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Panhandle Latte Art

This work was created by Adam Herbster, one of my students and a barista at the award-winning Palace Coffee in Canyon, Texas.

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This color print by Rick Rueda is called “Mex Randall” and it is a parody of the Tex Randall monumental statue of a cowboy in Canyon, Texas nearby WTAMU. Students appreciated Rick’s political messages relevant to current debates in America about immigration and “building walls.” 

“I like this piece because it is a spin on a statue everyone knows here in Canyon, but the content also speaks on a global/national level. The colors are also beautiful.” - Lezly V.

“It’s a visually interesting image. Also it has content that is a conversation about current topics in politics.” - Timothy W.

“The tie into modern events is really appropriate and it is printed and illustrated well.” - Braden M.

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This piece was completed in clay by Heather Hofstetter, and her fellow students were really impressed:

“I like that she made this as an interpretation of the [Hindu sculptures of] women that are in Amarillo Museum of Art (AMoA). You can really tell what it was inspired by.” - Dulce F.

“Done very well and great detail. Her rendering of the dancer and representation of that style of art is spot on. With the eyes closed and large jewelry, it seems even more similar and familiar.” - Rick R.

“The research she did was amazing. I like how she used the collections we have and expanded on the Hindu statues.” - Braden M.

“This is one of the best pieces that I liked the most. . . It shows great meaning and talent. It was also one of only two sculptures for our class final.” - Miguel L.

“I enjoyed the detail work that went into the project. You can tell that the artist was truly inspired by the subject she was drawing from. The piece is very reverent and beautiful.” - Kaitlin J.

“I like the call back to the pieces in the Price Collection as Southeast/East Asian art is inherently fascinating to me.” - Taryin T.

“I really appreciate that she continued the theme of Asian work in Amarillo. It ties in with this class and you can tell she worked hard on it.” - Lezly V.

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This work is by Makayla Ksor, and it features a number of artworks from the area, including a Cadillac Ranch belt with an Elaine de Kooning buckle, the Ozymandias Legs come to life, the Marsh signs, and Smithson’s Amarillo Ramp. Here’s what her fellow students said:

“I really enjoyed her comedic take on the feel of Amarillo art. . . This was the only work that made me smile.” - Bethany W.

“This is so bright and colorful and shows all the things we learned about in such a creative way. A cowboy (very relevant in the art world here) running with feet similar to the Ozy legs, wearing a belt dedicated to Elaine de Kooning’s bull paintings.” - Amanda D.

“I like this illustration because of how she tied many art pieces together in a hilarious piece that just makes me smile.” - Taylor G.

“I like looking at this piece and figuring out all of the references and imagery involved. It’s funny and relevant.” - Corbin C.

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This found object guitar was designed by Jesse Lee. Here’s what students had to say:

“The rag-tag look fits the on-the-road theme of our region.” - Ryan D.

“I like the fact that it’s a found object sculpture and that everything on it is from this area. Nothing was bought online. He took the time to go and find the pieces.” - Kayla C.

“I like this piece because it collected items from pawn shops, trash and craft stores. The base is made from a military ammo can which is so creative and relevant for the area.” - Amanda D.

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This work was a collaboration between two students, Lexi Taylor and Kenzie Smith. Here’s what their fellow students had to say:

“I enjoy this tribute to Stanley Marsh 3 because it really captures the weird aura that Marsh had as well as the works he is well known for.” - Tiffany R.

“This is an interesting take on the entropy of the Cadillac Ranch and Stanley Marsh’s legacy in general” - Sydney W.

“As a print minor, I found this piece very interesting to look at visually and also I think the composition works really well.” - Timothy W.

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This work was designed by Corbin Cary, and his fellow students had these great observations to say about his work:

“Macabre whimsy. Grids reminiscent of Amarillo streets. Colored squares reflective of diversity. Very fun and memorable.” - Jesse L.

“Corbin’s work was one of my favorites because he went the extra mile and created an actual sign. This makes me wonder if it will end up in a yard somewhere. Will people be able to tell it isn’t a part of the original Dynamite Museum project?” - Bethany W.

“I like its size, craftsmanship and color. The biggest reason that it stands out to me is because I was born and raised in Amarillo, and the Stanley Marsh signs have been a part of my entire life here. Now that Stanley is dead, I have always wondered what will happen to his signs and my biggest fear is that they will just disappear altogether. So Corbin’s work got me thinking, why can’t we carry on what Stanley has made, and keep this historical piece of Amarillo going?” - Kenzie S.

