Legacy Gate | Historic Westside Rehabilitation | City of Las Vegas (2016)
The conceptual idea for the Westside School Legacy Gate started by exploring the architecture and existing public art of the building (and surrounding area). I was immediately drawn to the patterning of materials used on the facade such as the brick, shadow patterns created by the wood trellis, the tile art murals, and more; but what resonated the most were the window mullion frames. My intent was to play off the simple geometry and classic beauty of this small design element by creating a juxtaposition of materiality, pattern, and imagery. This minimal architectural detail typically goes unnoticed, but one does not often realize the impact which a simple window frame can create. By framing the Historic Westside School image (original class photo courtesy of the Historic Westside School Alumni Foundation), the story that it tells is explored in multiple vignettes. It reads as one image, yet at the same time, each image is framed, and tells their own story.
The Historic Westside School was built in 1923 and restored in 2016. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 2, 1979.
Blackened Steel, Weathered Steel
The perforated steel image reads as an inverse image to the shadow image on the ground.
Photo by Kirsten Clarke Photography