toronto (2006), Serpentine Gallery (2006) and Tate Modern (2004) in London, and Kunsthalle Zürich (2001). Their work has been included in the Liverpool (2012), Singapore (2011), Moscow (2011, 2007), Gwangju (2002), São Paulo (2002), Istanbul (2001), and Berlin (1998) biennials, and in 2009 they received a special mention for their exhibition The Collectors in the Nordic and Danish Pavilions at the 53rd Venice Biennale. Amongst their most well known works are Prada Marfa (2005) – a full scale replica of a Prada boutique in the middle of the Texan desert, and Short Cut (2003) – a car and a caravan breaking through the ground which was first shown in Milan and now resides in the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

Recent projects include the permanent public sculpture Han in Elsinore, Denmark (2012) and the theatrical play Happy Days in the Art World, which debuted at the Performa 11 biennial in New York (2011) and was subsequently performed at the Bergen International Festival and the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen (both 2012).

Their winning Fourth Plinth Commission Powerless Structures, Fig. 10” – depicting a child astride his rocking horse – is on view until August 2014 in Trafalgar Square, London. Currently Elmgreen & Dragset are the curators of A Space Called Public / Hoffentlich Öffentlich, an extensive public art program taking place in Munich through September 2013.

Their solo exhibition Tomorrow, a major site-specific installation in the former textile galleries of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, will open in October 2013. Upcoming solo exhibitions by Elmgreen & Dragset will take place at the Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo (March 2014), PLATEAU, Seoul (summer 2014), and Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen (autumn 2014).
​Elmstreen & Dragset

Who are Ballroom Marfa and Art Production Fund?
Art Production Fund (APF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art. It aims to provide artists with the necessary production assistance for complex, difficult-to-realize projects, often of a multidisciplinary nature. It was founded by Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen in 2000. Recent notable APF projects include Yvette Mattern’s Global Rainbow in response to Hurricane Sandy, NYC (2012); Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace in Times Square, NYC (2012); and Josephine Meckseper’s Manhattan Oil Project, NYC (2012).

Founded in 2003 by Virginia Lebermann and Fairfax Dorn, Ballroom Marfa is a 501(c)3 non-profit cultural arts organization in Far West Texas. Ballroom Marfa’s mission is to serve international, national, regional, and local arts communities and support the work of both emerging and recognized artists working in all media. Ballroom Marfa has worked with over 200 artists, produced 28 internationally-recognized exhibitions and hosted over 100 music concerts.

shoe detail james evans
above: Shoe (detail), Prada Marfa, 2005. Photo by James Evans.

Prada Marfa is a marquee undertaking for both organizations, as it represents their shared interest in supporting projects outside of traditional gallery or museum environments.
​
Who is Boyd Elder?

Boyd Elder is the photogenic caretaker and site representative of Prada Marfa, making appearances to individual travelers as well as a national audience in 60 Minutes’ profile of the sculpture. He is a lifelong resident of Valentine and a Big Bend legend, his name coming up alongside Mick Jagger, The Eagles and Joni Mitchell. He has his own line of Southwestern-themed leather gear, and makes paintings on horse and cattle skulls.

Is Prada Marfa a store?
No. There is no public access to the interior of the structure, and nothing is for sale.

As Michael Elmgreen said in a recent interview with Texas Monthly, “[Prada Marfa] was meant as a critique of the luxury goods industry, to put a shop in the middle of the desert.”

Anyone is welcome to take a picture, and it seems like almost everyone does — from Beyoncé to the scores of amateur photographers you’ll find using the #PradaMarfa hashtag. Snapshots are free, unless you would like to collect the limited edition print from photographer James Evans, currently available from Ballroom Marfa.

Is Prada Marfa an advertisement for Prada?
No. It is a non-profit public art project that was conceived of by Elmgreen & Dragset, who declined any monetary support from Prada or any other corporation.

As an art lover, Miuccia Prada, founder of the museum spaces of Fondazione Prada, did give the artists the right to use the Prada logo, even though she knew it was intended as subversive of commodification and the very brand itself.

