“ ‘The eye is the first circle,’ Emerson wrote; ‘the horizon which it forms is the second.’ In 1841, when the essay ‘Circles’ was written, Emerson could expect a reader to imagine a 360-degree view of the landscape. A version of that view is, today, a stunning actuality an hour’s walk from the North edge of Marfa, on the Mimm’s ranch, where a concrete bench, created by Joey Benton as a sculpture project, defines the overlook. The project was done in conjunction with SILLA and Dixon Water Foundation, in 2014.

Set on a rise, the bench is a low, circular structure, from which one can look out across gently sloping grasslands in every direction. Mountains, whose names are known by local residents, circle the horizon. The construction of the bench adheres to the subtle dynamics of a work of art. The two semi-circles are at once level and (a separate distinction) level with each other, while the land beneath them follows its own contour. The gap that separates the two halves conforms to invisible lines – one based on true north, the other magnetic north – that cross at the center of the work and determine the width and angle of the openings at each side, which serve as entrances and exits. These details are felt, rather than noted, as part of the satisfying experience of visiting the site. “ 
                                                                                                                                                                              - W.B.