Author: Kara McVey
Though many complain about Los Angeles’ public transportation, the options available to its residents have steadily improved over recent years. Various city groups are constantly in the process of trying to improve L.A.’s transportation in terms of convenience, expansion, and aesthetic value. The city frequently filters money into large-scale public art projects, and the Metro railway system is one of the best demonstrations of L.A.’s commitment to the arts
According to the Metro Web site, in the past 20 years over 300 artists have been commissioned to work on various Metro art installations. The hired artists take pains to create work that is both visually appealing and representative of local culture. Today, every Metro station in L.A. features original artwork. Here are just a few of the stations you should look out for the next time you ride.
Highland Park
Only about a mile away from Oxy, the Highland Park Gold Line station makes for both convenient and quick access to Los Angeles’ public transportation network. The station currently features artist Raoul de la Sota’s 2003 painting that represents the city of Highland Park.
The painting depicts the city’s main thoroughfares at twilight, using a mostly dark palette illuminated by the reddish hues of a waning sunset and the yellow of glowing city lights. On the Metro Web site, the artist describes his work as a vision of the city at dusk canopied by “stars and constellations of the ancient peoples.”
Hollywood and Highland
At the heart of Hollywood, underneath the Kodak Theater and directly across from the El Capitan, you can find the futuristic Hollywood/Highland Red Line station. Artist Sheila Klein and modernist architecture firm Dworsky Associates (now CannonDworsky) collaborated to make the station itself a piece of architectural art. According to the Metro Web site, the team attempted to infuse the station with elements of humanity. The sweeping metal panels that surround the tunnel make up the skeleton of the station, while a large suspension chandelier at the head of the station projects images of eyes onto the surrounding walls. The artists dubbed their work “Underground Girl.”
Wilshire/Vermont
This transit hub, located in Koreatown, is home to colorful and vibrant art fixtures from artists Peter Shire and Bob Zoell. Shire’s work, titled “Los Angeles Seen,” is comprised of a series of fanciful statues and objects assembled around the station. Copper geometric stars and a red mock bridge sit over the escalators, arranged on a small platform. Also, a series of “industrial angels” constructed of various bright colors and basic shapes are suspended from the Metro ceiling, hovering over the heads of passersby. Zoell’s contribution to the station comes in the form of four brightly tiled columns that feature emoticons arranged in cute, funny ways to create different expressions, poses and sayings to greet passengers.
Union Station
Union Station connects the Metro Red, Purple and Gold Lines with a slew of Amtrak and Metrolink lines, making it the busiest railway station in Los Angeles. It currently features artwork from Terry Schoonhoven, Cynthia Carlson and Roy Nicholson. Schoonhoven’s piece, entitled “Traveler,” is a large mural that pays tribute to travelers of Los Angeles’ past, depicting a landscape filled with a mix of stage coaches, Hollywood dreamers and modern streets.
Over the underground escalators lies Carlson’s more abstract piece, “L.A.: City of Angels,” a painting that uses images of eleven different angel wings to represent eleven of Los Angeles’ founding families. Finally, Nicholson’s two part mosaic, which the artist dubbed “Solar Shift San Bernardino and Santa Monica,” appears on two station walls facing one another. On one wall, the expansive San Bernardino mountains are featured, while on the opposing wall, an image of the Santa Monica sunset is captured.
On the Metro Web site, the artist said that he hoped that the “light-reflecting quality and textural beauty of glass mosaic,” would contrast pleasingly with the barren walls that fill most other public transportation spots.
The New York Times called the L.A. Metro art program “one of the most imaginative public art programs in the country.” With such high praise, it is a wonder that so few Angelenos take advantage of the public transit system, and even fewer appreciate the effort spent to make the system as innovative and beautiful as possible. Be one of the few: take advantage of Oxy’s great location and the next time you ride the rails keep an eye out for some fantastic local art.
More info about the Metro art, in addition to Metro railway maps and traffic reports, can be found at http://www.metro.net
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