Frank de la Teja to speak at Walter Eugene George symposium

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
January 28, 2014

Frank de la Teja, Jerome H. and Catherine E. Supple Professor of Southwestern Studies at Texas State University, will be a featured speaker during a symposium on the legacy of artist and photographer Walter Eugene George Feb. 6 at the Institute of Texan Cultures in San Antonio.

The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will discuss the importance of a wide range of historic resources in the borderlands to the state of Texas, including the impact of George’s work.

The symposium is part of the “Walter Eugene George and the Cultural Legacy of the Rio Grande” exhibit open Feb. 1-28 at the Institute of Texan Cultures. The exhibit showcases 12 photos, a large hand-drawn map and a selection of Historic American Buildings Survey sketches from George’s collection.

At the Feb. 6 symposium, scholars and students will lend their perspectives on Eugene George’s work. In addition to de la Teja, participants include Mario Sanchez, Texas Department of Transportation; Steve Tillotson, AIA, Munoz and Company; and University of Texas at San Antonio professors Richard Tangum, Maggie Valentine and Bill Dupont, FAIA. The symposium will conclude with a panel discussion, moderated by Gil Gonzalez, director of the Rural Business Program in the UTSA Institute for Economic Development.

Maggie Valentine, the exhibit curator, selected the specific areas of emphasis for the exhibit, including San Antonio, Roma, Rio Grande City, Cuevitas, and the Viejo Guerrero ghost town in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Viejo Guerrero was lost when the Falcón Dam was built in the 1950s. George reconstructed a map of the city before its inundation, and returned to the site in 1983 and in 1995 when drought conditions exposed the ruins. A selection of the Viejo Guerrero drawings is featured.

For more information on the free Feb. 6 symposium, and to register, call the UTSA College of Architecture at (210) 458-3137. Check-in on Feb. 6 begins at 8:30 a.m. Symposium guests will enjoy free admission to the Walter Eugene George exhibit. For additional information, visit TexanCultures.com.