Art and Branding: A Collision on the Desert

by DeeDee

Art is about mythmaking.

Branding is about creating value.

Value creation also can involve mythmaking.

Since branding and art both involve mythmaking, it seems natural for art and branding to collide. That is exactly what happened with Prada Marfa.

Many people are quite familiar with Prada, the Italian fashion company which holds prime space in elite urban shopping centers around the globe. When Prada opens a new store in downtown Tokyo…well that is something that is expected.

What is completely unexpected is to find a Prada in Marfa, Texas. The town of Marfa is located in the West Texas desert near the Mexican border. It has a population of 2,121 and is about 9 hours drive from San Antonio.

In 2005, two Scandinavian artists installed a Prada mini-boutique in the desert 26 miles from Marfa. This sculpture is a 15 by 25 foot adobe building designed to look just like a Prada store, and even contains Prada merchandise. The main differences between this sculpture created by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset and a real Prada store are:

 It is completely out of context
 It is a mini version
 It will never open
 It will not be maintained

Well, the last item is debatable. The sculpture was vandalized soon after it was finished. Shoes were stolen and the building was spray painted with graffiti. After that break-in happened a handyman restored the building.

Art and clothing are intertwined. Clothing is already woven with myth. If you think about the functional value of clothing on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs you simply need clothes to stay warm. If that is all that mattered about clothing, then a $3 shirt, $10 pants, and $5 sandals from Walmart would suffice. That is a complete ensemble for less than $20. So, why then do people spend upwards of $500 on a mere shirt from Prada?

Clothing is transformational. It is aspirational. It is enveloped with social meaning. People are paying $3 for the shirt and $497 on symbolism.

By supporting the artists in this desert adventure, Prada reinforces its sphere of meaning beyond simple utility of clothing. As doing so it becomes a more interwoven part of the lexicon of the art world. And the myth grows.

It has been in the news recently. More vandalism: The 15-foot-by-25-foot adobe cube building intended to masquerade as a boutique of the luxury Italian fashion house has been battered by vandals.

Graffiti is spray painted on an exterior wall. Bullet holes pepper the windows at the site west of Marfa.

The 6-year-old, $100,000 project was designed by Berlin-based artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset.

Backers say they'll clean the graffiti and make changes -- when they come up with the money.
Elmgreen, in an email to The Associated Press, says it may be time to pull the plug on the project.

This whole thing reminded me of a trip I made to Midland/Odessa (west Texas desert) to visit my friend Beth years ago. I asked her on the way in from the airport if Neimans had opened a store out there yet.....she said "Oh yes! There is a north-side location and a south-side location!"

I was thrilled at that news only to turn and see the look on Beths face....the "look" was definitely saying..."you stupid bitch..."

Then when she told me Prada had opened a boutique near Marfa....lol......I just think its neat when artists do this "off the wall" stuff....I mean ...can you imagine driving on a highway in the middle of nowhere and seeing what appears to be a Prada boutique? With bullet holes?