Project Description

Unity, located on the A Line (Blue) tunnel walls between 7th Street/Metro Center Station and Pico Station, was the first artwork to be installed in the system. The eighty-two fiber-optic light paintings, which featured circular patterns of intense blue and white light, was intended as a symbol of the ever-changing experience of living in Los Angeles.

Artist Statement

“I have worked with these patterns from the beginning. They are very important, basic, strong determinations in my work, but they will be interpreted differently by different people. The work is viewed repeatedly by daily commuters. I want it to be universal, something that can always be new for them.”

About the Artist

THOMAS EATHERTON (d. 2023) was born in Los Angeles, CA and studied at UCLA. His work derives from a painting tradition but it expanded to include the use of real light and space. In some of his pieces the viewer walks around in totally enclosed spaces. He employs computers in his work and has done projects in which he composed light panels in storefront windows, illuminating public spaces. He lives and works in Santa Monica.