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This work is called Entropy in Motion by Jordan Bryant. During peer review in our class, several of Jordan’s fellow students wrote comments:

“This work shows the deterioration of the Amarillo Ramp in a well-formed, fluid time-lapse animation. It also captures the entropy theme that we discussed in class.” - Ann L.

“I honestly just find this piece interesting to look at, and I can imagine how many frames and time it took to make.” - Timothy W.

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Creative notes from class. Love!

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Public art or not?

“We also went in a building to look at a mural and got yelled at because of some of the class didn’t realize we couldn’t take picture. This in itself is kind of ridiculous. I don’t see why they would be such sticklers about keeping it private. Isn’t its purpose to be viewed and shared?” – Bethany W.

“When we were nearly kicked out at a court building I learned how unfair it is to keep historical artwork away from the public to prevent copyright issues.” – Amanda D.

“Then the class went to a government building where a mural resides, but no photos can be taken for security reasons. There was some irony of a public building keeping the art only to those who work there or anyone who has to go inside the building out of necessary.” – Ann L.

http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasArt/Amarillo-Texas-Julius-Woeltz-WPA-Murals.htm

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Daguerreotype of a young woman from the PPHM Research Collection.

“After having seen the collection of old photographs in the research center, I began to think for myself why and how photos are viewed differently between now and then. One thing that I noticed is that people seemed to dress their absolute best for photos, whereas in our time we could be wearing or doing just about anything. Today we use photos to capture events. In those times, the photograph was the event.” – Ryan D.

Ambrotype in case from the PPHM Research Center collection.

“The obsession with being able to capture a moment in time to preserve, not to mention being able to have an accurate depiction of one’s visage, is what I find most interesting about portraiture and photography. The amount of reality that humanity wishes to capture in an image while simultaneously wishing to adjust certain aspects of the captured image to present an idealized identity within a mostly realistic depiction is what I find captivating.” Taryin T.

Photograph of a party at the Frying Pan Ranch, from the PPHM Research Center Collection.

“The popularity and affordability [of early photographs] meant that you might only have a few treasured images of those near and dear to you; their scarcity influencing how these people were remembered. And Tinder (the dating website) operates almost in the same way by giving us just a few keepsakes to remember out potential mates by…The unifying threat running through each of these projects is how central photography is to human memory and recollection…[The] human subject becomes both subject and object, a duality particularly salient in photography….[Photographs] are completely superficial, and yet we place a huge value on their accuracy. Whether we are looking for our mother in old photographs [like Roland Barthes] or browsing for someone new online, we are letting the images we see speak for themselves.” – Kaitlin J.

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“It was really cool to read and see actual letters O’Keeffe wrote. Honestly, seeing her penmanship made me fall in love with her a little bit, as it was somewhat hard to decipher, but so beautiful and unique….Obviously, this place and the people here had a very large impact on her life. It’s cool to know that somewhere that I see a insignificant, like Canyon, had such a large impact on such a larger-than-life artist.” - Corbin C.

 “Her hand written letters to him were very hard to distinguish. She wrote in cursive and some of her letters were of her own creation. She used a lot of extra markings that had no purpose. Her T’s looked like strange distorted 6′s. Once our class was able to decipher [one letter], we understood that it was an invitation. She was [having an art show and was] asking Ted if he would like to come, saying that he would be one of only two people who knew her as long as he did. She stated that she may lose him in the crowd of people, which is an indication she was already becoming famous…We also got the chance to figure out that Ted did end up going…She sent him a more personal letter saying that she was happy that he can and that she wanted to thank him in person. She also didn’t put her full signature; she had only written ‘G.’” - Alexis T.

“We met in class, broke into groups, and tried to decipher one of [O’Keeffe’s] letters written in cursive. This was fairly difficult for us because our generation barely uses cursive…This showed me how difficult it can be to gather history this way and how easily facts could be messed up….Overall, we got to view O’Keeffe in a much more human way than just a famous artist.” - Ben S.

“The letters we got to see from Georgia to Ted gave us a connection to the real life that they were living. This was something you can’t gain from just reading about people in textbooks or looking at articles on the computer….The activities that we did during this week brought us closer to knowing O’Keeffe and allowed us to see what she was like underneath the guarded and hard exterior she put out to the public.” - Brooke M.

“O’Keeffe, who was known for running hot and cold with people, never seemed to be that way with Ted; she always wanted contact with him even after she became famous.” - Makayla K.

