I love following Gray Malin on Instagram. His photos are incredible. A recent post brought to my awareness the fact that Prada Marfa is under threat of being demolished due to the Texas Department of Transportation. This modern art piece is a permanently installed sculpture by artists Elmgreen and Dragset, situated about 37 mi northwest of the city of Marfa. The installation was inaugurated on October 1, 2005. The artists called the work a “pop architectural land art project.” The sculpture was intended to never be repaired, so it might slowly degrade back into the natural landscape.*
Prada Marfa was made culturally popular by its regular appearance on Gossip Girl, and yes, I did order myself a Prada Marfa sign for our house (sorry, Sasha!).
The Texas Department of Transportation recently deemed the installation to be a form of advertising akin to a billboard. Given this categorization, Prada Marfa needs to be licensed by the state, but the area in which it stands isn’t eligible for this type of permit. Fans are rallying around this iconic art piece on Facebook. You can read more about the details of the initial ruling here.
Some of my favorite photos of Prada Marfa are those from Gray Malin’s Prada Marfa collection below.
