Marfa Dot Net

Marfa Public Radio story-telling event is Friday

Apr
05

MARFA – Marfa Public Radio will host its next live storytelling event and happy hour on Friday, April 6 at the Crowley Theater in Marfa.

This event will be held in conjunction with their Spring Membership Drive, coming right at the heels of the station’s 12th year in operation.

Doors will open at 6pm for the happy hour party featuring a live DJ. Beer will be provided courtesy of Big Bend Brewing Co., a sponsor of the Marfa Public Radio Live Storytelling Program. Stories will begin at 7:30pm.

The theme of this event is All or Nothing: True Stories of Taking Big Risks, where participants will recount true stories of going for broke and reaching for the stars.

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Dumitrescu’s illustrations for Lonn Taylor’s book at Greasewood Gallery; opening Saturday

Mar
29

Memories of Giant

MARFA – Illustrations from Lonn Taylor’s new book, Marfa for the Perplexed, will be on display at the Greasewood Gallery in the Paisano Hotel from March 31 until May 28. Taylor and illustrator Avram Dumitrescu will be signing books during an opening reception from 6-8pm on Saturday, March 31.

Marfa for the Perplexed is a collection of historical essays about Marfa and the surrounding areas that were first published by the Big Bend Sentinel. The drawings for the book were all created completely digitally, apart from the cover which was based on a painting Dumitrescu had previously created. The book is being published by Tim Johnson of the Marfa Book Company with layout by Kyle Schlesinger of Cuneform Press. “The research for Lonn’s book introduced me to fascinating people who continue to make and write the history here. I was really excited to finally work with Lonn,” Dumitrescu said. “Researching appropriate material to draw for each chapter was an exciting part of the project – I visited with wagon makers, park rangers, and ranchers in Fort Davis, art curators in Marfa, and animal science and history professors in Alpine.”

Dumitrescu is an assistant professor at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, where he teaches digital art, animation, and design courses. He was raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and moved to West Texas in 2006, where he has since focused his drawings and paintings on animals, architecture and vehicles.

He has exhibited at numerous galleries in the US and Northern Ireland, and has illustrated for several magazines and the book, MFK Fisher: Among the Pots and Pans by Joan Reardon.

More of Dumitrescu’s illustrations will appear in the new edition of Drift Magazine, where he explored the history of coffee in San Francisco. His art can be seen online at http://avramdesert.blogspot.com and www.onlineavram.com.

 

 

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Agave Festival sets second year’s programming

Mar
29

MARFA – Agave Festival Marfa, an annual festival celebrating the agave and its influence on culture through food, film, music and scientific programs, is set for June 6-10.

The Festival treats the agave as the indicator species for a region that is binational, multilingual, and deeply informed by indigenous history.

It proposes to bring communities together through outstanding free and affordable programs including talks by preeminent historians, botanists, artists, anthropologists and archaeologists.

Films, exhibitions, and tastings with agave spirit producers as well as delicious dining experiences are offered to everyone. A variety of performances by leading artists in contemporary and regional music ensures a lively 4-day event.

In its second year, the Agave Festival Marfa will explore the agave’s relation to migration and binational experience. Events will include a talk by Gary Paul Nabhan on the future of mescal; a talk by renowned conservationist Rodrigo Medellin on the lesser long-nosed bat, currently on the endangered species list, and its dependence on the agave and other desert plants; a talk by Wendy Hodgson and Andrew Salywon concerning the movement of the agave in the context of indigenous migration and cultivation; the creation of a new agave garden by botanists from the Jardin Chapultepec in Mexico; the launch of a book by Alfredo Corchado concerning issues of binational experience for those born in Mexico but currently living in the US; talks by the founders of three of the agave’s most influential spirit brands, Bertha Gonzalez Nieves (Casa Dragones), Ricardo Pico (Sotol Clande) and David Suro Piñera (Siembra Azul); many spirit tastings and meals; a performance by outstanding norteño musicians; cumbia nights featuring guest DJs; and much more.

Participants

Gary Paul Nabhan:

One of the foremost writers in the field of ecology, Nabhan is an Agricultural Ecologist, Ethnobotanist, Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, and author whose work has focused primarily on the interaction of biodiversity and cultural diversity of the arid binational Southwest. He is considered a pioneer in the local food movement and the heirloom seed saving movement. He is the author of several books considered classics in their fields, including, The Desert Smells Like Rain: A Naturalist in O’odham Country; Enduring Seeds: Native American Agriculture and Wild Plant Conservation and Tequila: A Natural and Cultural History , which he co-authored with Ana Valenzuela.