Ted Reid’s wife Ruby, from the WT yearbook, 1919. Ruby was the grandmother of our guest speakers, a student of O’Keeffe, and a longtime friend of the artist like Ted.

“It was also so neat to see history in living form….This week we were in the presence of Ted Reid’s granddaughter and great-granddaughter. It was incredible to feel how real they made Georgia O’Keeffe feel. The relationship between Georgia and Ted was one that was very secret and hard to decipher. The most fascinating aspect of hearing the two ladies’ stories, was hearing details regarding the relationship that weren’t necessarily reported in the history books….I do wonder what it was about Ted that made Georgia pick him. After all, he was a rancher.” - Adam H.

“Both of our speakers this week were full of anecdotes that had been passed onto them and I thought this aspect was fascinating. Often people have these god-like perceptions of artists and we hardly ever think of them as having lives outside of just making art….Also I thought the great-granddaughter was just so fortunate to be able to dive into a personal family genealogy journey as well as an art history journey. Both sound equally fascinating. I also appreciated getting to hold some physical letters hand written by O’Keeffe herself. These were little relics from a hidden world….Knowing that such an inspiration and influential person like O’Keeffe could have a simple problem like spelling was quite compelling actually. Her handwriting itself was a wonder to see…much like a beautiful secret code.” - Lauren D.

“In class this week we had two visiting speakers, family members of Ted Reid. These two lovely ladies spoke to us about their granddad and great granddad. It was great to hear stories about ‘Old Pap’ and his life here in Canyon and his relationship with Georgia O’Keeffe. It is crazy to me that the stories actually happened here in the same region, same place but a very different time. It almost seemed like a fictional book coming to life, like stories from a different world….Even thought Ted and Georgia were very different, they still got along very well and stayed in touch for the rest of their lives. I also find it sweet and almost romantic how Georgia never made a drawing or painting of Ted. She saw him differently and and he meant so much more to her than so many of the other men she was associated with, the men she would paint and draw….She said there was not a line fine enough to define Ted.” - Dulce F.

“I think the best part of this experience was being able to see the emotion of our speakers. I could tell it was difficult at times to speak about Ted, I could also see when they were excited to tell us a funny story.  Combining these emotions with the content of our weekly objectives made the experience become more real in a sense that the history we are learning about is still alive because of the existing people now.” - Lezly V.

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Was Stanley Marsh 3 an Artist in Amarillo?

“I do not think we should just expunge his art and the study of it from the public record. You cannot learn anything from omission…I do not have the answers, but I think it is something that still needs to contemplated rather than just overtly deny engaging ourselves with it.” – Kaitlin J.

“Similar to many of the works he commissioned, he himself tried to be larger than life. It can’t be denied that Marsh helped push the art in Amarillo to grow as well as become more progressive. I don’t think one has to accept or come to terms with Stanley Marsh as a person to appreciate what he has done for the arts….I don’t feel it is appropriate to push to destroy the works he had commissioned….they aren’t pieces of art he made himself and there are [many] others who worked to creat them. Whether for good or back, they are a significant part of Amarillo’s history.” – Sydney W.

“Stanley Marsh 3 was known for making up fables to incorporate with the works that he created and funded. This can be seen in the video news broadcast created during the 20th anniversary of the Cadillac Ranch.” – Brooke M.

“Overall I feel that Stanley Marsh 3 was a very interesting and complicated man that enjoyed the eccentricities of life….I personally struggle to allow myself the freedom to entertain my most whimsical thoughts and ideas. So I appreciate the brazen joy of all the weirdness. Mr. Marsh has infused the ether of Amarillo with a type of whimsy that never would have existed without a character such as him.” – Heather H.

“People in this area and many ‘middle of nowhere’ type places enjoy a good story. In fact, they speak in stories, always exaggerating some elements of the story….They tend to know other people’s stories, other people’s business, and put their own spin on it depending on who they are talking to. I think it is because of this that Stanley Marsh 3 and the Ant Farm are regarded well among the younger Amarillo based art students. Because [their works are] story like, even if it is one big joke.” – Taylor G.

“I do believe the signs are art and now are an important part to Amarillo’s history. I personally feel even if an artist does something despicable their works don’t suddenly stop being art. I wouldn’t really consider his art the greatest but I do believe it’s best to view it through an unbiased eye. Marsh was an eccentric, strange man, shrouded in controversy. I would answer the question of is his art really art with an ‘of course.” However, I also think art doesn’t have to be good to be considered art.” – Bethany W.

