Category Archives: Metro Art

Monumental sculpture installation in progress at new El Monte Station!

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Artist Donald Lipski stands in front of Time Piece, the sculpture he designed for the El Monte Station, as it’s being installed. When complete the sculpture will include three double sided clocks, which will be suspended by a network of cables from this sweeping 30 foot tall stainless steel arch.

An iconic, large-scale sculpture by Donald Lipski is being installed this week at Metro’s new El Monte Station, which is slated to open in late summer 2012. Here are a few photos showing the progress of installation.

Click here and here for prior Source posts on this artwork, and here for more information on Donald Lipski’s work.

The artist with John Grant, the artist’s project manager, standing with part of the sculpture before it’s hoisted skyward. JunoWorks fabricated the arch and cabling system for the clocks.

Detail of Time Piece before it’s installed. Each clock weighs a hefty 350 lbs. and is manufactured by the Verdin Company, the nearly 170-year old maker of clocks and bells, which has been operated by six generations of the Verdin family since 1842.

 

Monumental sculpture, Time Piece, to be installed at new El Monte Station

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Rendering of Donald Lipski’s Time Piece. The 30-foot tall clock tower will be installed in the entry plaza of the El Monte Transit Center. Rendering by RNL Architects.

An iconic, large-scale sculpture by Donald Lipski will be installed next week at Metro’s new El Monte Station, which is nearing completion.

Lipski, a renowed sculptor in the field of public art, created a monumental clock tower–with a twist. Entitled Time Piece, the artwork includes three double sided clocks suspended from a sweeping 30 foot tall stainless steel arch, using a web of thin stainless steel cables.

The functional sculpture echoes the grand clock towers historically found in transit systems, but is updated to contemporary times and the specific context of the new facility.

Built in the 1970s, the original transit center was the busiest bus-only station west of the Mississippi. The station was demolished to make way for a new two-level station, doubling its previous size and accommodating up to 40,000 daily riders. Completion and station opening is slated for late summer 2012.

Click here for a prior Source post on this artwork, and here for more information on Donald Lipski’s work.

Roscoe Station artwork installed!

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20 foot-long art panel installed at Roscoe Station. There are three art panels at this station.

The Orange Line Extension opened last month. Here are a few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipses and 20-foot-long art panels designed by Sam Erenberg for Roscoe Station that we didn’t get posted before the opening. More information about the artwork is available here.

See images from the installations at Sherman Way, Canoga, Nordhoff and Chatsworth Stations.

Art panel being installed

Art panel being installed

Thousands of tiny pieces of hand-cut mosaics are installed at one of the new platforms at Roscoe Station

Detail of twenty-seven foot long mosaic artwork being installed at Roscoe Station

Art for the Expo Line: Unknowable Origins by Tom LaDuke

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Art panel installed in its new home on the station platform

Tom LaDuke’s artwork for Culver City Station expresses a dreamlike vision of Culver City and honors those who had an influence on its development. Panels above the seating areas center on icons from the city seal—a bear, a flower, a motion picture industry camera and the sun, while gateway arches present panoramic views of the city as seen from surrounding hillside viewpoints.

Abstracted face shapes of historic, political and entertainment industry notables that have influenced the city appear in each of the art panels. These include entertainers like Elizabeth Taylor and Lucille Ball, and the city founder, Harry Culver. Their placement is determined by the notes of a musical score, composed by the artist while riding the train.

(Here’s a link to more information about LaDuke’s work for Culver City Station.)

Two of the seating module art panels at the fabricator’s shop. The panel on the left shows a motion picture industry camera, and the panel on the right depicts the sun.

Art panels being loaded onto a crate, ready to be transported to Culver City Station.

Art panel hanging from a crane during installation.

