Marfa

Prada Marfa , an installation by Berlin Based artists Elmgreen and Dragset

I am on the road to Boonville, California. I will be stopping at many places along the way -- Marfa, Texas being the first.

My time in Boonville, Texas was short, compared to the other Boonvilles I have lived in, but it was an important visit, and it has reconnected me with many of the ideas that were running through my head when I first created this project. I'm excited to see the images, and to fit them together with the rest of the work. Thanks Boonville/Bryan, Texas. It was a challenging but rewarding visit.

Marfa, Texas (wikipedia):
In 1971, Donald Judd, the renowned minimalist artist, moved to Marfa from New York City. After renting summer houses for a couple of years he bought two large hangars, some smaller buildings and started to permanently install his art. While this started with his building in New York, the buildings in Marfa (now The Block, Judd Foundation) allowed him to install his works on a larger scale. In 1976 he bought the first of two ranches that would, to him, be his primary places of residence, continuing a long love affair with the desert landscape surrounding Marfa. Later, with assistance from the Dia Art Foundation in New York, Judd acquired decommissioned Fort D.A. Russell, and began transforming the fort's buildings into art spaces in 1979. Judd's vision was to house large collections of individual artists' work on permanent display, as a sort of anti-museum. Judd believed that the prevailing model of a museum, where art is shown for short periods of time, does not allow the viewer an understanding of the artist or their work as they intended.

The Eagle

The last few days have been great -- lots of shooting. An article came out today. Read it here.

The Home Stretch?

Coon Hunters, Boonville, N. Carolina, 2007

I leave for CA early next week, and it finally hit me that Boonville, CA will be my final destination on this ten-month journey. From time to time I think hard about where I am, and how I got here, and I am still shocked that it is happening -- and yet it is almost over. Somebody recently asked me if I am able to enjoy the actual journey and process. I want to say that I do, and that it is great. But the truth is that I will probably have a much stronger understanding of it while I am sitting at home a year from now, looking over all my notes, and snapshots from this process. I do enjoy it. And I do love it. But can I really fully understand and experience it in real time? I think I am, but I wonder how this journey will affect me over time.

I’m getting really nervous that this is almost finished. I can’t wait to go home, but I often feel like I am just getting started. The plan has always been to revisit each of the communities at least once more, for a week or so at a time. I look forward to that: Seeing all my friends, and taking another look at my notes, and previous images. I do not plan on stretching this project out any farther then I need to. But something is only done when it is done.

My biggest worry right now is money. As of February, I have exhausted all of my funds -- Gas and film developing are the main culprits. I know it shouldn’t be on my mind, because it will just add more pressure to the process, but that is reality. I’m currently working on making a few 11x14” fiber prints available for sale at a low price, to help get my film developer paid (he is currently working on IOUs) and to get me through Boonville, CA. More on that soon…

The last four days have been great. They have been filled with absolutely nothing. I was out taking pictures the other day, and I ran into John and his dog, Edie. John is in his mid-twenties, and lives in an apartment on the former site of Boonville, Texas. He kindly invited me to stay over for a night (I was in a motel for 3 days before that because of the cold). One night turned into four, and I did nothing but sit in John’s apartment watching the likes of Family Guy, Freaks and Geeks, the Discover and History channel, and South Park. It was absolutely wonderful, and a much needed dose of brainless Television. I did feel a bit guilty at times, but if I have learned anything about my low points, it’s to listen to and embrace them. I did shoot a bit while I was at John’s. But it was mostly inside his apartment, and a few portraits of him behind the complex.

Over the last seven months, there has been somewhat of a structure to the trip, and to the towns. Boonville, Texas is not a town, and it has thrown me for a bit of a loop. I'm enjoying the challenge, but it has definitely lived up to its "question mark" status. The work here has become a bit more conceptual, which feels great, and it works, but overall it has been a shock to the system.

