Marfa Art Controversy

Ads or art? Prada joins Playboy on TxDOT's hit list in West Texas desert

First Playboy, now Prada. The Texas Department of Transportation has labeled a Prada storefront art installation in the Chihuahuan Desert, 35 miles northwest of Marfa, as "illegal outdoor advertising."

The Prada store, created by Scandinavian artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, has drawn thousands of tourists since opening in 2005 on land along Highway 90. (Beyoncé posted a photo of herself in front of the installation on Tumblr last summer.) But TxDot says it's in violation of the 1965 Highway Beautification Act and could be forcefully removed.

"If it really is against the regulations, they should have found out in 2005 when it was erected," said Prada Marfa co-creator Michael Elmgreen.

The department has not decided what action it will take.

The $80,000 project — which was not funded by Prada but by New York nonprofits Art Production Fund in collaboration with Ballroom Marfa — consists of a 15-by-25-foot adobe "store" featuring six bolted-down handbags and 20 shoes (the right shoe only, to discourage theft) from Prada's 2005 fall/winter collection. It is never open, and the items are not for sale. The artists intend for the building to degrade over time.

"It was meant as a critique of the luxury goods industry, to put a shop in the middle of the desert," Elmgreen told the New York Times. "If it really is against the regulations, they should have found out in 2005 when it was erected."

The legitimacy of the Prada installation was questioned only after TxDot determined in July that a 40-foot neon Playboy bunny sign erected next to an elevated 1972 Dodge Charger, on the same highway just a mile outside of Marfa, was an illegal outdoor advertisement. Titled Playboy Marfa, the installation was designed by artist Richard Phillips for Playboy.

Beyoncé posed in front of the Prada Marfa installation last summer.

Beyonce in front of Prada Marfa installation

I am Beyonce Tumblr

Beyoncé posed in front of the Prada Marfa installation last summer.

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keep austin healthy

Austin is the 2nd 'healthiest' city in America, Forbes says

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

There are plenty of places for Austinites of varying abilities to be active.

The city's abundance of yoga studios, health-conscious restaurants, and run clubs is paying off: Austin was just named the second healthiest city in the nation in a new study by Forbes Advisor.

The report, "Cities With The Least Healthy (And Healthiest) Populations, Ranked" examined 2021 health data from the City Health Dashboard for 46 of the most populated cities in America. Eight metrics were analyzed for each city, such as the number of heart disease or opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, the percentage of adults with diabetes or high blood pressure, among others.

The study focuses exclusively on physical health, and leans on broad risk factors more than the actual occurrence of specific diseases or conditions.

Austin ranked second to San Jose, California, which was dubbed the No. 1 healthiest city in America.

Forbes found that Austin has the lowest percentage of adult high blood pressure out of all 46 cities in the report, at just 22.5 percent. Only 7.4 percent of Austin residents have diabetes, which is the fourth-lowest rate nationwide. The city also boasts the fifth-lowest percentage of adults who smoke (11.3 percent).

Here's how the report ranked four other metrics for Austin:

Eighth-lowest number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 residents (175.5)
Eighth-lowest number of opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents (9.6)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report having obesity (28.2 percent)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report being physically inactive (18.5)

Austin has a reputation for being an accommodating city, whether it's through restaurants expanding their culinary offerings for vegans and vegetarians, or through local organizations adding exercise equipment to outdoor trails. And you can't forget about all the new gyms and country clubs opening around the city.

At the opposite end of the study, Detroit, Michigan landed as the most unhealthy city in the country.

Elsewhere in Texas
Though Austin is one of the healthiest cities in the U.S., and the healthiest in the state, several other Texas cities fell far behind. Houston appeared as the No. 12 most unhealthy American city on the list, and unhealthiest in Texas. The report attributes this to a high percentage of adults who report binge drinking (18.2 percent), smoking (17.2 percent), and more.

"Houston has the seventh-highest percentage of adults who report having obesity (37.7 percent) and the eighth-highest percentage of adults with diabetes (12 percent)," the report said.

San Antonio ranked as the 15th unhealthiest U.S. city, followed by Dallas (No. 18), El Paso (No. 22) and Fort Worth (No. 25). Arlington appeared as No. 30, technically making it the No. 18 healthiest city in the U.S.

The top 10 cities with the most healthy populations are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Austin, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Denver, Colorado
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 9 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 10 – Minneapolis

The full report can be found on forbes.com.

austin healthy reports rankings