Epoch
Patrick Nagatani’s collage mural addresses the idea of transportation from an individual to a global perspective. Over 500 postcards of transit images from 1900-1995 together form a view of the edge of the earth seen from space.
All Artworks
Ephemeral Views: A Visual Essay
A constant observer of city life, Ronald Llanos presents snapshot sketches of everyday activities in this artwork for Expo/Western Station.
Engraved in Memory
Gonzalez’s imagery illustrates the history of the Ballona Creek and the local area’s deep history, with references to Tongva homes and villages, the Mission and Californio periods as well as the film industry.
En Route
Project Description Travelers, encountered by the artist at Union Station, are captured in hyper real lighting and transformed into everyday icons in a celebration of mundane moments that would otherwise be overlooked. Artist Statement “I’m interested in exploring the character of historically significant sites by shooting a series of environmental portraits of the people who live and work in those locales. Union Station is the beating heart of the vast urban physiology of Los Angeles and its commuters and travelers are a microcosm of the surrounding city and county.” About the Artist SAM COMEN is a documentary photographer and has received Forward Thinking Museum and Santa Fe Center for Photography Project Launch grants and a Communication Arts Photography Annual Award. He has exhibited his work nationally in solo and group shows. Display year: 2014 – 2015 Locations: No longer on display
El Sol / La Luna
Echoing the vibrant color scheme which dominates the Westlake/MacArthur Station, intense blues, reds, and yellows are woven together in two ceramic tile murals which enrich the mezzanine end walls.
El Quetzalcoatl de Xochicalco and Le Gente del Pueblo
Roberto Delgado considered the station’s surrounding communities of Cypress Park, Montecito Heights, Lincoln Heights, and Highland Park and was impressed by the vitality of the people’s Mexican culture.
El Niño Perdido
Inspired by the famous Mexican song from yesteryear, El Niño Perdido Alejandro de la Loza sculpted a bronze statue of a mother and child which hangs over the entrance Mariachi Plaza Station.
El Monte Legion Stadium Nocturne
This artwork focuses on the musicians who played at the stadium and the promoters (radio deejays and TV personalities) who organized and hosted these events.
El Deseo de Progresar/The Will to Progress
Mendoza designed colorful and dynamic ceramic work as the finish of the columns on the lower level of Firestone Station where passengers make bus/rail connections.
El Aliso de Los Angeles
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.
Ecliptic/Illume
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.
Ebony
Honoring the selfless community service of the many individuals in our periphery, Ebony depicts daily Metro-rider Ebony Wilson, who is LAUSD’s hearing secretary and the admission director of a scholarship program for urban youth.
Dreams
Béatrice Coron’s Dreams pays tribute to the aspirations of Angelenos, the millions of individuals who have come to the City of Angels—a city of possibilities—so their hopes and dreams can take flight.
Dramatic Locale
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.
Divining Los Angeles Landscapes: Woodlands to Watersheds
Photo based artworks by three artists invite visitors to Union Station to explore the histories, paradoxes, ironies and majesties of Los Angeles landscapes.
Divine Order: the Manifestation of the Soaring Spirit
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.
DEUX
An exploration of psychological time meant to offer an intimate encounter with movement in solitary space for Metro ridership.
Devon
Devon represents a Crenshaw District resident whose grandparents resettled in the area after their internment during WWII.
Del Amo Wheel
Colin Gray created a decorative cast-stone cartwheel of approximately nine feet in diameter which is placed upright in the center of the station platform.
Deep Connections
Deep Connections, an exhibition now on display in the Union Station Passageway Art Gallery, features the otherworldly black and white photography of artist Ken Karagozian.
Crenshaw Stories
Project Description Artist Buzz Spector uses the theme of an “open book” for Crenshaw Stories. As is the case throughout Los Angeles, people living in the neighborhoods surrounding the station speak a number of different languages. Spector collected stories from these residents in several languages including Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Arabic, Russian and Tagalog. Seventy-two of these stories were hand-painted onto tile and interspersed with color tiles at the entrance to the station. In addition, seventy-two of the most commonly spoken languages by children in Los Angeles public schools, each coupled with the word “American,” are embedded at intervals across the platform. The book motif has also been incorporated into the design of station seating and paving patterns. Spector’s work provides a unique and colorful identity to Crenshaw Station while providing connections between people, between places, and between times. Collaboration with Caltrans, Architects. Artist Statement “Transportation systems are not just means of moving people—they are metaphors of the cultural and spiritual links between peoples. Crenshaw Stories has been designed to stress the connections between us that …
Couples, Groups and Friends
The seven images selected for this series of cinematically constructed photographs convey both the naturalness and self-consciousness that pervade all adolescent interactions.
Constructed Histories
Project Description Roy Dowell designed terrazzo paving areas and porcelain enamel steel panels for the station platforms. His designs for each platform utilize elements of neighboring signage and to some extent found printed posters and advertisements combined with other found printed material to create the images. The aircraft engine being used as a public sculpture at the Boeing plant across the street from the station was another point of inspiration, an object taken out of context and presented for purely aesthetic consideration. Artist Statement “My work alludes to a history of accumulated information and use as it invites the viewer to position themselves as both the interpreter and creator of a new history. Their lives and experiences feed the meaning and intent of the pieces that I have created for this site.” About the Artist ROY DOWELL has been a practicing artist for more than 25 years, with work in a number of museum collections. His work has been seen in numerous one-person and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Roy primarily works as a painter, …
Compton: Past, Present and Future
Eva Cockcroft’s ceramic tile murals examine the Compton area’s past, present, and future, with particular emphasis on the arrival of the various ethnic groups (African American, Latino and Samoan) that have contributed to the character of the city.
Companions
Project Description Companions is a series of cast bronze sculptures distributed throughout the station which introduce human scale to the often overwhelming environment. The figures, which represent various age groups, interact with passengers and each other. Up close, their smooth surface reflects a distorted image of the viewer. Grimmer also designed the polished granite benches at the station, providing harmonious seating for both passengers and the figural sculptures. Collaboration with Caltrans, Architects. Artist Statement “These figures are meant to be understood on different levels. They can appear to be companions to take along on a mental journey or to greet on the return. Upon catching a glimpse of his/her distorted reflection in the sculptures, the commuter may realize that however familiar we are to ourselves we may appear odd to others. Such a realization can be the first step to broadening our appreciation of the variety of ethnicities and lifestyles within our community and the world.” About the Artist MINEKO GRIMMER, born and raised in Japan, received a traditional western art education at Iwate University in Japan. …