Thank you Danny! Your image of Prada Marfa is beautiful! On May 24, 2008 with two of my very best friends and some 80s satellite radio to keep me company, I drove westward to Valentine, TX to see the Prada Marfa. As we drove through Valentine proper, I did not see a living soul…bit of a ghost-town it seemed. But alas, the storefront appeared – so tiny and so close to the road. We parked and walked around the building several times, took pictures, window-shopped , read the many cards of those who came before us and wondered how long ago each had passed by this place. About this time, I remember my friend Sharisse’s blackberry began wigging out. It never worked properly again for the rest of our trip – hmm…something peculiar about that west Texas land? But anyways – what did Prada Marfa mean to me? I’m not a prada girl or any other haute-couture for that matter. What stuck with me was the feel and sound of this place – a place so globally commercial, yet so desolate – the dust that kicked up as I walked, the expansive vistas and sky, and my most favorite: the whistling wind whipping around the corners of this building. The building will one day crumble…the rest has and will remain.

My wife and I stopped by the Prada Marfa (shouldn't it technically be "Prada VALENTINE"?) enroute to Marfa over the 2008 Memorial Day weekend. We are both journalists that cover the fashion business and had long heard about -- and seen photos of -- the installation. Nothing prepares you for the sight of the storefront on the side of the road in that stretch of desolate road. I was most taken not by the business cards (I've seen that sort of territory marking in bars, restaurants and what have you) but the shoes (all sneakers, no Prada shoes!) placed upside down on fenceposts along the perimeter. It reminded me of the severed heads placed on poles by jungle-dwelling tribes as a warning to possible interlopers.
I left my business card on the left (east or possibly southeast) side of the building underneath a walnut-sized rock on the narrow ledge about waist high. The odd thing was, after leaving the installation, we went out of reception range for my BlackBerry, and by the time we returned to cel service on the way back from Marfa three days later I had already received a jpg of my card from someone whom, if I recall correctly, worked at the Dallas Museum of Art and had been passing througgh with a friend. It was also fun to see the photo you sent of my card now after the time in the elements it has greyed and weathered. Someone has moced the rock, either to place on their own card or simply to read all the info.
After hearing from you I've decided that the installation reflects the way fashion/style/art unites us. Even people who don't wear Prada or don't quite "get" the installation are united by the fact that we've all physically BEEN THERE -- and I think that's why I left my card. Perhaps out of curiosity, perhaps reflexively because others had and yes as proof that I made my way out to the dusty stretch of road in the middle of nowhere Texas and got out of the car and cupped my hands to my eyes and peered inside. You can't really tuck your business card in the corner of the Mona Lisa or Niagara Falls.
I'd be curious to know the first person was to leave a business card (or a shoe!) and what THEY were thinking.
And I have to agree with Nicole above - the sound of the wind singing through the cracks in the building was an unexpected highlight.

my friend and i went to marfa a couple of months ago to get away for a long weekend and take in some donald judd. i work in the art world, and i have a phd in art history well in the works. when i was young, i was a big believer in throwing corked bottles bearing notes into the ocean, hoping that someone from far off would receive my correspondence and write me a letter at the address enclosed. your email, after finding my card in valentine, felt kinda like that. -a.

It's officially a small world. Nicole S. above? I know her and we're working on a collaborative project between both of our organizations. Who we ran into while there? My old pan Josh. Here's a few pics... http://www.sarahjanesemrad.com/blog/001110.html
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What did it mean to me? Oh I don't know. My family is from Marfa so it's funny on a level I can't really put words around. Something about poking fun of the artsy fartsy scene that Marfa has become. Perhaps it's also making a serious commentary about La Entrada possibilities. What Prada Marfa's decay will mean near an 8 lane super highway bring cheap goods (and tons o' drugs) from across the border.... Thanks for the cool opportunity to comment here. Love the pics!

Danny sent us all email asking us to comment on what we thought the store meant to us. It's a very interesting question and not one that I had given much thought about until just now. Weeks after returning from West Texas, I've been able to bring some clarity to my emotions.

My thoughts on the Prada store are outlined in my most recent blog entry . You can find my blog at http://exit83.com.

Thanks Danny for posting about this!

My wife and I went to Marfa for the first time in May of this year and absolutely fell in love with the town. A good friend had been trying to get us to Marfa for about 4 years and we finally pulled the trigger and went. Because we own a gallery we had known about Marfa and had heard many great things. We were so blown away when we finally made it to Marfa that we instantly decided to open a second gallery there. Our gallery was open within 45 days of our first trip and we have been back 4 times in the past 3 months. The differences between Marfa and Connecticut are so vast that it is like landing on another planet when we roll into town. We have made many great friends in Marfa, it has instantly become a home away from home and we feel that our connection to this amazing little town will last for generations. We will be bringing our 2 small children, Sam and Owen, to Marfa next week. We can’t wait to see the reaction they have to the landscape, friendly people and the drastic change in lifestyle. If you are reading this and you have never made it to Marfa make sure you take the time to see this oasis in the middle of the west Texas dessert. Some highlights include: Chinati Foundation, Ballroom Marfa, marfa.org, Food Shark, Pizza Foundation, Marfa Book, Galleri Urbane, Indie/Jacobs, and of course Samuel Owen Gallery.

Danke Danny, it was a pleasant surprise to hear from you. A year ago I moved from San Antonio, TX to Alpine and have been to Marfa many times. It's such a special place out here in the "Wild West" ..... I love it and find the relaxed and stress free life style most appealing. Finally, I visited the Prada Store installation to also show it to my visiting brother from Australia. Contrary to me, he happens to enjoy and emphasize on buying high- end designer clothing. It was a joy to watch, him getting and internalizing the artist's intend and content. What a successful and fun piece of art.
Congrats to the creators.

"What the...?!!!" It was just after dusk and everyone else in the car was asleep or looking elsewhere. We were all from California for the first time in the area and had just gotten over the huge radar blimp we had passed. "I think we just passed a Prada store" I said. "Yeah right." said katie who probably owns a Prada product or two. We were on a tight schedule but I was determined to stop on the way back in a few days. Sure enough there it was. Now they believe me.

This was only my second time to the Marfa area and didn't have time to see the Storefront the last time I was there. I wish there was more works of art like this. I really enjoyed the building and hope that it's left as is for future generations to see. If your ever in the Marfa area or passing through West Texas make sure you make a quick pitstop at the Prada store.

On our way back from Marfa to El Passo, we stopped at the Prada Store. An article I wrote for hART, a Belgian contemporary art magazine, ended like this:

“In Marfa, everyone is running away from something. It is the perfect place to be who you are, or to change who you are”, a local claimed at a party one night. With these remarks in mind we leave town and come, once again, across ‘Prada Marfa’, Scandinavian artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset’s strangely displayed Prada store in the empty desert. In retrospect, this art piece perfectly summarizes Marfa’s exceptional constellation of an authentic Texas small town as well as a restorative location fashioned by trends of global contemporary culture.

Howdy. I went to the Marfa Film Festival in May 2008 with a few friends from the Libertine Gallery in Austin, TX. The Marfa Film Festival was amazing!! We took the short drive to Valentine (about 30 min) to see the Prada Installation -- and I am so glad we did! It is out in the middle of nowhere, and while many people 'just don't get it' one must appreciate the artistic value in this unusual installation. Check out the Fall 2005 shoe and handbag collection from Prada in Valentine, TX.