Page 16 – The Art Avenue

Texas Tech College of Architecture educates on preservation and pushes for 21st century architecture

July 15, 2014

Dr. Robert Alexander González builds up El Paso’s architecture program, brick by brick

By Oscar Garza
Images courtesy of Texas Tech College of Architecture

There is only one architecture program in the United States located in an active train station, and we’ve got it.

Texas Tech University’s College of Architecture relocated last summer to a new campus at the Union Depot—right in the heart of El Paso’s historic Downtown. Dr. Robert Alexander González, director of the school’s architecture program since 2011, hopes his school can present a fresh and innovative architectural perspective and push El Paso into a more contemporary architectural sensibility.

“We have worked very hard to move the College of Architecture downtown to make it accessible to the community,” said González, who is also an associate professor at the school.

He is the author of Designing Pan-America: U.S. Architectural Visions for the Western Hemisphere and the founding editor of the academic journal AULA:Architecture and Urbanism in Las Américas.

One of the reasons for the move Downtown is to let the community know that El Paso has an educational authority with unlimited resource in the realm of architecture right in the heart of the city.

Having taught at the University of California at Berkeley, Tulane University, and Arizona State University, González’s vision for the school is to grow its academic offerings with new degree programs. The school functions as a satellite location for the main campus in Lubbock, Texas, and offers a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, but it is already recognized by Lubbock as its own unique campus right on the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We’re about to initiate a new historic preservation program in the fall 2014, and we’re hiring new faculty and a director for the preservation program. We’re expanding the choices that students have to study, and we’re hoping to develop degree programs in Landscape Architecture, Construction Management, and Interior Design,” González said. “We will also be offering certificate programs in Historic Preservation and Digital Media that non-traditional students can pursue.”

Here is a project by student Peter Aguilar showing a potential expansion of the Union Depot district. The project is called The Brainery, and the studio instructor is Guillermo Barajas.

Morris Brown, an instructor at the college, said González has done a lot for the school’s rise over the past three years, “With his relationship with the City of El Paso and his communication skills, the city recognizes that we are here, and he is absolutely perfect for this job. He has impacted our relationship with the community.”

With larger program offerings, the College of Architecture will be able to attract a wider demographic of students. “We’re hoping to bring in more students to Downtown and expand our program to include students from Juarez’s Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez and UTEP. We’d like to create a multi-institution campus where we can concentrate on new technologies, preservation and material innovations,” González said.

One of the main ideas that González trusts the school will channel into El Paso is a better balance between the preservation of historic structures and the addition of contemporary, state-of-the-art architecture in the city.

“I would like to help turn our attention to a better sense of preservation ethics in the city; I think the city has not been very good at taking care of its old buildings. And I don’t think that the city has really had an opportunity to explore the richness of contemporary architecture,” González said. “Sophisticated progress takes into account the use of historic structures and new technologies and space-making. Destroying buildings for speculative development or to create blank, open space is like throwing your money away. The city is losing its cultural capital faster than it is building upon its resources,” he said.

He strongly believes that the lack of contemporary architecture in El Paso is one of the things preventing the city from achieving weight in the world of architecture and tourism, and this means that El Paso is far behind in this arena. He hopes that with the aid of the college, the city will develop contemporary architecture that is regionally sensitive and specific to El Paso, rather than reliant on the importation of random styles—architecture that “is about the city and region” is what is needed, González said.

“We lack architecture that is innovative and that introduces the latest material technologies. We have only one building in town designed by an internationally recognized, award-winning, contemporary architect—the federal courthouse—and that building was not even completed to its intended standard. El Paso is very much behind in any kind of progressive trajectory in architecture. Sadly, it can only rely on its vulnerable historical architecture to claim any kind of importance or relevance in the world of architecture,” González said. The one local building that merits recognition the world over is the Union Depot, where the college is located. It was designed by one of the nation’s most important and seminal architects, Daniel Hudson Burnham.”

While the school is not directly involved in city projects, its work can serve as a “catalysts for projects,” said Brown, “We work on key projects every semester…and if we want to and are able to, [if] city politicians are interested in listening, we can show them our ideas and concepts.”

