Artist brings Las Cruces icons to life in I-25/University Avenue public art project

The New Mexico Department of Transportation’s (NMDOT) Interstate 25/University Avenue construction project will not only improve traffic safety and flow for residents and visitors, it will add unique and beautiful art to city bridges and interchanges.

Because the I-25/University Avenue interchange is a major gateway into the community and to New Mexico State University, NMDOT wanted to “incorporate artwork that reflects our region, culture and history” for the construction project’s public art component, according to the project website (www.i25-university.com).

NMDOT chose native New Mexican and Latina artist/designer Collette Marie, “to create a look and feel that would make the project unique and memorable.”

Marie, who holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from NMSU, selected “Cultivo y Cultura” (Cultivation and Culture) as the title of her work, which includes aesthetic treatments for the infrastructure’s abutment walls, retaining wall, piers and pedestrian railing. Marie has incorporated themes of “the Southwest, desert plants, cultivation of crops, academia and Las Cruces culture and history” into the art, she said. Because NMSU is an ag school, Marie said she chose four of the state’s specialty crops to use on the Triviz/NMSU side: chile, cotton, pecans and onions.

“Pecan trees are a particularly important theme,” she said, because NMSU identified them in its master plan as “a campus entry icon” and “perhaps the most noteworthy signature tree on campus.”

Marie’s chile artwork honors Fabian Garcia, an agriculture professor at NMSU, 1906-45, first director of the state Agriculture Experiment Station in 1913 and a chile-crop pioneer.

On the I-25 side, Marie chose several examples of southern New Mexico flora and fauna, including ocotillo and agave plants, the whiptail lizard, a sun disk and sunburst and an earth-and-seed concept “representing both a planted seed in the earth and symbolic of academic growth.”

Marie said she chose the whiptail lizard – the state reptile – instead of the greater roadrunner (the state bird) since the roadrunner is already well represented in the city.

Native grasses were also incorporated into the design, along with a song sparrow, which Marie said she dedicated to her grandmother, Alvita Trujillo Flores, who fostered her development as an artist from an early age.

“She was in my thoughts as I was competing for the contract and designing for this project.”

Marie’s color scheme includes the earth tones of ivory, beige and terra-cotta.

“Earth tones have mass appeal and age well,” Marie said. “These specific colors are found in the Spanish Renaissance Revival architecture on campus.”

Marie said her goal is to “bring rural elements to an urban landscape” so travelers who are passing

through “can get a feel for the culture and rural life in the Mesilla Valley.”

“I had been wanting to design the aesthetic treatment for a bridge for a long time,” Marie said. And, she

wanted to “add a unique dimension and style … in contrast to the artwork on other interchanges and bridges in Las Cruces.”

But Marie said she had never worked with concrete before, and she had to create specifications with numbers and color-coded lines to translate her vision to Fitzgerald Formliners, the Santa Ana, California-based company that fabricated the formliners (concrete panels) for the project.

“I had to take my 2-D designs and imagine them in 3-D,” Marie said. “That was pretty challenging for me.”

Marie said she is “just so pleased” with the work Fitzgerald Formliners has done.

“It has been a real treat to see my artwork unveiling in different sections of the interchange over time,” she said.

Exhibitions of Marie’s work include a 2015 solo exhibit, Native New Mexico, at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum. She was selected as an Honorary Silver Steamroller Artist at the Southwest Print Fiesta in Silver City in 2017 and became the finalist for the NMDOT I-25/University Interchange Public Art Project in 2018.

Marie’s work has been featured in New Mexico Magazine and published in author John Stones’ “Celebration Graphics Sourcebook: Festive Designs from All Cultures.” Marie also designs jewelry, apparel, prints and decals.

Contact Marie at lacolleWe@gmail.com. Visit www.colleWemarie.art/ and instagram.com/nightbird.

I-25 University Project expected to continue through next summer

The New Mexico Department of Transportation’s (NMDOT) Interstate 25/University Avenue Project began Jan. 2 and is expected to continue through the summer of 2021, according to www.i25-university.com.

The $33.3 million project will add capacity to the I-25 southbound off-ramp at University Avenue, reducing congestion and providing direct connections to Pan American Center parking lots.

Project improvements include a new University Avenue bridge over I-25, a Triviz Drive underpass under University Avenue connecting north and south Triviz, continuation of the multi-use Triviz Trail to the new NMSU trail system, better local traffic flow through roundabouts merging traffic on both sides of the University/Triviz underpass, a new entrance ramp from NMSU to southbound I-25 and roadway improvements to University Avenue from Triviz Drive to Las Alturas to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles, the website said.

Visit www.i25-university.com/index.php/about and click on “Construction Updates” for regular project updates.