Esoteric Survey

Marfa, Texas Population: 1,981 (2010 Census)
Marfa has a water tower
There's a book shop, Marfa Book Co.
A food truck too, Food Shark
The local coffee and ice cream shop, Frama
The vintage shop, Cast + Crew (super nice owners)
The craft and dry goods store, Tienda M.  The tumbleweed lamp is so cool.
Tienda M has a Shiro Kuramata vase as a prop (that means not for sale).  Wait, what, a Kuramata vase? 
Marfa National Bank building, now owned by the Judd Foundation. These are the sort of cues that let you know Marfa is not your typical West Texas small town.
The Drive-In is run by Ballroom Marfa
Ballroom Marfa art center The ratio of space dedicated to art in Marfa has got to be higher than almost anywhere else in the country. 
The only chain store in Marfa is an art project, by artists Elmgreen and Dragset.  Prada Marfa is a mandatory photo stop. It's also technically not in Marfa.

In 1966, Alexander Girard designed the interior of The Compound restaurant in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 


For the most part, the restaurant looks as is did in 1966. One exception is the missing "Sansi and Friends" mural on the right . The mural, by Girard,depicts his daughter and four others at a table. The red text painting on the left is now black.  Source:ALEXANDER GIRARD,by Todd Oldham & Kiera Coffee
2013 The Girard fabric tiles are still on the ceiling, no Sansi.  
1966 Source:ALEXANDER GIRARD,by Todd Oldham & Kiera Coffee

2013 I made a reservation for the table right under the brass face. I had the wild mushrooms with organic stone ground polenta.


 Food mural next to the kitchen
The Navajo rug ceiling patchwork is still there. 

Alexander Girard mural at the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque, 1965
The mural is made of 5,000 tiles of reclaimed wood that were collected by Girard and his son Marshall.
Each of the 22 symbols represents a different faith. From the First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque website: "Unitarian Universalist churches are non-creedal churches. We don't have one set of beliefs that everyone must share in order to join. Therefore, our churches are very diverse, theologically speaking. You will find liberal Christians, atheists, agnostics, pagans, Buddhists, and believers in all varieties of higher powers worshipping together, discussing their beliefs, and learning from each other. We think that diversity enriches us all as we talk about a reality that none of us can possibly know completely."







The key
The mural was originally installed in this space but a new larger sanctuary was built adjacent to this room and the mural was recently moved. The church staff person who was nice en…

Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, AZ, 1956. Richard Hein was the project architect and it was executed by August K. Strotz. Both architects were from the firm Anshen & Allen.
Pre-chapel Sedona Source: Sedona (Images of America), by Lisa Schnebly Heidinger, Janeen Trevillyan, and the Sedona Historical Society


The approach
If some sort of god were ever going to come down from the heavens, I'm pretty sure this would be the landing spot. Hey, what's that up at the top of the picture?


There are a series of these sculptural candleholders by Bernard "Tony" Rosenthal.
Hallelujah