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Amarillo Street Art: The Dynamite Museum Sign Project

“The writing on the signs ranges from deeply powerful to completely over the top. The interesting thing to me about the signs is that someone has to be approached and agree to have it placed on their property and I think some of these give interesting insight into what kind of people they are.” – Sydney W.

“The Dynamite Museum was inspired by the idea of taking the art into the real world and challenging the boundaries that usual museum placed on art.” – Brooke M.

“One interesting thing to me specifically, since I have worked as a sign maker for the National Park Service, is how the signs were made. Some were traditionally painted, some were among the first digitally printed signs…I feel that if it were not for the wide variety of artists working for Marsh that he would never had been able to come up with such incredibly interesting works.” - Ben S.

“Looking at the photographs of the signs, I realized that the houses [where they were located] looked worn and old. The neighborhoods aren’t really nice, they’re not even quite middle class, which maybe opens up the Dynamite Museum and art to less wealthy people in the area. Art is not limited to the rich but can also be shared and enjoyed by the lower class citizens of the area.” – Dulce F.

“At one point in my early twenties, I lived out of my great grandparents’ house after they passed and they had one of Stanley’s signs in the front yard. It was a plain painting of an owl. I always thought it was cool to have a piece of history in the front yard. I haven’t been back to the house in many years, so I am unsure if it is still there, but I am hoping it will remain on the property for everyone’s viewing pleasure….Is it art? I am not sure if the signs themselves are necessarily art or aesthetically pleasing…but the story behind them, the history, the bizarreness, wanting to know why, all of those reasons I think make them art.” – Kenzie S.

“The signs that are up around town are things that I have seen but not that I have paid attention to. I enjoyed [our site visits] this week because…that opened my eyes to…how something that is so big can go unnoticed.” - Korbin R.

“I really resonated in the comparison I realized during class, about the signs being some type of representation of Marsh himself. Strange, standoffish, charming yet offensive, mysterious, yet altogether amazingly creative and influential. As an artist, it’s my dream to someday do something similar to what Marsh and the Dynamite Museum artists created here in Amarillo. Something that unites the city in some strange way. Something that is street art, but not. Something that is pop art, but not.” – Corbin C.

“Each sign is different, and can range in color, text, and all-around design. I can understand why some may feel that this is not a valid form of art, but I have an appreciation for its style. It appeals to the culture of the area, and shows a huge variety that is practically endless. It’s able to be fully personalized to fit just about anyone.” – Ryan D.

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Stanley Marsh Art in Amarillo: The Ozymandias Legs

“The combination of the broken form, difficult journey, trash, and desolate landscape perfectly reflect the dystopian inspiration of the piece.” – Ben S.

“Was it meant to be funny? Was it meant to trick people who just blindly believe things? Or was it to make one question history and what was to be seen as true?…I find this important, especially now with all the social media services out there, what we should see as true and what we should see as false. This may not be what the Ozy Legs and plaque are about but to me that is what speaks loudest of all.” - Heather B.

“While the sculpture itself isn’t the greatest, the story behind it makes it much more intriguing. I find myself conflicted on whether it is the work of a genius or merely a trashy roadside attraction” – Tiffany R.

“Although I have lived my entire life in this area, I have never really visited the Ozy Legs…Even though I attended Randall High school [nearby]…it has never crossed my mind to really look at them. Like most, I probably just considered them some sort of odd panhandle sculpture from a long time ago that people had forgotten about…I had never heard the poem Ozymandias until this class. I had never read the plaque presenting the Ozy Legs, although whether that’s a good or bad thing is yet to be determined as there are ‘alternative facts’ within its description…It still astounds me how little I know of local art especially with one that can be seen as distinctly public art….Most of the time, I think I just look to see what new images or words have been spray painted on the legs…sometimes they are profound messages such as ‘I am a soul whose intentions are good’ and other times it is the simple ‘So-and-So was here.’ Other times there will be colors of local high schools and still there are the good Samaritans who wish to keep the King’s feet warm with tube socks.” – Taryin T.

“The concrete it is made from looks rough and cheap and not at all like ancient stone; also by choosing to paint it a sandy brown in an attempt to look archaeological, it has made the sculpture blend even further into the landscape. The overall anatomy of the legs is also lacking especially in the giant square toes…Despite all of this, the legs are relevant to a larger history of the arts in Amarillo as they are part of the series of playful and irreverent works that Marsh was fond of commissioning. The plaque at the front of the sculpture records a story of [its] made-up lore, and while I think it is interesting in the sense that it attempts to play at the American West being a place worthy of monuments, I think the fictional story is only really funny or relevant to people who know the area well.” – Sydney W.