Rodrigo Medellin:

Sometimes referred to as “Tequila’s Superman” for his conservation work concerning the lesser long-nosed bat, Medellin is known throughout the world for his conservation work with jaguar, ocelot and bighorn sheep. He has served as President of the Society for Conservation Biology (2013-2015) and is currently Senior Professor at the Institute of Ecology UNAM. Additionally, he has produced over 200 publications and oversees projects and students in sixteen countries on five continents.

Wendy Hodgson:

Hodgson is the Senior Research botanist and Curator of the Herbarium at the Desert Botanical Garden of Tucson and is considered one of the preeminent botanists of the US / Mexico border region. Her areas of interest include southwest U.S. and northern Mexico floristics, rare and endemic plants, and taxonomy and systematics of Agave and Yucca, including the study of pre-Columbian agave cultivars. Other current projects include the study and documentation of the flora of the Grand Canyon region, including the evolution and distribution of certain plant groups as affected by the unique factors characteristic of this area. She is the author of Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert, considered the definitive volume on the subject. Teobaldo Eguiluz Piedra Formerly chief geneticist for the Forest Genetics Institute of Guatemala and formerly director for the Mexican National School of Agriculture,

Equiluz Piedra:

Piedra is now the Managing Director of Genfor Landscaping, one of Mexico City’s foremost landscaping companies.

Joel Salcido:

Art and documentary photographer who grew up with one foot in Mexico and the other in the United States, straddling two languages and two cultures. His images appear in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the El Paso Museum of Art, the Harry Ransom Humanities Center at UT Austin, and the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University.

Additional acquisitions have been made by the Federal Reserve Bank, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. The image Atotonilco El Alto , which appears in his most recent publication, The Spirit of Tequila, was recently inducted into Mexico’s National Art Heritage Series. Salcido lives in Austin, Texas.

Bertha Gonzalez Nieves:

Known as “The First Lady of Tequila,” Gonzalez Nieves is the co-founder and CEO of Casa Dragones, a small batch tequila producer. In her own words, “We are a small batch producer that’s trying to push the conversation of the industry into the future, using the most sustainable, modern processes available.”

Distinguishing Casa Dragones from many of the big names in the industry, she adds, “We’re in the business of taste, not in the business of volume.”

David Suro Piñera:

Suro Piñera is the owner of Tequilas Bar and Restaurant, one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in Philadelphia; the president of Siembra Azul Tequila; and president of Tequila Interchange Project an international advocacy group focused on the preservation of sustainable, traditional and quality practices in the industries of agave distilled spirits. Mr. Suro Piñera has also been described as, “one of the most knowledgeable people in the world” about the subject of tequila and is a highly sought after public speaker.

Ricardo Pico:

Pico is the founder of Sotol Clande, a cooperative based in the state of Chihuahua, which in a few short years has become one of the spirit’s most respected brands. In addition to its flavor, Sotol Clande is notable for its commitment to traditional methods of production and for supporting families who have persisted in the production of sotol for many generations, despite difficulties, legal and financial.

Alfredo Corchado:

Recently elected to the Texas Institute of Letters, Corchado is the author of the forthcoming book, “Homelands: Four Friends, Two Countries and the Fate of the Great Mexican-American Migration,” which will be released at this year’s Agave Festival. His previous book, “Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through A Country’s Descent Into Darkness” has been translated into several languages and was praised by the Washington Post, Kirkus and other publications.

Andy Cloud:

Director of the Center for Big Bend Studies, an organization which supports and promotes archaeological and historical activities in the Trans-Pecos and Big Bend region of Texas and northern Mexico. Cloud is best known for his archaeological work at the Genevieve Lykes Duncan in West Texas, where he has discovered artifacts of Paleoindian culture that are as many as 11,000 years old.

Cloud also oversees publications for the CBBS and is jointly responsible, along with Jorge Carrera Robles, for the first ever bi-national archaeological collaboration, which is taking place at La Junta de los Rios along the US / Mexico border.

