Ballroom Marfa Goes Solar

Ballroom Marfa is one of Marfa's headline attractions. It was sadly closed during the weekend of Marfa Film Festival, so I couldn't go in!

But on May 10th what went outside on a hot day (solar panels, baby!) keeps proving the potency of art and renewable energy as partners. Art positioning itself gladly in the new world order for a leader spot in social conscientiousness. Art and alternative energy forming a solid franchise that finds what artists have to offer by way of proposals of remedy--from Jeremy Deller hosting Conversations about Iraq to Paul Villinski (with a special nod to curator Dan Cameron and Prospect.1 New Orleans)--becoming actually heeded. Woohoo!

Photo: Paul Villinski, Emergency Response Studio project, solar-powered mobile artist's studio repurposed from a trailer bought at federal auction.

The news of the solar installation was itself pretty big. Big Texas Sun Club funded the 5.2 kilowatt solar array. It takes up 450 square feet and was built with 30 PV panels that convert sunlight into electricity. This will power some 15 percent of the Ballroom's annual electricity. And the environmental impact is akin to NOT driving a car 15,000 miles a year.

While meanwhile some Marfa citizens also tried solar panels on their roofs as part of the community's investment in the Ballroom--which since 2003 runs art, music and film programs in Marfa--it was the last art installation (that closed before the unrelated Marfa Film Festival) that interested me.

Emergency Response Studio was a trailer/art installation that premiered at New Orleans Prospect. 1 biennial. Artist Paul Villinski bought a 2001 Gulfstream trailer from the federal government and took it to New Orleans for the biennial to fix it up. Retroffiting solar and wind energy onto an emergency trailer led the artist to reflect on the long summer he had coming when he started. You can see 159 images and the story around how and what he did here: http://www.emergencyresponsestudio.org/images.html

Luckily for all solar is getting to be a big story. And like sun in the west it's practically ubiquitous in art circles these days.

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