With the Texas Tech College of Architecture growing and becoming a known entity in the city, González continues to find ways to further involve the public in the school’s endeavors. “We have created a College of Architecture Library in the El Paso Museum of Art,” said González, “which is a major contribution because it is a specialized collection for everyone to use. The college also contributes with our Lecture Series—we are currently planning our fourth series, “Prized Places,” which will be our best series to date.”

The last lecture series (another collaboration with the El Paso Museum of Art) was entitled “City of Choice,” referencing El Paso’s anticipated growth in city status. Free to the public, the college invites top scholars and architects to discuss issues like architectural competitions, portable architecture, green building, and a topic close to González’ heart, balancing a city’s landscape with a mix of modern ideas and historically preserved structures. González is excited to report that two of the “superstar” architects he invited are currently working on projects with two local companies—a direct result of the college’s efforts.

As the school creates opportunities for the public to learn more about how historical preservation and great contemporary architecture can co-exist, he anticipates that in time the city will strike a better balance of both ideals.

The Union Depot campus will undergo renovations at the end of the summer, in preparation for Texas Tech’s expanded presence in the building. Included in the plans are a new gallery, a technology center, and an exhibition space for the local community to enjoy and use. Brown said the move to Downtown couldn’t be more perfect for the program, “It is right in the heart of all the activity, where we need to be a part of this future part of El Paso. And being in this historic train station, who would’ve thought we’d be the only architecture school in an active train station in the entire United States? It’s pretty special for us right here.” Now with a number of architecture firms moving close to the Union Depot, González hopes the city will soon see the emergence of a Design and Technology District.

Visual Arts

Bridging the bi-national gap in the arts

The Art Avenue

July 10, 2014

By Kimberly Rene’ Vanecek

The Consulate General of Mexico is taking strides to preserve the rich and colorful heritage of its ancestors and share some of Mexico’s greatest artists. Located in Downtown El Paso on San Antonio Avenue, the consulate has filled 2014 with over 50 events showcasing diverse yet comprehensive cultural programs. The upcoming events include ballets, musical performances, visual art exhibits, book readings and a film series.

“We want to create a balance of established artists and artists that are on the brink of great things. The idea is to give them an opportunity to showcase their work at an international level,” said Karina Bugarini, cultural attaché for the Consulate General of Mexico. “We are bringing in artisans from throughout Mexico and allowing them to show what rich culture our heritage has to share.”

Part of that culture can be viewed through the contemporary works from sculptor Sebastian, visual artist Margarita Cabrera, the instrumental music of Matias Carbajal’s jazz ensemble, dancers Jacqueline Lopez and Fernando Dominguez and poet and essayist Sergio Mondragón.

To read more about this story pick up a copy of The Art Avenue at Tabla on 115 S. Durango St. in Downtown El Paso.

Photographs courtesy of The Consulate General of Mexico, Alex Cardona & Laura Bustillos

Visual Arts

Renowned Artist-In-Residence Teaches Smart Art

The Art Avenue

July 9, 2014

By Lisa Y. Garibay

UTEP News Service

Inside UTEP’s Fox Fine Arts Center, art students haven’t only been learning the A to Z of creating work. Thanks to local art leader Adrian Esparza and a new artist-in-residency program, students also are learning the business of being an artist.

Vincent Burke, Department of Art chair, had wanted to start a residency program for some time. “Some of my most valuable educational experiences came about through conversations I had with my professors in their studios while they were working,” he said. “I know I would not be where I am today were it not for those precious hours spent with my mentors. I wanted to create a space for this to happen at UTEP for our students.” Burke knew exactly who he wanted as the pilot of this first-ever program for UTEP: Adrian Esparza, UTEP alumnus, El Paso native and world-renowned artist.

As a prior artist-in-residence elsewhere, Esparza had experience to offer from the Border Art Residency in La Union, N.M., and Artpace in San Antonio, and knew how to juggle the public and private expectations of such a position. He also had taught a number of classes within UTEP’s art department, including Basic Design, Basic Drawing and Life Drawing.

“100” Photograph by Mariana Rivera at urbanartblog.com

The acclaimed creator made the residency work alongside previous commitments, including exhibits at The Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and the Pérez Art Museum Miami as part of PAMM’s AMERICANA: Formalizing Craft show.