Jorge Carrera Robles:

Regional Director of INAH, the national archaeological institution of Mexico, Dr. Robles oversees all projects in the state of Chihuahua and has been instrumental in establishing a binational collaboration between INAH and the Center for Big Bend Studies. Dr. Robles has also written extensively about El Camino Real, the Spanish trade route connecting Mexico City with San Juan Pueblo in New Mexico.

Christina Kim:

Founder of the Dosa, one of the most innovative clothing and fashion brands of the past several decades, Kim will speak about her work with the Arhuaco people of Colombia, especially their agave and cotton based textiles. In addition to being a leading designer, Kim has demonstrated a profound commitment to protecting traditional handcrafts and is known for her stylish and resourceful use of recycling and waste reduction techniques.

Jim Martinez:

Agronomist and landscape designer, Jim Martinez has been creating water wise and environmentally friendly landscapes for over 30 years. He specializes in native plants of Texas and the Southwest and has designed and installed gardens throughout the U.S. and Mexico. A recent garden design and installation was issued one of the first LEED Platinum certifications in Dallas, Texas. Jim has a Bachelor’s of Science, Soil Science, New Mexico State University. Jim’s landscape designs have

been recognized by national publications including Garden Design Magazine, Pure Green Living, Wildflower, The Magazine of The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the Dallas Morning News among others.

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Reading and book signing by Lonn Taylor at Crowley Theater Friday

Mar
29

MARFA – Marfa Book Co. invites the public to celebrate the release of Marfa for the Perplexed, a book of historical essays by Lonn Taylor, this Friday, March 30 at the Crowley Theater. The event begins with a reading by the author at 6pm and will be followed by a book signing in the lobby.

Taylor, who lives in Fort Davis with his wife, Dedie, spent 20 years as a historian at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. and is the author of several previous publications, including Texas People, Texas Places and Texas,

My Texas: Musings of the Rambling Boy. He is known throughout the region for his weekly series, The Rambling Boy, which is hosted by the Big Bend Sentinel and Marfa Public Radio.

The new book, produced and distributed by the Marfa Book Co., has received notable advanced praise, including the following words by Walter Buenger, Chief Historian of the Texas State Historical Association, who wrote, “Taylor has provided newcomers and old timers with an affectionate guide to the history and folklore of Marfa and the Big Bend country. Written with verve and an eye for the compelling character and revealing detail, Marfa for the Perplexed is sure to charm and enthrall all who read it.”

Consisting of roughly 60 essays about people and places in and around Marfa, Marfa for the Perplexed exposes the rich mix of cultures that underlies the current Marfa scene by revealing that the town and Presidio County have always been a refuge for eccentrics and individualists, many of whom are discussed in the book’s pages. It is illustrated throughout by Alpine, Texas artist Avram Dumitrescu and features a thoughtful foreword by Marfa’s Sterry Butcher. In addition to the previously mentioned book release at the Crowley Theater, Avram Dumitrescu will open an exhibition of his illustrations for the book at the Greasewood Gallery, located inside the Hotel Paisano, on Saturday, March 31 from 6-8pm.

Following this weekend’s celebrations, the author will embark on a short tour in support of the book. Taylor has readings and signings scheduled in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Davis and Alpine, and there may be more.

Copies of the book will be available at most area bookstores beginning April 4, and is already available for pre-order online at marfabookco.com.

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Judd Foundation launches public program featuring visiting scholars

Mar
15

MARFA – Judd Foundation is pleased to announce a new public program in partnership with Marfa Book Co. The series is an opportunity for scholars conducting research in the Judd Foundation Archives to present informal talks on new research while working in Marfa.

The presentations will explore and engage scholarship for the larger topics of which the researcher is involved including the work of Donald Judd.

The first program within the series will be on Monday, March 19 at 6pm at the Crowley Theater. Art historian Alex Kitnick will discuss Donald Judd’s early paintings installed in the Cobb House and Whyte Building, as well as 13 works from 1959 to 1961 that will be included in the exhibition “Donald Judd: Paintings” at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami this April.

The event is free and open to the public.

“The work of visiting scholars often expresses and expands the impact of Don’s legacy in academic journals, independent publications, and an increasing range of media,” notes Rainer Judd, Co-President. “Through this new program, Judd Foundation is excited to share the work done by these researchers with the community.”

Judd Foundation archival holdings include published and unpublished writings, correspondence, photographs, film and video, drawings, museum and gallery files, fabricator files, exhibition records and ephemera, and publications, totaling 1,200 linear feet. The Judd Foundation Archives remain the primary source for scholarly research related to Donald Judd.