Last night, while back at the camp, I went through almost all of the work I have shot to date. I am very excited about getting home and putting it all together. I haven’t looked at some of it for five or six months. It’s interesting how certain things pop out at me now, and actually make sense. I hope to see more of that when I get home.

I have a new site up. It's in the early stages. www.timothybriner.com

TX update: Bugs and Crack

I cracked my Mamyia 7 (camera) and flash last night. Crap!

Also, It was too cold and wet to camp, so I stayed in a shitty motel. I woke up at 3am with a terrible nightmare -- bugs were crawling all over me, and eating me alive. I instantly went into a panic and thought I was actually being eating alive -- not a far stretch considering the place I am staying.

The camera still works. Just doesn't focus properly. And the cable release cracked off and is jammed all up in it. I was having a blast shooting though. So I kept on it. I hope the shot was worth it. The flash works, but the hotshoe is completely gone. So I can still attach a sync cord, or hand hold it. Not so bad. Gotta send the 7 off to Mamiya -- not looking forward to that bill.

Otherwise, I'm doing great. Enjoying sleeping in a bed, and got some film back today. I'm excited about a few things. Some early images were just studies -- some of which I was hoping would be finals, but it's back to the beginning for those guys.

I'm in TX for about twelve more days. I'm slowly figuring out my place in it, and I'm looking forward to the coming week -- and CA!

get out of your own way, Tim!

At the bottom of this post you will find a page taken from my Journal, from five months ago (I've been reading through them lately). It pretty much sums up how I feel today, and yesterday, and the day before.

It's interesting how exactly five months ago I was feeling scared and confused, mostly about the project and the work. I've come a long way since October, 5, 2007, but I'm still confused from time to time. And I'm almost always scared of something. Usually it is something regarding my process, or lack of will, or money issues, but last night it was actually the wind. At about 12:30am I heard a bunch of noises, sounds of footsteps: I quietly undid my sleeping bag, opened my knife, and quickly zipped open my tent while I gracefully crawled towards the intruder -- hahahaha, I'm just like Rambo.

But seriously, each town is a new and completely different situation. And I still find myself going through the same, and necessary, motions to fully understand my place in it. I'm currently dealing with a bit of that. Five months ago I was down right scared. Now I have a bit of respect and understanding for it. But it still takes its toll.

Updated:
If I have sounded negative or put-upon in some posts regarding these struggles, I do not mean to. I'm having the time of my life, and I get to create art every single day! I'm loving every minute of it. Even the struggles. They're kinda the best part. They continue to make me think, and grow. And I don't think art is only about struggling, or pain, but I do think both of those things are strongly connected to the process of creating art. And with that comes meaningful work (crossing fingers). ###

"Boonville, New York, October 5, 2007

The hardest thing seems to be getting passed the fear. I have tons of self-doubt. It seems to be taking over. The fear is thick. Today I felt genuinely afraid and alone. I know what I must do, and I want to do it, it just seems to be getting harder. I believe I will struggle with this project up until the end. That is not comforting. Personal quests are meant to be filled with fear, guilt and self-doubt, that is why they are worth doing, to push me forward, right? Powerful ideas and projects are full of struggles and setbacks. My mind has to be strong. I have to believe. Or I will fail, this is certain. I must reach beyond myself, get out of my own mind, and see it from a different perspective -- get out of your own way, Tim!"

In Search of America, Part 3

Chevy Truck, Texas Flag, Boonville/Bryan, TX

I'm having a good time in Texas. I'm still not quite secure in how I'm feeling about the former Boonville, and how I will approach it, but I have started to produce a few things I am really excited about -- we will see how I feel after seeing them in a few days.

Texas is strange. It's hard to describe, but if you have ever been here, you know what I mean. It's everything and at the same time it is nothing. Very strange. Very big.

"Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word." John Steinbeck, Travels with Charlie: In Search of America, 1962

I'm currently struggling with having to drop Laura off at the airport. We spent the last few days in Austin, and now she is back in NY. After finally being back together for the first time in over two months, we are again separated. Three days is only long enough to make us miss each other more.

Home-Cooked Meal, #23 (Thanks SFA!)

PBJ, Sarah Sudhoff, Nochadoches, TX, Feb., 2008

As I previously mentioned, Sarah Sudhoff invited me to be a guest lecturer at the Stephen F. Austin State University, in Nochadoches, TX. It went very well. I had a great time speaking, as well as hanging out with some of the photography students.

Sarah was very kind: putting me up for a few nights, giving me access to her shower, making me dinner two nights in a row, and being an all around killer host and good time. A big thanks to SFA, Sarah, Gary, and all of the students and faculty that made it out to hear all my babbling.


Sarah and I, Nochadoches, TX

Talk: Thur., Feb. 28, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX

Sarah Sudhoff has kindly asked me to be a guest lecturer at the Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. If you are near Nacogdoches, please stop by!

Thursday, February 28, 2008, 5-6pm
Stephen F. Austin State University
2124 Wilson Drive North
Art Building, Room 106
Nacogdoches, Texas

Gladys Cundiff Morrison

Gladys Cundiff Morrison with picture of first High School for black students in Yadkin County, Boonville, NC

Today I found an article written about Gladys Cundiff Morrison and her late father, E. L. Cundiff. Mr. E. L. Cundiff, who died at the age of 102 in 1999, was the leading force behind establishing the first School for black children where the grades went through High School, in Boonville, N. Carolina.

From the Winston-Salem Journal, 02-27-08:

"Gladys Morrison lived within a half-mile of several schools that she couldn’t attend. Her textbooks, often secondhand, were missing pages. Yet, as a child in the 1930s, she says, she didn’t know that she was missing out. She had dreams that took her far beyond segregated Yadkin County.

Her one-room school in Boonville went to only the seventh grade. Most students left to find menial jobs, something her father, E.L. Cundiff, couldn’t bear. So, he pushed the General Assembly to pressure local officials to provide money for a new school. And in 1941, he donated land for the Yadkin County School.

Morrison and her friends didn’t fully understand the full meaning of segregation. 'Back in those days, there was no animosity. There were white students, and we knew each other, and when it was time to go to school, they went one way, and we went another,' she said. 'Back then, they didn’t teach hate. It took a long time before we knew why.'

Her father was a teacher and would have educators from Philadelphia and other big cities in their home. He was always looking for ways to encourage black students and broaden their horizons, Morrison said." (This is edited, read the whole article here)

I spent many hours with Gladys at her home while I was in NC. All day actually. The time spent with her was memorable. She is extremely active in the surrounding communities, just as her father was before her. If I remember correctly, Gladys is the director of the local arts organization in Elkin, NC, and was a former director at a halfway house for woman. She also acts as a mentor to many woman in the area. One of which came by during my visit, seeking her advice. With all this -- and many other things, I'm sure -- she still has time for current politics. She was reading Barack's biography and had just finished Hillary's, when I came to visit. Something I don't have the patience for.

I recently received a wonderful letter from her: "Are you eating well? (smiles) The Loaf Bread you liked so well could very well be repeated. Do let me know." Gladys Cundiff Morrison is a truly special person. And like many of the other people I have encountered along the way, I am honored to know her.


Gladys, Boonville, NC, 2007

P. S. See a few more images from the project here.

Camping

Bryan Lake, Bryan, TX, Feb. 23, 2008

Save Boonville

Still camping, have not showered since I was in Dallas on Monday, cut my finger chopping wood, had to find a cheap clinic to get a tetanus shot, and I've been kept awake by loud kids and bonfires for the last three days. But on to the important part...


2002 aerial photo of old Boonville property with original survey markings laid over top (click for larger view).