Maintaining an open-door policy, Esparza’s duties throughout his 11-month residency (from September of 2013 through August of this year) have included the production of new work while he gives any student who drops in a firsthand look at how a professional artist schedules exhibitions, organizes time in order to meet deadlines, puts together press packets, works with curators and collectors, and crafts artist’s statements.

His guidance to students can be summed up very simply: “Be in the moment. This approach will produce work that justifies the next exhibition. Have a responsibility that establishes a reputation. Verbalize—the more you talk about your work, the better you get at producing it as well as explaining it and getting it out there. Then pull it off.”

To view a time-lapse video documenting Adrian Esparza’s work: crafthouston.org

To read the complete story pick up a copy at OM Boutique at The Mix in Downtown El Paso.

Photos are courtesy of the artist Adrian Esparza.

Performing Arts

Vidas Perfectas: World Premiere of Spanish Opera Set on the Border

The Art Avenue

July 8, 2014

by Cindy Graff Cohen
Photos by Cindy Graff Cohen

A man plays a piano in a Mid-western bar, a pair of young people elope, old people fall in love, dogs fight at just the right time, and the captain of the football team wants to rob a bank, intending to return the money the next day. The action takes place in, consecutively, a park, a supermarket, a bank, a bar, a living room, a church, and a backyard. Sounds like an absurdist comedy? Experimental drama? An opera for our time? Perfect Lives, written as an opera for television by one of the world’s top post-contemporary composers, Robert Ashley, can’t be pegged that easily.

Perfect Lives, composed of seven 26-minute video episodes, aired on television across the world in 1984. The work, which took Ashley four years to produce in collaboration with musicians and a videographer, was hailed as the first opera for the television generation.

“It sits on the edge of what is performance art and operatic art—you could liken it to viewing a living art installation,” says David Grabarkewitz, director of the El Paso Opera. “This type of storytelling doesn’t really exist.

It’s oddball and eclectic, a wonderful combination of video, television and live performance.

It’s coming to El Paso and Juarez July 12 and 13, but in an exciting incarnation: a new Spanish interpretation of the work, entitled Vidas Perfectas and set on the Border. The production debuted to rave reviews in April at the Whitney Biennial. Now we’ll get to watch one of the 20th century’s most audacious visual stories/musical scores, right in the comfort of our own Tricky Falls theater Downtown and on the patio of the Museo de la Revolucion en la Frontera in Ciudad Juarez.

Vidas Perfectas was produced by Ballroom Marfa, a Marfa-based arts space and nonprofit organization promoting and producing a wide variety of cultural events. “In 2012, Alex Waterman, who was translating and adapting Perfect Lives into Spanish, was in Marfa for another project and told us about Vidas Perfectas,” says Melissa McDonnell Lujan, the organization’s deputy director, who is now a board member of El Paso Opera. “We were excited about it and gave him funding to help develop the work, which fits our mission to work with artists to realize projects that might not otherwise get finished.”

Waterman worked closely with Ashley on the project. Sadly the great composer did not get to see its premiere at the Whitney; he died four days before the Biennial opened.

Audience Becomes Part Of The Experience

In Perfect Lives, scenes of the Midwest and bold graphics run in the background while Ashley narrates, “Blue” Gene Tyranny plays the piano, and two singers play different roles. For the backdrop of Vidas Perfectas, photographers shot footage of Border landscapes in and around Marfa in February. True to the episode settings, they shot scenes in a park, store, bar, bank, living room, church, and backyard, all in the Marfa area.

The performers who appeared at the Whitney will be and will bring a variety of “Spanishes:” the narrator is not a native speaker, but teaches Spanish; the pianist is from Cuba; the actor is from Mexico; and the actress is from Spain. Waterman will be directing each of the episodes.

All of the performances will be recorded and filmed, including shots of the audience, for the forthcoming television and DVD program and music CD. “It will look like a television sound stage,” says Lujan. All seven episodes will be compiled and edited for television this fall and then Vidas Perfectas is set to tour internationally.

