A Climate of Creativity

Nancy in Marfa, Texas

Have you ever thought that a place could inspire creativity? From my own experience, I think that particular places can foster a “climate” of creativity. One such place is an isolated little town in the high desert of far West Texas called Marfa. Marfa only has around 2000 residents but it has been an art lover’s destination as a cultural center for contemporary art ever since minimalist artist Donald Judd moved there from New York City in 1971. The town’s visitor website promotes it as “Tough to get to. Tougher to explain. But once you get here, you get it.”

Judd bought a decommissioned fort in Marfa and used it as a place to permanently install his large-scale art. His reputation and presence drew artists and other creative spirits to live and work in Marfa. Since Judd's death, the Chinati Foundation and the Judd Foundation have worked to maintain his legacy.

Marfa is home to many other art organizations and galleries; El Cosmico, whose accommodations are described on its website as “renovated vintage trailers, safari and scout tents, Sioux-style tepees, and tent campsites; a public radio station; El Paisano Hotel, where Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, and Rock Hudson stayed when they filmed the movie Giant; and the mysterious, unexplained Marfa Lights, reported to move and dance some nights in the distance between Marfa and Paisano Pass.

Artworks recently found controversial near Marfa include Prada Marfa, an art installation that looks like a Prada storefront, and a 40-foot neon Playboy Bunny on the same highway.

Though SchoolArts can’t get you and all your students to Marfa, I believe you can foster a similar climate of creativity in your art room. And the soon-to-be-released next generation of national arts standards, developed by the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards, may provide some assistance as the new standards are organized around the artistic processes of Creating, Presenting, and Responding. 

Create/Creating

In the National Core Arts Standards, “creating” is seen as conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work; “creativity” is the capability or act of conceiving something original/unusual.

A student engaged in creative practices: imagines a mental image or concept, investigates and studies through exploration or examination, constructs a product by combining or arranging a series of elements, and reflects and thinks deeply about his or her work. In the National Core Arts Standards, the creative practices are a springboard and bridge for the application of the artistic processes across all five arts disciplines.

Whether or not your state adopts the voluntary new standards, their content and language may prove useful to you in advocating for your art program and in fostering and maintaining a climate of creativity for your students. Think creative!