Big Bend Texas Galleries & Artists 2017 | Page 19

BIG BEND BOOKS

Inspired Architecture

Homes mimic minimalist artist ’ s style

Marfa Modern : Artistic Interiors of the West Texas High Desert , a new book by author Helen Thompson with photography by Casey Dunn , brings us the " built environment " of Marfa with text and photography vibrantly communicating the character of the interiors of twenty-one singular dwellings .
The book profiles homes in Marfa and the surrounding area reflecting the minimalist architecture , interiors and furniture espoused by artist Donald Judd , who came to Marfa in the early 1970 ' s .
The homes featured reflect various categories , from older historic structures , to more recent modern homes to somewhat improvised dwellings creatively using elements and materials some might discard . They visually incorporate in
" Each construction is a window in time , an opportunity to lessen the fraught velocity of our frenzied times ; in Marfa , this is soon forgotten or rendered barely audible against the incomparable beauty of the desert ."
thoughtful ways the land they inhabit .
Photographing these homes took two years and was sustained by the generous cooperation of the homeowners who " credited the grand landscape as the single most important reason for moving to Marfa ." The author maintains " that every homeowner represented here deserves to be considered a visual artist in his or her own right .”
As you enter these original and inventive
- Carlos Jiménez , Rice University Professor of Architecture , from the Forward homes through words and pictures , you will experience the creativity of the owners and the effort given by them to meld the dwelling , the landscape and the artistic ideal .
See more pictures from the book at GalleriesArtists . com
by Riley Stephens
About the Authors
Helen Thompson is a nationally known writer whose areas of specialty include interior design , architecture , and food . She was formerly a food writer and editor for Texas Monthly magazine and the Texas city editor for Metropolitan Home magazine . She has also written and produced articles for Architectural Digest , Dwell , Elle Decor , House Beautiful , Martha Stewart Living , Traditional Home , Veranda , and many
other magazines . She is the author of The Big Texas Steakhouse Cookbook and The Mansion on Turtle Creek Cookbook .
Casey Dunn is an Austin-based architectural and landscape photographer whose work has appeared in Architectural Digest , Architectural Record , Dwell , Interior Design magazine , the New York Times Magazine , and Paper City .
Available locally at Front Street Books , Alpine .
BIG BEND GALLERIES AND ARTISTS / 2017 19