Contemporary Arts Aficionados Welcome

“We knew that El Paso Opera would be a perfect partner,” Lujan says, and El Paso Opera leaders were thrilled to be part of the production and filming. Grabarkewitz expects that this event will draw a different crowd than the grand operas enjoyed in Chavez Theatre. The ticket prices-$7.50 for standing room/open seating, $25 for reserved seats and $50 for VIP tables with lounge and food service—make the event accessible to a broad range of people who seek out the unusual in literature, music and art.

The event is just right for mem-bers of El Paso Opera’s BRAVO! Alliance, a group of primarily young professionals (although some members are older) who flock to events that combine culture and fun. “We’re modeled on the PopRally at the Museum of Modern Art,” says BRAVO! president Stefanie Uribarri, who lived in New York while working at Columbia University. “MoMa threw these amazing artistic events that were the best parties in town.”

More than 80 art enthusiasts joined Uribarri in launching BRAVO! Alliance at Loft Light Studio in March 2013; stars from the El Paso Opera’s production of Barber of Seville helped entertain the crowd. The next major party is the Black and White Beach Ball on August 9 at a private home with a pool.

“HavingVidas Perfectas at Tricky Falls will be a social experience that shows that opera is fun and not snooty,” Uribarri adds. “People who are open to a creative, less traditional version of opera will enjoy this original production. In every great city, you have great art and El Paso is emerging as a city that nurtures original art.”

July 12, 8 p.m. Tricky Falls Theater, 209 South El Paso Street, El Paso: Episodes 1-4

July 13, 7 p.m. Museo de la Revolucion en la Frontera, 16 de Septiembre and Avenida Juarez, Juarez: Episodes 5-7

July 18, Ballroom Marfa, 108 San Antonio Street, Marfa: Episodes 1-4

July 19, Ballroom Marfa, 108 San Antonio Street, Marfa: Episodes 5-7

For more information you can visit: vidasperfectas.org

Performing Arts

UTEP Student’s Film to World Premiere at Cannes Film Festival

The Art Avenue

July 8, 2014

By Lisa Y. Garibay

UTEP News Service

Nineteen-year-old El Pasoan Leo Aguirre’s passion is film and it’s taking him around the world.

Aguirre was chosen from a highly competitive group of global filmmakers for the 2014 Cannes Film Festival in May. His short film El Fuego Detras will be screening as part of a cream-of-the-crop showcase at one of the world’s largest and most respected celebrations of cinema.

In its 16-minute running time, El Fuego Detras follows a suicidal writer whose life becomes entangled with that of a young immigrant girl when an unexpected crime is committed. The film is set in El Paso and was shot over one weekend in late January.

“We worked extremely quickly. It was kind of like trying to run on water,” Aguirre said. He had help from local cast and crew, including the film’s co-writer and male lead Brian Ceely, who attends UTEP alongside Aguirre.

“El Fuego Detras is the first short that I’ve helped to create from concept to wrap,” Ceely said. “Leo and I met in December and shared a love of film and art, so we decided to write and shoot this film together. We both wrote it, and while he took on the role of director and editor, I acted in it and I drew the storyboards. It was a truly collaborative experience.”

Having spent childhood weekends watching movies with his grandparents—a tradition he proudly continues—Aguirre zeroed in on film as the outlet for his artistic expression. He made his first short film when he was just 16 during a summer digital filmmaking workshop in his temporary Caribbean homeland.

Under his production company banner Novum Indie Films, Aguirre has completed three short films to date, including El Fuego Detras and Back of Beyond. His previous short film Siblings scored an audience award at the 2013 Cine las Americas International Film Festival.

For this young, hard-working film lover, it means the world to have been hand-picked to show his work among the best of the best at Cannes.

“If last year someone had told me that I would be attending the festival this year, I would not have believed him or her,” Aguirre said. “Cannes is the one of the world’s most prestigious festivals, so being able to attend at my age is a great privilege.”

To read more about Leo Aguirre pick up a copy of The Art Avenue.

To view his work (which has the film’s trailer): novumindiefilms.com

Or visit the Facebook page: NovumIndieFilms

Illustration

Bust of Chico

The Art Avenue

July 2, 2014

Mercedes Lopez is an 18-year-old working illustrator and full-time French student at UTEP. She spends her time studying, painting, and participating in art markets and gallery shows.