“There’s a difference between being commissioned by a company to do something for them and using their logo, and using their logo on your own,” Elmgreen told Texas Monthly.
​
Is the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) trying to remove Prada Marfa?
We don’t know. As of now we have yet to receive any communication from TxDOT about Prada Marfa.
​
What does this have to do with Playboy Marfa?

Ballroom Marfa and Art Production Fund are not involved with Playboy Marfa, an installation outside of Marfa, Texas by the artist Richard Phillips (shown above). Playboy Marfa was commissioned by Landis Smithers and Neville Wakefield, Playboy’s Creative Director of Special Projects. Wakefield also curated Autobody, an unrelated exhibition at Ballroom Marfa in 2012.

Following much controversy and a complaint by Lineaus Hooper Lorette, a local accountant and artist, TxDOT “ordered the property owner to remove this sign because the owner does not have a Texas License for Outdoor Advertising and a specific permit application for the sign was not submitted.”

After further discussion with Plaboy’s legal team, Veronica Beyer, TxDOT Director of Media Relations, told the Big Bend Sentinel in August that “the order of removal issued to the landowner has been rescinded, and TxDOT is having discussions with Playboy Enterprises to find a solution to this issue.”

No doubt the deeper critical ramifications of this question are being pondered by art historians, enthusiasts and MFA thesis writers at this very moment, as well as by Playboy counsel Dick DeGuerin. Dick’s a good friend of Ballroom, but is not officially involved with Prada Marfa.
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source: gibsonindbr
Imagine você em uma road trip pela US Route 90. De repente você está em West Texas, se aproximando da cidade de Marfa, um local com aproximadamente 1.900 habitantes. Um local no meio do deserto, cuja paisagem são cactos, caveiras de gado, estrada vazia, e é claro, uma loja PRADA!

“Oh meu deus! Que caralh@#$ uma loja PRADA está fazendo por ali?” indaga-se nosso(a) fiel leitor(a).

A loja em questão se trata de um projeto de arte dos escanivaos Michael Elmgreen e Ingar Dragset, e embora a PRADA não tenha aprovado a instalação, permitiu que a dupla usasse o logotipo e ainda doou sapatos e bolsas na sua construção.

Conhecido como Prada Marfa, o projeto custou cerca de US$ 80.000,00 e foi pago pelo Fundo de Produção Art (NY) e uma galera local de arte contemporânea chamada Ballroom Marfa.
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source: re-actornet
До ближайшего населенного пункта от Prada Marfa, а именно так называется этот бутик, примерно 60 километров по техасским прериям. Слово Марфа, как раз и обозначает название ближайшего города.

Этот проект задумали два скандинавских художника – Микаэль Элмгрин и Ингар Драгсет. Причем, сам дом моды не давал разрешения на использование их марки. Однако, скандинавам удалось получить одобрение у Миуччи Прада. По факту, перед вами никакой не магазин, хотя в его витрине и присутствует часть коллекции 2005-го года. Это арт-инсталляция, на создание которой ушла немалая сумма денежных средств. Мало того, даже дверь, которая кажется дверью, на самом деле таковой не является. Дом полностью изготовлен из биоразлагаемых материалов. Поэтому, его никогда не будут ремонтировать, а просто дождутся пока он полностью разрушится от времени. Увы, но буквально через несколько дней после «открытия» Prada Marfa был ограблен. Поэтому, в витрине только непарная обувь и несколько неликвидных моделей сумок с односторонним браком.
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source: beevar
Dans une bande désolée, juste à côté de la route US 90 dans l’ouest du Texas, à environ 60 km au nord-ouest de la ville de Marfa, se trouve un magasin de Prada minuscule. Sur le front de la boutique il ya deux grandes fenêtres à travers lesquelles vous voyez une collection de chaussures et sacs à main Prada, mais il n’y a pas de porte fonctionnelle de vous laisser à l’intérieur. Pour ce est pas un vrai magasin de détail, mais une installation permanente d’art par des artistes scandinaves Michael Elmgreen et Ingar Dragset. Bien que Prada n’a pas approuvé l’installation, la société de président et propriétaire, Miuccia Prada, autorisé les artistes à utiliser le logo de sa marque. Elle a même repris et a fourni les chaussures et les sacs à main de la collection automne / hiver 2005 pour être affiché à l’intérieur.

