West Texas Triology Part 3: Chinati Foundation and Donald Judd

One of the reasons I went to Marfa was to go to the Chinati Foundation to see the works of Donald Judd and others.

In the interest of time and space Google Donald Judd. He was a NYC art critic and artist who adopted Marfa as his home in the early '70s. He had an incredible vision to acquire land and large spaces for installations of large scale minimalist art pieces. He got major bucks from a well endowed art foundation and bought an entire abandoned Army base. The Chinati Foundation has his work as well as other artists. The Judd Foundation also in Marfa is dedicated to his life and work. While this type of art isn't my favorite, I admire the vision he had and the very large way in which he implemented his vision. Visitors from all over the world who are into this type of art visit Marfa to see his unusual work and the way it is displayed. The pic on the left is his signature work of 100 large aluminum boxes, each of which has some variation of its design. They were machined at a special factory in CT. They are housed in two buildings ( one of which is shown above) that were old ammunitions storage building on the base. Many many buildings have been redone to hold massive installations of like minded artists. Judd also has a signature installation outside of concrete blocks. I can't really do this justice with a few pix and words. One of his pals was Claes Oldenburg. The big horseshoe shown above is an Oldenburg installation. I know Odenburg work: the clothespin near City Hall in Philadelphia and the large rubber "FREE" stamp in Cleveland. You too may have seen Oldenburg work, known as witty, outdoor, very large statues of common items in many major cities. Google him too if you have time. His work is awesome.

What does any of this have to do with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society? At first, nothing at all. I went to Marfa for a weekend outing. After I returned home Sunday night, I looked on the internet to find out more about Judd. I found out that he died of Lymphoma in 1994 at the age of 65. So, a creative life was snuffed out by a blood cancer at a young age. Very sad.

More on Adams Angels Ministry...it was formed in memory of Adam Culliver who died at age 4 of AML. In addition to family support for impacted families, this ministry advocates at the State and Federal level for funding for childhood cancers. Adams Angels participated in the work to pass the Caroline Pryce Walker Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2008. This act authorizes funding to expand fderal support for cooperatve biomedical clinical trials and research to advance treatments of childhood cancers. Adam's parents are board members of Adams Angels Ministry. Adam is my honored angel this weekend.

Something to be thankful for: a visit to the McDonald Observatory in the Davis Mts and seeing the International Space Station in orbit.

West Texas Triology Part 1: I *heart* Marfa, Tx

I never intended to write a travelogue. It just turned out that way. I spent the weekend in Marfa, TX and thereabouts. I have so much to write that I will do it in three segments. I did my long training in Marfa on Saturday. I am quite careful about safety, waiting until sun-up and using less traveled roads. Next week I will be in yet another place but will have benefit of having my coach with me. :-) I am reaching a critical point with only 12 weeks to go. Marathon training is very standardized. Tues, Wed, and Thur = 3-4 miles each day. Fri = cross training. Sat = long session, gradually increasing with two 20 mi sessions before the event. Sun = easy cross training. Mon = rest day. The whole program should be a min of 16 weeks. I have a 20 week program since I am no jock.

I am absolutely smitten with Marfa. Why? it seems to embody everything about being a Texan but with some NYC art scene mixed in on top of the cowboy stuff. Trivia questions: What three well known movies were filmed in Marfa? Hint #1: all three won Oscars. The town and its surroundings are like a vast movie set, only better. While walking around, I had the urge to look over my shoulder to see if a young, beautiful Elizabeth Taylor was there ( Hint #2). Answer is at end of blog.

Marfa has galleries, road houses, Mexican food, upscale shops, one stop light, and real cowboys walking around. The picture above on the left is the Presidio County courthouse, certainly the jewel and center of Marfa. I am already warming Joe up to the idea of a Big Bend vacation. We will need a week to do it all. In my next two posts I will cover: 2) Alpine, Marathon, and Randy Quaid; 3) Chinati Foundation and Donald Judd.

My honored angel for the week is Adam Cullivar. He was a darling 4 year old who became ill with severe symptoms related to leukemia and who died only four days later. I cannot imagine the pain for his family to cope with such a sudden death, with little time to adjust and say goodbye. His story and a tribute to him are on this link:

www.adamsangelsministry.org/adams-story

Leukemia facts for this week. In 2005, which was the last year data was collected, there were almost 19,000 bone marrow transplants (BMTs) performed, largely for people suffering from blood cancers. Most of the transplants are allogeneic, that is bone marrow that isn't from an identical twin. Even with traditional siblings, there is only a one in four chance that a sibling provides a suitable match. Most people are therefore forced to go through the National Marrow Donor Program Registry in hope of finding a match. Many people die before a suitable match is found. Matches are more or less difficult depending on race & ethnicity.

Patients who receive a bone marrow transplant are often not responding to traditional chemo treatments. The transplants are high risk but can be high reward for extending life a significant period of time. Mary Travers, part of Peter Paul and Mary, died in Sept from leukemia complications. She had received a bone marrow transplant in 2006, which significantly extended her life. She was able to return to a performing schedule after her BMT.

Things to be thankful for: seeing antelope and roadrunners.

Movie trivia answer: Giant, No Country For Old Men, and There Will be Blood. Did you know that already?