“I have driven past these legs hundreds of times, and this was the first time I actually exited on Sundown Lane and got out to examine them up close…[The] legs themselves seem unfinished. They do not so much look like a wreckage of a former glorious piece of art as they do a hastily erected piece that the artist lost interest in….There is just something about the idea that seems incomplete to me, like they did not have proper time to plan or implement what they were going for….There is nothing else in the area, no ruins or buildings or anything even remotely resembling civilization out there. It just reminds the viewer that this area was available, and affordable, and convenient.” – Kaitlin J.

“Thinking about what it would have been like to work in these conditions, I could conclude just how stressful it must have been. For example, the wind would have blown dirt, grass, tumble weeds, and even trash into the wet cement…Let alone the fact that the wind would’ve made the cement dry faster, causing Marsh 3 and McDuff to have to work fast to mold the piece….The idea behind the legs themselves is that of pure imagination with the influence of Egyptian sculptures, and creates a funny and weird local attraction, and adds to the fun of living in Texas.” – Makayla K.

“I had been to the sculpture before once but I had not actually gone past the gate. This aspect was interesting because it added a sort of rebel or trespassing vibe to it. The ground was littered with unusual items like pairs of shoes and trash and old VHS tapes. This gave it a modern-ruins kind of feel. Almost post-apocalyptic….Another thing I didn’t know about was the plaque that is set up in front of it like a sign giving information about it, but it is all a bunch of lies…I feel like the artist is playing an intricate and time-consuming joke or prank on all the viewers. But also making a mockery of trying to preserve things that are old and crumbling and broken and for why?…This piece is simple and made cheaply, but I actually really love it. Somehow it seems to be dancing within the contradictions of being a cosmic joke as a human relative to the vast perfection that is nature itself. Regardless of how this piece is taken, there is no doubt it provides wonder and curiosity, which I feel is important to human life.” – Lauren D.

“Just like the Cadillac Ranch art installation, graffiti has become a way to interact with these art pieces. Although this interaction may bother some people, I feel that it creates a personal connection that cannot be achieved by just viewing or climbing on the piece. It makes the art continue to live in a constant state of flux.” – Heather H.

“There are so many myths and tall tales about the Wild West as many call it, that if you knew nothing about the Amarillo area and you read the plaque, you might believe the hogwash story written on it. Especially because the plaque itself looks like a historical marker. It creates a modern fable, a story or rumor that could provide inspiration to many. ” – Taylor G.

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In the Footsteps of O’Keeffe

My students offered some great insight on what it felt to follow O’Keeffe’s footsteps around WTAMU campus and Canyon, Texas. Here are some of their thoughts:

“The smell of fresh air, the crunch of dry grass and slight whispering of wind through the trees paired with the loud echoing clash and clacking of the passing train had a time warp effect on the senses and made us students feel as though we were experiencing first hand O’Keeffe’s memory....Learning about O’Keeffe’s time at WT was enlightening because of how profound the time...was for her, and it serves as a reminder that inspiration is literally all around us and even though it may not seem the most interesting to our generation, there is an inescapable beauty that O’Keeffe was able to capitalize on and a serious reminder that we can all benefit from slowing down to enjoy the beauty around us.” - Slaydon W.

“After learning that there was a type of club at the canyon she would always walk to, it made you realize she had to be physically fit....To think she would walk from her house all the way to the canyon in nothing but black clothing is a little astonishing to me. There were not many trees at the time, so there wasn’t really any form of shade she could rest under if she got tired.” - Kayla C.

“Sitting on the steps of Old Main put us in Georgia’s shoes (or lack of shoes) and gave me a new perspective of the building. It was nice to see her view of Palo Duro Canyon from the top of Old Main, though it’s hard to imagine what it was like without the rest of the university there.” - Tiffany R.

“It is nice to get away from noise and voices, to stand in crunchy dusty grass and look out at the sky. Though she zooms in and abstracts her subject matter, there is a sense of space and openness that reminds me of the landscape out here and it would have been even more open during her time here” - Taylor G.

“We can view the lives of artists in an objective third-party sort of way, but for some people, like the remaining members of the Reid family, it is their life and part of their history.” - Sidney W.