MinerAlert
Project Space
August 14 - October 11, 2008
Co-curated by William Palmore
Modernism for the Borderland: The Mid-Century Houses of Robert Garland and David Hillescelebrated a contribution to art and architecture made by two of the most talented and influential architects of our region during the 1950’s and 60’s. It brought to light an important era in the growth of El Paso and highlighted the emergence of high quality architecture in a remote and unusual setting. As a commentary on population growth and construction, the exhibit looked back at the last time that the city grew quickly and raises the issue of appropriate architecture in a desert environment.
Architect William Palmore, Assistant Professor and Chair of Architecture at the New York Institute of Technology, organized the exhibition. It included both architectural scale models of Garland and Hilles buildings and historic photographs of the houses taken by internationally renowned architectural photographer, Julius Shulman. The exhibit also presented extensive scholarship on the contribution of Garland and Hilles to regional design and sustainable building, complementing and expanding upon the materials that Palmore presented to the El Paso community in 2006, the first time ever that a public lecture has been given on the work of Garland and Hilles.