Project Description

Representing the first permanent art project for a Metro vehicle/bus, the seat fabric installed in the Articulated and 45’ Compo buses has been designed by Beep’Inc., the collaborative team of artist Pae White and architect Tom Marble. The buses are the newest and most futuristic designs added to the Metro fleet and currently serve the Metro G Line (Orange) and Metro Rapid. Future buses may appear on new Metro Express lines and some Metro Local lines. This project received significant Section 5307 implementation funds (Federal Transportation Enhancement Grant).

The seat fabric design weaves together symbols derived from transit passes of the past (especially the 1930’s and 1940’s) and is designed to deter vandalism. Beep’ Inc. was originally selected to join the Metro Rapid design team and participate in the design development of this new service. As part of this broader project they chose to transform the customer environment by the design of vibrantly colored and cushioned seats.

Artist Statement

“I am interested in how a shift through the presence of an art element, subtle or otherwise, can alter, if only briefly, the way we perceive a common situation. Perhaps the art aspect can re-define this “everyday” experience.” -Pae White

About the Artist

TOM MARBLE, AIA is the former Director of Architecture in the Urban Planning and Design Department at the Irving Ranch Company. His past projects include: Fox Broadcasting Company’s new executive building in Century City; 505 Montgomery, a 26 story commercial building in San Francisco; Disney Children’s Center in Burbank; and the MCA-Universal Child Care Center. He is currently principal of Tom Marble, AIA.

PAE WHITE is a highly acclaimed artist who has exhibited extensively in the United States and abroad and worked in a wide variety of mediums and materials. She is well known for her design-referencing artwork. Recent projects include public art commissions for Selfridges in London, Watershed at Bear Mountain State Park in New York, State of California East End Complex in Sacramento, as well as solo museum shows at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth, New Zealand and at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Westwood.