Alex Kitnick, The Brant Foundation Fellow in Contemporary Arts, is an art historian and critic based in New York. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Art & Archaeology at Princeton University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles. An editor of numerous volumes, including a collection of John McHale’s writings, The Expendable Reader: Articles on Art, Architecture, Design, and Media, 1951-1979, and October 136 on New Brutalism, he is also a frequent contributor to publications including Artforum, May, October, and Texte zur Kunst.

Judd Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization created to preserve the permanently installed living and working spaces of Donald Judd in New York and Marfa, Texas. The Foundation promotes a wider understanding of Judd’s artistic legacy by providing access to these spaces and resources and by developing scholarly and educational programs.

For more information on the Visiting Scholar program please contact marfa@juddfoundation.org or 432-729-4406 ext. 1.

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El Paso film fest accepting Local Flavor entries

Mar
15

EL PASO – The 11th El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival is now accepting submissions for Local Flavor, the region’s largest showcase of locally made and connected films.

The non-competitive film series, sponsored by the Texas Film Commission, features short and feature-length films of various types, including fiction, documentary, animated, experimental and music video.

There is no entry fee. It’s FREE. Entry deadline is 11:59pm June 15, 2018.

Submissions may be made at plazaclassic.com/localflavor.

Any type of film may be submitted. No works-in-progress will be accepted. Projects must have been completed January 1, 2017 or after, and must be made locally, locally set or have a connection of some kind to the El Paso-Juarez-Las Cruces area (such as a director originally from El Paso). Entries selected for the Local Flavor series will be announced in July.

This year’s Local Flavor series will be curated by El Paso filmmaker Zach Passero, who has been involved with the Plaza Classic Film Festival since it began in 2008. He has worked as a director, producer, editor, animator and actor on films such as Wicked Lake, Motel, Glimpse, All Cheerleaders Die, The Woman, By the River, and James and the Giant Peach.

The Plaza Classic Film Festival celebrates its 11th anniversary August 2-12, 2018 in and around the Plaza Theatre in downtown El Paso.

Previous Local Flavor showcases have included works by At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez, cinematographer Ellie Ann Fenton, and NMSU Creative Media Institute faculty members Ilana Lapid and Ross Marks.

Call 915-533-4020 or email us at local@plazaclassic.com for more information.

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Presidio Arts Festival 2018 calls for artists

Mar
08

PRESIDIO – The Presidio Arts Festival is inviting local artists, student artists, professional and amateur alike, dance groups, musicians, performers and cultural organizations to participate in the 11th annual Presidio Arts Festival.

This event will be an annual celebration that will be held this year on April 6-7.

Artists, musicians, performers, arts organizations and the community are invited to participate in the festival by running their own booths free of charge to promote and celebrate the creative activity in the Big Bend area. Venues such as businesses, restaurants and other spaces are also invited to host and/or organize arts-related events during the Festival. Food vendors are welcome but must be responsible for having their own health permits for food sales.

This year’s Festival will include:

  • Visual Arts exhibitions and activities
  • Music events
  • Asado Cookoff
  • Performance events
  • Kids events
  • Free dance Saturday night featuring La Fuerza del Rio Bravo

Special events this year include the opening Gala at the First Presidio Bank on Friday, April 6th, from 6-9 pm featuring Lamhilex Fernandez and several other artists from the Presidio area.

The Presidio Arts Festival is a celebration of the achievements, dedication and innovation of our creative community. March is Youth Art Month, celebrated nationally across the U.S. and the festival will showcase the fine work of students of all ages from this area.

If you have any questions about how to be involved or you would like to propose an event or activity, phone Laurie Holman at 432-295-1733 or email at lholman@presidio-isd.net.

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Ballroom announces full sked for Marfa Myths

Mar
08

MARFA – Ballroom Marfa and Mexican Summer are excited to share the full schedule for this year’s festival. All Access Passes have sold out, but fear not, single show tickets are available now.

The line-up features legends of British post-punk, Wire, and Brazilian Tropicália, Tom Zé, experimental folk vocalists / composers Jessica Pratt, Circuit Des Yeux, and The Weather Station, psychedelic pop purveyor Drugdealer, acclaimed country singer and visual artist Terry Allen, fast folk raconteur Ryley Walker, Detroit dance producer Omar-S, Moroccan trance sextet Innov Gnawa, Austin minimalist ensemble Thor & Friends and NYC’s maximalist Helado Negro Ensemble, pioneering electronic synthesist Suzanne Ciani, serene sound surveyor Laraaji, the site-specific Gravity Hill audio / visual collaboration of Jem Cohen, Guy Picciotto, and company, and many more.

