Three artists, selected by a panel of nationally recognized curators, local arts professionals and community members from the Purple Line Extension Section 1 area, are currently working on site-specific artwork designs for the Wilshire/Fairfax station. Artworks will be integrated into the walls of the entrance plaza, escalator landing, concourse and train platforms creating an immersive experience. They will reflect the world-class museums and cultural providers surrounding the station, the architectural legacy of Wilshire Boulevard, as well as honor and represent the neighborhoods and cultures of people who live and work along the corridor.

Artist Karl Haendel photographing an object in the collection of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, part of his process in developing artwork for Wilshire/Fairfax Station.

Karl Haendel – Glass Entrance Pavilion

1. Karl Haendel is working on a larger than life composition based on his meticulous pencil drawing practice.
2. He has been visiting museums and cultural institutions accompanied by members of the public who live and work in the neighborhood and is photographing them holding objects from the various collections.
3. He intentionally chooses objects that are functional, span time from the prehistoric age to the present, and are made in the LA region.
4. Haendel will render some of the photographs as drawings which will be etched into the glass entrance and printed onto wall tile.
5. The objects featured in Haendel’s design and the glimpses of peoples’ hands and arms, representing the cultural and generational diversity of the neighborhood, will provide commuters with prompts for reflection on their experiences throughout their day upon entering and exiting the station.

Artist Ken Gonzales-Day photographing artwork at LACMA as part of his process in developing artwork for Wilshire/Fairfax Station.

Ken Gonzales-Day – Concourse Wall Mosaic

1. Ken Gonzales-Day will create an environment that brings the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to the station in a way that shifts perspective on the museum’s collection.
2. He was inspired by the idea that LACMA transports people through time and space with their collection like Metro transports riders through the city.
3. Acknowledging the construction of the station as an excavation site, Gonzales-Day‘s design is “mining” artworks from LACMA’s collection.
4. He is photographing objects in the museum from ancient times spanning many cultures, continents and eras.
5. Some of the objects are extremely delicate, rarely exhibited and in the station they will be amplified to a scale that is larger than life, sharing intimate sculptural details on glass tile to people as they commute.

Detail of in-progress artwork design by Susan Silton for Wilshire/Fairfax Station, platform level.

Susan Silton – Platform Level Porcelain Enamel Steel

1. Susan Silton continues an investigation of stripes as a social and cultural signifier throughout history that has been a hallmark of her artistic practice.
2. Her work will transform the platform area with a dynamic procession of color rendered on porcelain enamel steel panels overlaid with prescient messages in English, Korean and Spanish– the predominant languages of the neighborhood.
3. The artwork is titled We, Our, Us and is intended to inspire riders to think about concepts of individuality and diversity while considering our shared experiences as humans.
4. In connection with her artwork, Silton will be leading poetry workshops with students at Fairfax High School.
5. Students will be taught by recognized poets and the poems will relate to the messages in the station artwork and written in English, Korean and Spanish to be printed as postcards for public distribution.

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Past Purple Line Extension artwork stories on The Source:

Artists selected for Section 1 of the Purple Line Extension