Project Description
A hand-drawn illustration echoes the Art Deco elegance of the nearby Wilshire Tower and traces the layered history of the Miracle Mile from bubbling tar to the 19th century barley fields. On the train walls, kaleidoscopic patterns formed in tar gradually reveal themselves as icons drawn from community stories: an ice cream cone from the old Carnation Building soda fountain, an airplane from the Cecil B. DeMille Airfield, a bowling pin from the Wilshire La Brea Recreation Center, and more—each one a window into the collective memory of the neighborhood.
To inform his artwork design, Mark Dean Veca hosted an ice cream social at an art gallery near the future station where he presented on his artistic background and design concept for his station artwork. He asked attendees to bring an object or memory that was connected to the Miracle Mile area. Attendees were invited to write, draw and share the memories, objects and icons that had a connection to the history of this area around the future station. These are the community stories that inspired the imagery on the trainway walls.
Artist Statement
“Tar is inextricably linked with the identity of the Miracle Mile and Hancock Park. As the trains will be traveling underground through tunnels that have been dug in and around ancient tar deposits, my surreal artwork will acknowledge the reality of the surrounding geology.”
About the Artist
MARK DEAN VECA (b. 1963, Shreveport, Louisiana) is known for his bold-lined,
surreal paintings and installations inspired by pop culture, decorative arts and art history. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Otis College of Art and Design, and his work has been exhibited internationally at institutions such as the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Long Beach Museum of Art, Orange County Museum of Art, PS 1/MoMA, San Jose Museum of Art and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. He is the recipient of awards from the Crocker Art Museum, the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the New York Foundation for the Arts, among others.