Category Art

Goldwell Open Air Museum

Plaster ghost sculptures in the form of the last supper on a wood platform.

Strange things happen in the desert. It is a place of extreme temperatures and temperaments. It is a place of rugged self-sufficiency and creative invention born of necessity. Those that survive here are the outliers. And in the remote outskirts of the Nevada desert, along the border of Death Valley National Park, is one of the strangest destinations we have encountered: the Goldwell Open Air Museum.

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Fish Rocks

Graffiti or art in the California Desert

Out in the remote California desert, a debate between art, graffiti, and history rages in slow motion at the Fish Rocks (aka "Whale Rocks" or "Fish Head Rocks,"). These painted rocks off highway 178 trace their origins back to the 1930s. Since then, the question of art vs. graffiti has swirled long enough around this rock outcropping. In the 1970s, the fish faces along with other graffiti that had accumulated over the decades were painted over to restore the natural look of the rocks. Yet, the fish faces prevail as various visitors have restored the fish faces through the years.

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The Chinati Foundation

The Chinati Foundation is a contemporary art museum. Its houses a collection of permanent installations across the rambling campus of a decommissioned air base. But it isn't a spot you just wander in to. No, It takes an appointment, a guide, and a lot of time.

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Ballroom Marfa

Ballroom Marfa is a contemporary art space in the heart of Marfa, Texas. Like all good things Marfa, it is a converted building. Before hosting films, music, and performing arts events and a gallery, the structure was a dance hall dating back to 1927.

We had a few hours to kill before our tour at the Chinati Foundation so we hit another notable art spot in town. Ballroom Marfa is a contemporary art space in the heart of town. Like all good things Marfa, it is a converted building. Before hosting films, music, and performing arts events and a gallery, the structure was a dance hall dating back to 1927.

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