James Magee

This book presents The Hill - a profoundly original, massive, and enigmatic work of art engineered, built, and designed by an equally enigmatic American artist. For more than a quarter of a century, the American artist James Magee has been engaged in a largely secret and solitary endeavour that takes up 52,000 square feet of vast plain in West Texas, USA. A former lawyer, taxi driver, and offshore roughneck, Magee settled in El Paso where he has made a name for himself as a painter, sculptor, poet, and video maker. With 'The Hill', a complex of pavilions joined by ramps and walkways, Magee reveals himself to be an architect, engineer, and builder as well. Luminous photographs of the four buildings in 'The Hill' capture their stark presence in the desert. In addition this book takes readers inside the complex to view enormous installations and sculptures made from natural objects: stone, flowers, wood, iron, and glass. Reminiscent of ruins from the Mayan, Egyptian, and European cultures, 'The Hill' is nonetheless distinctively American - from the rolling landscape it inhabits to the Puritan-inspired 'City on a Hill' feeling it evokes. The first volume to fully explore this unique masterpiece, The Hill will draw readers into one man's ambitious vision, while creating a wider audience for what is certain to be a celebrated art destination.