Wall of (Un)Fame
More than 650 residents of the cities of Downey, Bellflower and Paramount contributed to artist Erika Rothenberg’s “Wall of (Un)Fame.”
Archives
Untitled
Project Description Renée Petropoulos explores the notion of a location’s identifying landmarks. In this station, large vibrantly-colored medallions, or shields, reflect the neighborhood’s industrial landscape and complex machinery, and transform the station into a bold landmark. A sculptural air-ventilator tower circles above the station while the girders supporting the canopy resemble crisscrossing electrical towers. Benches are reminiscent of industrial tools and gears. Passengers can explore the idea of location as they are engulfed by conjugations of the verb “to be”; subtle area maps incorporated into the station platform and stairwells include the names of people who worked on the station’s construction. At the plaza level, a complex and colorful terrazzo paving pattern greets passengers. Fragments of private conversations are embossed into the concrete stair risers, interjecting the intimacy of private space into this very public location. The act of viewing is conceptualized throughout the station: handrails house eyes, silkscreened on the elevator glass frames both the viewer and the landscape, and viewing tubes locate various landmarks in the area while simultaneously allowing passengers to focus …
The Museum of Space Information
Project Description Working with the station architect, artist Carl Cheng’s project, The Museum of Space Information refers to two significant and very different aspects of the local area: the coastal strip and the aerospace industry. Travelers move from an imaginary sea bottom on the lower level (even the landscaping has been designed to have an underwater appearance) upward into space to the platform level. Waiting beneath the translucent blue glass canopy, passengers feel as though they are inside a cool, ocean wave. A multitude of paving elements intrigue passengers as they wait for their train: these include imaginary galaxies, etched granite galaxy diagrams, embedded metal instruments, and even an imprint of man’s first step on the moon. A specially designed kaleidoscopic viewing lens provides passengers with a fish-eye view of moving street traffic below. Two “satellite” sculptures adorn the top of the elevator towers, transmitting continuous NASA programming and up-to-the-minute space flight information on platform level video monitors. Windscreens exhibit miniature cross-section environments of earth geology that reveal buried core samples of technology, rocks, and 20th-century artifacts. …
Suka: Place of the Bees
The indigenous place name for the village settlement in the area near what is also known as Norwalk is Sejat, also known as Suka (as well as Sejatngna and Sehat), which meant “Place of the Bees.”
Second Line
A new series of sculptural parasols titled “Second Line” by artists Jamex and Einar de la Torre front the new Rosa Parks Customer Center and offer shade and enjoyment for the community at future events.
Gifts of Freedom and Knowledge
A mythical continuous stream winds through Magic Johnson Park alongside the local icons and characters who serve as hallmarks of a place in which the artist finds “home.”
real green
In “real green” at Vermont/Athens Station, artist Kim Yasuda and architectural collaborator Torgen Johnson sought not only to pay homage to, but to revive, the agricultural history of Gardena, a city once well-recognized for its gardens
Pyramid
Artist John Outterbridge has created Pyramid, a bilateral, reinforced-concrete pyramidal form, located at the northwest end of the station entrance.
Portrait Of My People #619
In Portrait Of My People #619, artist Willie Middlebrook has translated images of past and present artists from the surrounding community into a computer-generated porcelain enamel photo-mural.
Pathways to Freedom
At Willowbrook/Rosa Parks Station, artists Michael Massenburg and Robin Strayhorn created 5 seating areas out of concrete and ceramic tile, each seat honoring an important year in the life of Rosa Parks.
Locus: City Imprints
With “Locus: Locus: City Imprints” which is entwined in one of the city’s most complex freeway intersections, artist Steve Appleton attempts to architecturally connect the Harbor Freeway Station site with greater Los Angeles.
For Your Intellectual Entertainment
In For Your Intellectual Entertainment, a thirty foot wire-mesh hand is poised to launch, with the help of a slingshot, a giant “paper” airplane off one end of the platform.
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.
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 …
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. …
Celestial Chance
Artist Sally Weber designed “Celestial Chance” for Long Beach Blvd. Station to explore traditional and contemporary visions of the sky.
Bridge of Culture
Artist Stanley Wilson’s work Bridge of Culture focuses on the similarities within the beliefs shared by African and Native American cultures (especially those of Mexico).