Richard Shattuck
Giant Surprise
I've driven this stretch of US 90 in west Texas many times, but this mural was just constructed in 2018-19 so this was the first time I've seen it.
It's so big that it would be hard to miss. It's a depiction of the 1956 epic (at least in terms of length - 3 & 1/2 hours) movie "Giant", which turned out to be James Dean's final film. Some of it was shot on location here, about five miles west of Marfa.
The mural is actually four separate panels. Elizabeth Taylor is on the far right, and Dean is next to her. Rock Hudson (looks more like Jimmy Stewart to me) is in the yellow convertible, and behind them is a director setting up a scene in front of a Texas mansion.
Other than the four panels, the rest of the scene is all Texas, all outdoors and the original landscape. It's hard to tell what's real here.
What I also thought was really cool was the music that was playing from some solar speakers that were hidden near the convertible, to make it sound as if the car's radio was blaring. As it turns out, there's some real Monkee business involved... Mike Nesmith provided the audio which continually plays; it's him with his First National Band Redux. Nice finishing touch.
The mural, by the way, was done by John Cerney, who has done similar projects in many states.
Giant Surprise
I've driven this stretch of US 90 in west Texas many times, but this mural was just constructed in 2018-19 so this was the first time I've seen it.
It's so big that it would be hard to miss. It's a depiction of the 1956 epic (at least in terms of length - 3 & 1/2 hours) movie "Giant", which turned out to be James Dean's final film. Some of it was shot on location here, about five miles west of Marfa.
The mural is actually four separate panels. Elizabeth Taylor is on the far right, and Dean is next to her. Rock Hudson (looks more like Jimmy Stewart to me) is in the yellow convertible, and behind them is a director setting up a scene in front of a Texas mansion.
Other than the four panels, the rest of the scene is all Texas, all outdoors and the original landscape. It's hard to tell what's real here.
What I also thought was really cool was the music that was playing from some solar speakers that were hidden near the convertible, to make it sound as if the car's radio was blaring. As it turns out, there's some real Monkee business involved... Mike Nesmith provided the audio which continually plays; it's him with his First National Band Redux. Nice finishing touch.
The mural, by the way, was done by John Cerney, who has done similar projects in many states.