COLLABORATION: RESEARCH

 ELMGREEN & DRAGSET: PRADA MARFA

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PROJECT TITLE: Prada Marfa

ARTISTS: Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset

PRODUCERS: Art Production Fund and Ballroom Marfa

DATE: October 1, 2005

LOCATION: Marfa, Texas

'On 1 October 2005, Elmgreen & Dragset inaugurated a 15ft-wide white building made of adobe brick, designed with the help of the architects Ronald Rael and Virginia San Fratello. Like a real boutique, it featured the Prada logos on two big black signs and two awnings on the facade, and, visible through the glass storefront, rows of shoes sat single-file on illuminated shelves. (Despite the work’s critique of her brand, a delighted Miuccia Prada donated shoes and purses from her autumn/winter 2005 collection.)' (Zara, 2019)

Beyonce

This site-specific installation is Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset’s ironic take on luxury shopping.
The Prada store is located in the middle of the Texas desert instead of in the centre of a wealthy city. The installation was received both positively and with acts of vandalism. After 15 years, the authors returned to where the installation was located and to their surprise, it still remained in place. They assumed it would "just disappear". It turned out that the installation became a popular attraction, appreciated even by such celebrities as Beyonce.

The installation itself is eye-catching and unpredictable. I would never expect real Prada shoes and purses inside but they are really there. Prada store, in the middle of nowhere, is definitely something unusual. It will surely be remembered by everyone who sees it.

'Since 1995 Michael Elmgreen (b.1961 Denmark) and Ingar Dragset (b.1969 Norway) have collaborated to produce a range of installations and performance pieces. Their projects challenge spatial limitations by transforming various fields of the public realm into surreal environments. Recent exhibitions include: “End Station” The Bohen Foundation, New York; “Just a Single Wrong Move”; Tate Modern, London; "Universal Experiences: Art, Life, and the Tourist´s Eye"; MCA, Chicago". Elmgreen & Dragset are represented by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Galleria Massimo de Carlo, Milan; Klosterfelde, Berlin; Taka Ishii Gallery, Tokyo. The artists live and work in Berlin.' (APF, n.d.)

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References:

Top 10 most iconic art and fashion collaborations. (2019) [Online] Artland.com. Available from: https://magazine.artland.com/top-10-iconic-art-fashion-collaborations/ [Accessed 02/19/21].

Zara, J. (2019) Prada in the desert: how a fake luxury boutique became a Texas landmark. [Online] The Guardian, Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/03/prada-marfa-texas-sculpture-boutique [Accessed 02/19/21].

Fund, A.P. ELMGREEN & DRAGSET: PRADA MARFA. [Online] Artproductionfund.org. Available from: http://www.artproductionfund.org/projects/elmgreen-and-dragset-prada-marfa [Accessed 02/19/21].