Check out her online portfolio at http://mercedeslopezart.wix.com/portfolio to see more

Visual Arts

A Q&A with Frechelle Wilson

The Art Avenue

June 25, 2014

Imagine seeing a piece of paper in the middle of the road. For any passerby it’s nothing more than trash, but for Frechelle Wilson that piece of paper represents an endless supply of art just waiting to be made. An Outsider Artist with strong ties to Folk and Eco Art, Wilson examines her own African American roots, as well as the Latino influence of the Border region in her multifaceted pieces. Fresh off two art shows in April alone, her dress series Mother Earth showed at Union Gallery’s Earth Week exhibit, and her piece “Outsider” displayed as part of the Rubin Center’s 10 Squared show.

A self-professed Art Avenue junkie (she recycles our magazines in her work!) her art encompasses everything from paintings to dresses to refurbished stop signs in a merging of influences from her personal history and all the places she’s lived.

AA: Were you always interested in creating art?

Frechelle: Yes, always. I like to incorporate a lot of different elements from recycling in my work. I use earth, so no matter where I’m living I always take a bit of earth. I have earth from El Paso in my artwork. I use holy water from different churches, I have different places send me holy water because it’s a big part of what I do. I use a lot of recycled paper, cardboard, anything I can find, literally, almost anything. I’m big on that, I like to take from where I’m at and not outsource things.

To read more on Frechelle Wilson, pick up a copy of The Art Avenue at Kipps Cheesesteak in Downtown El Paso.

Design

The Huggable Art of Lula-Squid

Kimberly Rene' Vanecek

June 16, 2014

Story and photos by Victoria G. Molinar

They’re cuddly, they’re quirky and they’re the result of two high school sweethearts who decided that full-time art is the route for them. Inspired by cartoons, monsters and comic book favorites, the plush creatures that Michelle Delgado and Ray Peregrino make have gained much popularity at local conventions and art markets.

When they found themselves in a rut several years ago (Peregrino was laid off from his job at a car rental business while Delgado struggled finding work with her bachelor’s degree in history), they both decided it was time to throw caution to the wind and make an income out of pure creativity and hard work.

Thus Lula-Squid (named after their cat, Squid, and the Portuguese word for squid, “lula”) was born.

We had a chance to sit down with the creative couple and chat about monsters, El Paso’s growing art scene and the future of their business.

When did you two start making plush dolls?

RP: In November of 2008. Michelle made this plush pillow of an owl for her little cousin out of nowhere. I didn’t even know she could make it. I saw it and thought man this is amazing. So I drew these little monsters and asked her, ‘Can you make this into a stuffed animal?’ And she did and I was just amazed with them. I encouraged her to make her own designs and she did. She taught me how to sew.

From there, I was like, that’s it! Let’s make and sell these and just see how this works. We would go on the road with Rapheene and sell all of the stuff we were making and we used that for gas. We were selling so much of it that I was making more than I did with my job.

MD: When we first started, there weren’t a whole lot of art shows going on, especially for what we did. There were a lot of fine art shows and galleries, but we really didn’t have a place where we could fit in. We got one art show at The Percolator, then we kept getting more and more shows. These past two or three years, there’s just been a boom in the art scene and it’s very accepting of what we do.

How do you come up with the creatures you create?

RP: We’ll just start sketching stuff out. We have a lot of really crappy sketches. (Laughs)

MD:(Laughing) Sometimes we have a really neat idea and on paper and it looks cool, but trying to get it to the 3-D realm doesn’t work.

When we first started, it was more focused on abstract originals. The monsters didn’t have to resemble anything. Then we wanted to try a new line of work, so we started doing mini figures based on popular characters, like a mummy, a ninja, a zombie, a yeti and Bigfoot.

We started doing conventions and decided to do our version of popular characters like Batman, Wolverine, Nightcrawler. And now we’re pushing it more. We take a regular object and put a monster plush twist on it, like our crazy furry-headed cupcake.

To read the entire interview, pick up a copy of The Art Avenue at The El Paso Museum of Art store.

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