Connu comme Prada Marfa, le projet $ 80,000 a été payée par le Fonds de production de New York à but non lucratif Art en collaboration avec Ballroom Marfa, une galerie d’art contemporain local.

Le bâtiment d’adobe de 15 pieds par 25 pieds est faite de matériaux biodégradables et a été à l’origine destiné à ne jamais être réparé, ce qui lui permet de se dégrader lentement dans le paysage naturel. L’installation a été conçue comme une critique du consumérisme et de l’industrie des produits de luxe. Cependant, quelques jours seulement après son ouverture, le magasin était fauché dans et les biens volés. La sculpture a été rapidement réparé – cette fois avec des fenêtres plus solides pour empêcher l’entrée forcée, repeint, et réapprovisionné. Pour décourager le vol, les six sacs à main ont à l’intérieur pas de fonds et tous les vingt chaussures sont droitier.

Malgré sa situation isolée, le «magasin» a attiré des milliers de touristes depuis son ouverture en 2005. Mais l’avenir de Prada Marfa pourrait être à risque.

En 2013, le ministère des Transports du Texas a classé la boutique comme «la publicité extérieure illégale» parce qu’il se situe sur un terrain sans permis en bordure de l’autoroute 90 et fédéral américain n’a pas un permis, qui viole la Loi sur la route d’embellissement 1965. Cela pourrait conduire à l’éloignement forcé de l’installation, bien que le ministère n’a pas encore décidé quelles mesures elle va prendre.
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source: blognakatanigonet
荒野に佇む小さな建物、よく見るとそこには憧れのハイブランド「PRADA」の文字が。
周囲に何もない僻地になぜプラダの路面店が！？

中には靴やバッグが整然とディスプレイされており、２つの窓からそれを眺めることができます。
しかし、これは恒久的な実際のお店ではなく、スカンジナビアの芸術家 Michael Elmgreen と Ingar Dragsetによって作られたアートインスタレーションなのです。

プラダの会長であるミウッチャ・プラダは、この斬新な芸術のためにロゴの使用を許可しただけでなく2005年秋冬のコレクションを提供しました。

砂漠のど真ん中の街「マーファ」にあることから、このブティックは「プラダ・マーファ」と呼ばれています。

生分解性の素材で作られており、自然に風化することを芸術家たちは望んでいましたが、本物のプラダを狙って強盗が押し入ったり、法律によって「不法な屋外広告」に指定され撤去の憂き目にあうなど、なかなか危機的な状況に陥っているそうです。
無事にこのユニークなプラダのブティックは、本懐を遂げることができるのでしょうか。
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source: buzzlandit
In una striscia desolata, appena fuori US Route 90 in Texas occidentale, a circa 60 km a nord ovest della città di Marfa, si trova un piccolo negozio di Prada. Sul fronte del negozio ci sono due grandi finestre attraverso le quali si vede una collezione di scarpe Prada e borse, ma non vi è alcuna porta funzionale per farvi dentro. Per questo non è un vero e proprio negozio al dettaglio ma un’installazione d’arte permanente di artisti scandinavi Michael Elmgreen e Ingar Dragset.
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source: yjcir
مقامات شرکت کیف و کفش پرادا، برای بازاریابی از روشی عجیب استفاده کرده اند و در 60 کیلومتری شهر مارفا و در میان بیابان‌های غرب ایالت تگزاس آمریکا، اقدام به ساخت مغازه ای برای نمایش دادن تولیدات خود از سال 2005 میلادی تا کنون کرده اند.