UrbaniZing the Mojave Desert: LAS VEGAS
supported by
A photo documentation of Ralph Stern (University of Nevada) and Nicole Huber (University of Washington)
19. Dezember 2007 - 08. Februar 2008
at the Taut Saal
Opening Times: Tue to Fr 12-6 pm Uhr, Sa + Sun 2-6 pm. Entrance is free.
Exhibition Opening: 19th December 2007, 7:00 pm at the Taut-Saal
The exhibition documents through sixty images many of the recent transitions encountered throughout Las Vegas and the adjoining valleys. Unlike most presentations of the city since the seminal "Learning from Las Vegas", this material avoids the spectacle of the Strip.
Rather, beginning with the Strips' »backside«—the monumental parking structures and staging areas serving the spectacle—it spirals outwards, transitioning through aspects of the »everyday«, the »other« and the marginalized as it moves through the city's industrial sites, trailer parks, areas slated for »urban renewal«, the cityscape of signage, and the topography of homelessness. Moving towards the city's peripheries, the images document infrastructure (vehicular, water and waste management) before engaging the outer suburbs and fringe areas beyond. Sites of Transition concludes with an exploration
of the abstract geometrical forms characterizing much of the city's development, relating these to the stunning abstractions of nature found throughout the desert in which Las Vegas is located.
In addition a catalogue of Prof. Nicole Huber and Prof. Ralph Stern will be published: "Urbanizing the Mojave Desert: Las Vegas”. The publication with 112 pages and an accompanying text documents many of the current changes in whole Las Vegas and the bordering valleys.
We kindly would like to thank:
Embassy of the United States of America
Phoenix Urban Research Laboratory (PURL), College of Design
Arizona State University
Department of Architecture, University of Washington
Clark County Parks and Recreation, Clark County, Nevada
