WHY
MARFA
Flanked by the rocky, ponderosa pine-flecked Davis Mountains to the north and Big Bend National Park to the south, Far West Texas is part of the Chihuahuan Desert — arid, elemental, and expansive.
To call the area rugged would be an understatement. The landscape is unapologetically defiant and its inhabitants equally so. Otherworldly is another well-deserved descriptor.
The Intersection of Metal, Sunlight, Shadows, and Concrete
When Donald Judd decamped from New York City to Marfa in 1971, he saw in the blond prairie of Far West Texas a unique, natural canvas for large-scale minimalist art. Judd’s legacy can be seen in works and experiences scattered throughout the region, in massive decommissioned army barracks, and beneath the wild blue skies surrounding them. In the decades that followed, Judd helped make Marfa an international destination for artists and patrons alike.
“A bastion of some of the country’s last truly dark skies. Texas is the place to look up and see what the universe holds.”
— Casey Gerald
Often referred to by admirers as the Trans-Pecos, Far West Texas has a special relationship to nature. The Big Bend International Dark Sky Reserve, which includes Marfa and Fort Davis, is the largest IDA-certified reserve in the world and the first to cross an international boundary. You’ve never seen stars like you’ll see out there. Dense and luminous, they have a way of holding you captive, not that many visitors object.
One of our evenings will be spent looking skyward together at a Penrose-curated event. We will be joined by members of the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory. The Observatory also produces StarDate, a daily, syndicated radio program about astronomy aired by over 400 NPR affiliates nationwide. If you decide to stay in Marfa pre or post-Penrose, you can visit the Observatory during the day for a tour of their facility or opt for a second night of star gazing at one of their star parties.
The region is also a place where watershed preservation, sustainable land management, and renewable energy innovation are imperative. Far West Texas has a front-row seat to the effects of climate change. Organizations like the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute, the Nature Conservancy, the Dixon Water Foundation, the Big Bend Conservation Alliance, and Sul Ross State University lead in this work.
An hour north in Van Horn, near Blue Origin’s test facility, The Long Now Foundation is nearing completion of the 10,000 Year Clock, a countercultural paean to long-term thinking and a stark reminder of the obligation we have as ancestors to future generations.
To the south of Marfa lies the storied and deeply inhospitable Pinto Canyon road, or “the road to nowhere” as Texas Monthly called it, where craggy canyons and bright white clouds seem to go on forever — beyond the Chisos mountains and beyond the Sierra Madres — to heaven perhaps, or hell.
Less grandiose and much more spooky are the famous Marfa Lights, a supposedly paranormal phenomena of legend that have appeared on everything from Unsolved Mysteries to the Disney show So Weird. Scientists hypothesize the Marfa Lights are caused by sharp temperature gradients between cold and warm layers of air, but empirical proof has evaded multiple research groups bent on putting old stories to rest. They look like the headlights of alien spacecraft — fleeting orbs glimmering in the sky, with an aurora borealis-weirdness that also reminds us of the limits of science, and how much we may never know.
We chose Far West Texas for Penrose because of the way it bends time and commands attention. It is a vast place, strong enough to hold both hard truth and paradox, art and science. We can’t imagine a better location to think from the edge of our experiences, and conspire to challenge the status quo.
Maybe you’ve been to Marfa or Fort Davis and feel its call once more. Perhaps you’ve often heard or read about the region and waited for an excuse to visit. Or maybe you understand that we have to go to meaningful places to do meaningful work. Regardless, we very much hope you’ll join us at Penrose.
P.S. If you're at all worried about logistics, know that we’ve hired a former Director of Advance at the White House. We’ll be sure to speed your path from El Paso, Dallas, or Austin. Getting to Far West Texas isn’t quick, but it’s well worth the effort.
P.P.S. If you can spare the time, we strongly recommend a two-day jaunt into Big Bend either before or after our time together at Penrose. Please email concierge@penro.se for recommendations on pathways of interest and places to stay.
Learn More
WATCH – Giant (1956), Directed by George Stevens, TCM
READ – The Road To Nowhere, Texas Monthly
LISTEN – Marfa For Beginners, Marfa Public Radio
LOOK – Miles and Miles of Texas, Garden & Gun
READ – Deep in the Heart of Darkness, Wildsam
EXPLORE — Fort Davis National Park Service, NPS
READ — The Mysterious ‘Ghost Lights’ of Marfa, Texas, BBC