Other Art for the Expo Line stories on the Source:

All in a Day by Michael Massenburg
Engraved in Memory by Daniel Gonzalez
LA Metro Lotería by Jose Lozano
Urban Dualities by Samuel Rodriguez
The Intimacy of Place by Christofer Dierdorff
Ephemeral Views by Ronald Llanos
On Saturdays by Robbert Flick
Neighborhood Reconstructed by Jessica Polzin McCoy
Willie Middlebrook’s Designs for Expo/Crenshaw Station

Art for the Expo Line: All in a Day by Michael Massenburg

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Los Angeles poet Nikki Blak is pictured in one of the artwork designs for Farmdale Station

Michael Massenburg’s artwork for Farmdale Station draws on the rich history of Dorsey High School and the surrounding community to illustrate the many people who have contributed to the area’s growth and cultural life. Massenburg uses mixed media techniques, applying paint in several layers and colors to create a dynamic, textured visual field.

(Here’s a link to more information about Massenburg’s work for Farmdale Station.)

Colored glass is separated into tiny mosaic pieces using a specialized hammer, then matched to the original artwork design.

More photos are after the jump!

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New artist opportunities along the Expo Line

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Metro Expo Line, Phase 2

Metro Expo Line: Phase 2 – Seven New Rail Stations

Artists are invited to submit qualifications for exciting art opportunities at seven future Metro Rail stations in Los Angeles County. One artist will be selected for each station. These are ideal opportunities for both emerging and established artists with a background in two-dimensional media and an interest in public art. Prior public art experience is not a requirement.

For more information, Download the Call to Artists.

Deadline:  Monday, July 2, 2012

Metro Expo Line: Phase 2 – Iconic Sculpture Opportunity

Artists are invited to submit qualifications for a major art opportunity at the forthcoming Metro Rail terminus station in Santa Monica. This is a prime opportunity for artists with significant experience in public art to create a sculptural artwork in a highly prominent station location.

For more information, Download the Call to Artists.

Deadline:  Monday, July 9, 2012

Just installed! Chatsworth Station mosaic artwork

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Even more artwork installations are happening on the Orange Line Extension, which is opening on June 30! A few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipse designed by Lisa Adams for the Chatsworth Station are below. More information about the artwork is available here.

See images from the installations at Sherman Way, Canoga and Nordhoff Stations.

Detail of twenty-seven foot long mosaic artwork installed at Chatsworth Station

Twenty-seven foot long mosaic artwork is installed at Chatsworth Station. Workers have just applied grout in between thousands of tiny hand-cut mosaic pieces.

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Just installed! Nordhoff Station mosaic artwork

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More artwork installations are happening on the Orange Line Extension, which is expected to open soon! A few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipses designed by Anne Marie Karlsen for Nordhoff Station are below. More information about the artwork is available here.

See images from the installations at Sherman Way and Canoga Stations.

Detail of twenty-seven foot long mosaic artwork installed at Nordhoff Station

 

Thousands of tiny pieces of hand-cut mosaics are installed at one of the new platforms at Nordhoff Station.

The second of two mosaic artworks installed at Nordhoff Station

 

Just installed! Sherman Way Station mosaic artwork

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Artwork installation is moving forward on the Orange Line Extension! A few photos of the 27-foot-long ellipses designed by Margaret Lazzari for the Sherman Way Station are below. More information about the artwork is available here.

See images from the installation at Canoga Station here.

Detail of twenty-seven foot long mosaic artwork being installed at Sherman Way Station.

Thousands of tiny pieces of hand-cut mosaics are installed at one of the new platforms at Sherman Station.

 

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Willie Robert Middlebrook, Jr. 1957-2012

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Willie Middlebrook at the installation of his artwork at Expo/Crenshaw Station.

It is with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of Willie Robert Middlebrook, Jr., just one week after the opening of the Metro Expo Line, featuring Middlebrook’s artwork at the Expo/Crenshaw Station.

Born in Detroit in 1957, Middlebrook relocated to Los Angeles in 1960. Over his lifetime, Middlebrook’s photographs and photo-painting portraits were exhibited in over 200 solo and group shows, including venues such as the Studio Museum of Harlem, Art Institute of Chicago, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Cleveland Museum of Art and the California African-American Museum.

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