Unfortunately, Senyawa can no longer make it to Myths this year, but we’ve added a few new artists to the original line-up to keep the program stacked with sights & sounds.

More information: https://marfamyths.com/#tickets-0.

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Abuelita with a desert rose signals strength, compassion of la frontera

Mar
08

(photo by DIANA AGUIRRE ARMENDARIZ)
The political muralist El Mac’s completed work on the Presidio water tank.

By BAYLA METZGER

PRESIDIO – For the last couple of weeks, LA-based artist Miles McGregor—known as El Mac—has been spending eight to 12 hours a day in a boom lift, repainting Presidio’s water tower. This past weekend, the completed image revealed itself: it’s of an abuela, a Mexican grandmother holding a rose.

The mural is based on a woman El Mac met in Presidio named Linda Luján, who has a shop where she sells used clothing. Luján is originally from Ojinaga, Mexico, and her work has allowed her to put her kids through college. According to El Mac, Luján seemed to exemplify many people who live along the border, and cross back and forth between the U.S. and Mexico regularly. El Mac liked that her face looked maternal, because life in the hot dry Chihuahuan Desert can be pretty harsh. “Painting an image that is something softer, more welcoming, more feminine, just seemed appropriate,” El Mac said.

The idea of redesigning the water tank came up back in December. Mexican consul Francisco Jacobi approached Presidio’s city council with a proposal: The Mexican government wanted to pay for a mural to be painted in town. Jacobi didn’t have a design yet, but he said that the sense of the painting would be “that migrants are part of the community, migrants are welcome.”

Out of the 50 Mexican consulate locations where the mural could have been painted, Presidio is the smallest and most remote—but it has a particularly collaborative relationship with its neighbor to the south. Presidio and Ojinaga, Mexico work together on environmental issues, like when the Rio Grande floods, and emergency management, as in the case of fires. Next month, a major bridge expansion project will double the number of car lanes that go between the two cities. An international railroad bridge is also in the works. El Mac believes that it’s the lifestyles and relationships of the people that live here that made it a suitable location for the mural. “People are so intermixed that further separating the two sides seems unnecessary and even offensive,” he said.

Presidio resident Carlos Franca has been watching the mural’s progress. Franca crosses into Ojinaga every day to work at his family’s grocery store, where the mural can be seen from the entrance. He said the mural reminds him of his grandmothers. “It looks like a lot of people from around here, I would say, in Presidio and Ojinaga,” said Franca.

El Mac isn’t surprised that the mural has a familial feel to locals. El Mac said that when its done, the painting won’t really be of Linda Luján in Presidio, but a composite of abuelas that he’s met all around the world. When he leaves Presidio, he’ll take the faces of the people he’s met here with him. He said he may even paint a panadero from Presidio in the next city or country he travels to. “The same way people migrate, the murals migrate too,” he said. The next time you visit Presidio, look for the abuela up on the water tower. She’ll be there watching over people on both sides of the border.

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O’Keefe delights the Presidio community with his music

Mar
01

(photo by DIANA AGUIRRE ARMENDARIZ)
Greater Terlingua-area singer-songwriter Chet O’Keefe inaugurated the Presidio Bluebonnet Music Series on Friday, playing to an appreciative crowd at Saint Francis Plaza.

By DIANA AGUIRRE ARMENDARIZ

PRESIDIO – Singer-songwriter Chet O’Keefe gave a simple performance in the city of Presidio on February 23 after sunset in San Francisco Square.

“My wife and I are from New York, we were at Big Bend and we went to Presidio to eat at a restaurant and Brad Newton, who was very kind, invited us to spend the afternoon here and we are enjoying it a lot,” said Ben Norris.

The acoustic music of singer-songwriter O’Keefe kept those present from leaving despite the drop in temperature, because they were attentive to the lyrics and their very representative Texas chords.

“I really like O’Keefe’s voice, and as he tells us a story in each song, it’s very nice, it’s like reminding us that we are Texans and that this music is part of our culture and our tradition,” said Mario Rodriguez, originally from Odessa.

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