Client

Location: El Paso, TX, United States

Completion date: 2015

Artwork budget: $70,000

Project Team

Artist

Charlotte Paul

C. Paul Stained Glass Inc.

Industry Resource

Barbara Derix

Derix Glasstudios

Public Art Agent

Pat Dalbin

City of El Paso Museum and Cultural Affairs Dept.

Photographer

Renee Jimenez

Client

El Paso Museum of History

Architect

MNK Architects

Overview

The El Paso Museum of History has improved its facility with an interactive Touch City 3-D digital wall and stained glass installation built onto the Museum’s exterior welcome pavilion. El Paso Museum of History is centrally located in the downtown El Paso Cultural District.

Goals

The stained glass art creates an exterior wall in the pavilion that remains open to the public from morning to night. This space allows people to interact with the touch screen digital wall that contains historical images and information about El Paso past and present. The stained glass artwork glows on the exterior pavilion wall with translucent colors of the southwest. At night the art creates a colorful beacon to the El Paso Museum of History pavilion for people participating in downtown events. The transparency of the glass allows people interacting with the digital imagery to be visible during the evening hours.

Process

The El Paso Museum of History staff, architect and public art committee sought an artist interpretation of the southwest. The design reflects the Southwest landscape of light and vast open space, while balancing the complexity of the multi-layered digital wall. is symbolically represented in the upward gesture that also mirrors the new Architectural elements in the entrance expansion. Derix Glasstudios were selected to fabricate the stained glass artwork with fired vitreous airbrushed and hand painted elements. The large glass panels were tempered and laminated into IGU (Individual Glass Units) for this exterior installation.

Additional Information

The City of El Paso downtown area is experiencing a true Renaissance with Public Art being one strong contributing element in their overall plan. The economic returns will benefit the city, as the quality of cultural experiences impact both residents and visitors of the area, through this rich and varied investment of art.