Texas Prairie Composition
Commissioned by Sasha and Ed Bass
Divided into panels, the left side of the long corridor dedicated primarily to the Blackland Prairie of Northeast Texas, and the right an imagined view of what the Fort Worth prairie may have looked like in the time of the bison, Prosek’s mural portrays dozens of grassland plants, like the compass plant, rattlesnake master, big bluestem grass and great coneflower—and birds, like scissor-tailed flycatchers, dickcissel, meadowlarks and (in color) a painted bunting. On the left, two white-tailed deer leap gracefully across a barbed-wire fence—a symbol of efforts to transform boundless nature into private parcels.
In the entrance by the elevator, desert grasslands of the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas cover the walls. Desert bighorn sheep and a mountain lion gaze out over century plants, prickly pear cactus, agave lechuguilla, and ocotillo. Two “prairie dogs” Nacho and Coco, watch over the graceful migration of monarch butterflies, which cross the boundary twice annually between Texas and Mexico.
Each animal in this hand-painted mural has a number. This is a reference to field guides, which often include black-and-white silhouettes as a tool for species identification. However, Prosek does not include a key of names. His numbers hint at an overarching system for naming nature, but that system is absent in this work. By withholding names, Prosek’s mural invites viewers to reflect on the impulse to order and classify nature. What do we gain by labeling and interpreting the world in this way? What do we lose? Overall the mural highlights the beauty and diversity of remnant grassland ecosystems of Texas, which are unfortunately fast disappearing.
Completed March 2023
Sundance Square
Mural in Garage 3
West Third Street (between Taylor and Throckmorton Street)
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