This morning I went to a talk at the local Heritage Center. Mr. Henry Mayo gave a presentation on the property where the former Town of Boonville sits, and its historical relevance. The majority of the "old Boonville" property has already been optioned by a firm to put in a commercial center -- adding a Best Western, as well as other businesses. Mr. Mayo is trying to get the city to purchase a piece of land to add a small park in the old town square. He is not even trying to deter this "progress" from happening. He just wants a small park. But nobody seems to be listening.

Boonville was officially registered as a town in 1844, but was first settled in the 1830s or so. It became extinct in 1866, but there were probably people still living there and calling it Boonville until the early 1900s. Old Boonville was the FIRST town and the FIRST County Seat of Brazos County. It is rich with history, and it has never even been the subject of a proper archaeological dig. And as we speak, bulldozers under contract from the commercial firm are further destroying its history. Granted, they are most likely just simple artifacts, but isn't that important? Or are they just artifacts? Isn't it also a statement on our current values in a largely quick-and-easy and corporate society? I don't know who's misstep it was, but shame on them (the City of Bryan, Texas?) for never making old Boonville something more then a future shopping center.

This project has never really been about the history of the towns. But that doesn't mean I am not invested in it. I've researched each towns origins and history for years, and I continue to do so when I arrive into each new community. TX is no different, except maybe that I am a bit more interested, seeing that it's all that's left.

Today I met some wonderful people that are very interested and passionate about old Boonville. It is amazing how many people don't even know about the former town. And as one person put it to me today, "Most people think the Boonville Cemetery is named for Boonville Road." If Mr. Mayo and the dedicated "old Boonvillians" of Bryan, TX do not succeed, then will people in 50 years think the Cemetery was named for the "Boonville Town Center," the name of the new Best Western commercial property?

Seriously, if we don't even preserve our beginnings, then what should we preserve?

Boonville, Texas

Cracked Gravestone, Boonville Cemetery, Bryan, TX

I'm currently camping near a lake in Bryan, TX. I was wrong in my previous post, Boonville became extinct around the late 1860s, and it looks like, from the map I got yesterday, that the town was less then a square mile.

There are a lot of different things going on in that small space. In the former town limits there is now an expressway, two car dealerships, a few broken and abandoned homes, a farm, and the outer edges of three or four different subdivisions. The Boonville cemetery is the only remaining sign that a town existed there, and it is huge.

I've been racking my head trying to figure out how to approach this town, and I think I got it. But it is early, and it has been a rough start. Camping hasn't been great. I was rained out last night and a few kids decided to party till 2am near my tent. I'm in good spirits though and have already made many contacts with the people who own the "old boonville" land. Still more to go. To be continued...

P.S. I was on the local news. Watch it here. It's very short.

Interview

There is an interview by Noel Rodo-Vankeulen about me and the project on his very nice blog, We Can't Paint (what a great name!). Read it here.

Home-Cooked Meal, #22

Oklahoma Joe's BBQ, Kansas City, MO

Thanks to Kevin and Tiffany (below) for the hospitality while in KC! They didn't make me a home-cooked meal, but we sure did stuff our faces while I was there.

Bryan/Boonville, Texas

View Larger Map


Above is the area in which Boonville, Texas once inhabited. The only remaining sign of Boonville's existence is Boonville Road, and the Boonville Cemetery. Boonville was incorporated and became the County Seat of Brazos County in the late 1870s. By the early 1900s it was a ghost town.

Just as many traditional American values are suffering today because of our need for convenience, so too was Boonville, TX. In the late 1890s the railroad came into Bryan, TX, the neighboring community, and everyone but a few deserted Boonville for the new form of transportation, and ways of receiving goods.

I arrive tomorrow morning. We are currently looking for the person in charge of the Cemetery so I can have full access, and I have an appointment with an area judge whose great-grandfather is buried there. I am very curious about this forgotten town. I've been thinking about it for a long time now, and I am still unsure how I am going to approach it. Tomorrow should be very interesting.