At the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Vignes Street, Christine Ulke’s artwork for the exterior of the Division 13 Bus Maintenance and Operations Facility in downtown Los Angeles commemorates an iconic sycamore tree that stood for approximately 400 years three blocks south of the building site.
Metro Art Presents Soundtrips is a collection of transit-inspired sounds and stories to amplify your ride. Created in 2020 and 2021, the program series is compiled in a playlist for Metro riders’ listening pleasure. From engaging first hand stories of music and place that take you on a journey from swinging Sunset Boulevard in the late 1960s into Downtown’s punk rock cafes of the early 1980s and over to multiple eras of Leimert Park across time…to environmental soundscapes centered on nature and neighborhoods that drive the heart and imagination…. and groundbreaking musicians in classical, jazz and beyond performing live on Union Station’s public piano to filter the sounds of our major transit hub out to the sidewalks and streets… Listen to Soundtrips at every turn while you traverse the wide ranging terrain that is Los Angeles County!
We ride the train toward memories of beautiful travelsis inspired by their enduring connection to Metro and soulful bond that evolved with time and age.
This new rider portrait exhibition on view in the Union Station Passageway Art Gallery and beyond celebrates diversity and the community of transit riders to launch upcoming programs across multiple formats and sites including buses, trains and stations in Los Angeles County and online. Tag your selfie #SomosWeAre to join in Metro’s portrait exhibition and share your journey, too!
Lisa Adams’ “A Glimpse of Stoney Point Park” at Chatsworth Station depicts the area’s rural lifestyle and rich history of horse-keeping. A
Project Description A series of art panels are united by a flowing sash, mean to convey the history and vitality of the local neighborhood. At locations facing the entrances to the platform, art panels depict the agricultural area that once existed as well as the present day urban city. A painted sash flows in front of the landscape. The front side depicts images of fabric patterns from a wide range of cultural traditions quilted together with a light blue yarn meant to signify the E Line (Expo). The back side of the sash contains a painted, abstracted map of the area with a blue line denoting the route of the E Line (Expo). At locations facing the interior of the platform, people, restaurants and theatres are the focus – drawing attention to the many different kinds of people and businesses that have contributed to the growth of the area. Artist Statement “By including images of the diverse existing community as well as a large veteran population, the pieces will offer a sense of warmth, youthfulness, …
Patrick Mohr’s “Angel Train” is a metaphor for the spiritual journey we all take during the course of our lives, merging the architectural past of downtown Long Beach and the journey of the commuter with the invisible poetic world of fantasy.
Made of annealed bronze strips that have been welded over a supporting armature to create a woven latticed form, Astride-Aside by Michael Stutz represents a unique community that is determined to move forward in its own distinct way.
For Atlantic Station, Adobe LA created a series of benches with tile rugs at the platform and a large scale free standing sculpture inspired by the striking and colorful design culture of Eastside living rooms, shops, cars, and toys.
“Blue Line Totems in Red” is Roberto Salas’s tribute to the historic Red Cars of the Pacific Electric Railway. The key element of the project is a series of red “totems” mounted on the platform columns and perforated with designs taken from the 1,100 unique shapes used by conductors to punch tickets on the old Red Cars.
During a train ride from Oakland to New York, the artist utilized the time to create artistic installations that reinterpreted the interior space of a sleeper car, as well as the relationship between the train and the passing landscape.
For Little Tokyo/Arts District Station, Hirokazu Kosaka created six smooth granite benches with concentric circles of black and white, simulating a Zen archery target with station canopies in the shape of Japanese archery bows. “Buffer Zone” was displayed at the station from 2009-2017 in coordination with the artist.
Artist Sally Weber designed “Celestial Chance” for Long Beach Blvd. Station to explore traditional and contemporary visions of the sky.
Portraits of a cross-section of Angelenos were photographed in front of a pair of paper mache wings, constructed by artist Colette Miller and affixed to a roll down gate on Main Street.
Artist Charles Dickson sought to reflect the community’s contribution to preserving the El Segundo Blue Butterfly, and to call attention to the parallels between nature and the development of aerospace technology that has played an important role in the area surrounding the Mariposa Station.
Project Description Divining Los Angeles Landscapes: Woodlands to Watersheds On display in Union Station Passageway Art Gallery July 2015-July 2016 Photo based artworks by three artists invite visitors to Union Station to explore the histories, paradoxes, ironies and majesties of Los Angeles landscapes. The thirty-six illuminated color and black-and-white photographs on display in this passageway meander from ethereal botanical specimens at large scale to vistas of the wild urban edges, and the connective unnatural nature in between. Joyce Campbell – In the Ether Ken Gonzales-Day – Oak and Thistle: Views of the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains John Humble – Natura Urbanus About the Artist JOYCE CAMPBELL (b. 1971, New Zealand) earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Canterbury University and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Auckland, where she is pursuing a doctoral degree in creative practice. She has lectured at a number of universities, including California State University, Northridge, Claremont Graduate University, Scripps College, the University of Auckland Elam School of the Arts and the University of California, Irvine. Her interdisciplinary work has been …
In “Dramatic Locale,” artist Caryl Davis designed a terrazzo paving area and a porcelain enamel steel panel for the North Hollywood station platform that incorporates the many placenames given to the regions landforms by its human inhabitants.
Artist Michael Davis inlaid the Sunset/Vermont Station floor and walls with granite patterns of celestial orbits and metal etched with spheres containing medical symbols and microscopic images of life forms, a reference to the iconography that is commonly shared by astronomy and medicine.
Inspired by the famous Mexican song from yesteryear, “El Niño Perdido” (the Lost Child), Alejandro de la Loza sculpted a bronze statue of a mother and child which hangs over the entrance Mariachi Plaza Station.
A constant observer of city life, Ronald Llanos presents snapshot sketches of everyday activities in this artwork for Expo/Western Station.
Artist Pat Ward Williams used people in transit as the subject for her artwork “Everyday People” at the Lake Avenue Station.
Abstract art utilizes a visual language of shape, color, and line to depict a composition devoid of recognizable things from nature.
For “Former Location/Contemporary Portrait” at Valley College Station, photographer Laura London Recreated black and white contemporary portraits on porcelain enamel steel feature nearby historic locations of rock ‘n’ roll history and reference the styles and fashions of the times.
Jacqueline Dreager’s work for Wardlow Station, Great Gathering Place, takes its title from Puvunga, the Chumash name for this area
Located above the escalator at the Hope Street entrance to the Metro Center Station, “Heaven to Earth” is a ceramic tile triptych with strong allegorical content.
