I woke up this morning thinking about art in train stations most likely because these images are the last I saw before going to bed. I’d like to ask you, during your morning commute did you see art like this in your train station?
Do you recognize this work? I’m sure you do… it’s Camilla Engman, an artist based in Göteborg, Sweden for those of you not familiar with her illustrations and paintings. Camilla is well known, especially in the online world, as most of us have swooned over her work at one time or another. She’s exceptional, her work seems to connect with so many and now it has a chance to reach out to her neighbors passing through the local train station. She must feel beyond honored. The city and its citizens should feel honored too. Art in unexpected public spaces, yay!
Seeing her work like this — public, free to all, meant to be enjoyed by the thousands passing through daily gives me chills. I’m always asking why we don’t see more art in public places. We see tons of soda and department store ads but they don’t go out of their way to be pretty. Just a logo slapped on a solid red background, for instance. Bleh. I am so tired of ugly ads on billboards.
There is this massive forest in Hannover, Germany with small orange trash bins suspended from the ground and hooked into a short wood pole usually around a park bench. When I walk through the forest I imagine these bright orange bins displaying graphic patterns, sporting pretty papers, dressed up a bit. I’d love to take on a project where I’d commission a group of artists to come out and do something creative to the bins to make them beautiful. My husand said that the city did do exactly that years ago in one part of the city but nothing recent. Imagine having the bins in the forest spruced up and then those same artists involved put together an Art in the Park event where they show their art and make the work you see on the bins available as prints? Of course, the art would have to be local, the goal would be for the city to learn about the creatives living there and to be exposed to their work. Let’s face it, not everyone goes to galleries but many go to the park so it would expose a whole new audience to artistic works.
I think more objects around us in our everyday life could stand to be made more ‘special’ in addition to serving a function.
I once saw two dumpsters painted bright fire engine red near a brick building and what a difference it made to the vibe of that area. I think that those of us reading design blogs think about this stuff (maybe a little too often) and care about it more than perhaps others who are not that ‘tuned in’ to this kind of thing. Because let’s face it, not everyone thinks about this stuff until it’s actually there and then they say, “Whoa, that is really, really cool”. I think it’s why most of us coo whenever we see Japanese products or visit cities in Japan — the Japanese really invest an interest in making functional everyday items cute. They kick American butt when it comes to product packaging alone. Although I couldn’t live around all of that ‘glow’ I do love the idea of introducing art to the public in subtle ways. I think graffiti is great when it’s not on my house or on historic buildings (in a designated space for instance) but often the complaint with graffiti is that it’s very bold, “look at me”, it tries very hard to make a statement. While some graffiti can be amazingly artistic and interesting, it does tend to scream at passerbys (due to the typical bold colors and graphics) and often when things scream we learn to block it out and no longer notice it.
This is why I’m inspired today seeing Camilla’s work in the Göteborg train station. It’s there, but it’s subtle, it feels special, it’s almost watching over everyone as they go about their day. It’s not screaming for attention yet you can’t help but notice it, be intrigued, maybe even pause to photograph it. I’d love to see more of this kind of thing in public spaces locally. It’s great exposure for independant artists, but aside from that, it can raise the bar so that people who may not normally care about this kind of thing start to expect it and demand it because now that they’ve been exposed and want more. It can help others to become more aware of art and design. Wouldn’t that be nice?
I want more! Do you? What do you think?
If you are in a position to make art happen in a public space, by all means put yourself out there and go for it. Make it happen.
(images from camilla engman)
Tags: art
January 27th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
I love seeing unexpected little snippets of art in public, whether it’s witty stencil art or sarcastic concrete television sets and remote controls (there are plenty of these appearing in my area of late!), there’s something special about something that’s so out of place that it makes you smile.
I still smile when I remember going down an escalator (one of the longest escalators I’ve ever seen in my life!) in a tube station in London, with advertising posters every meter that just bombarded your senses all the way down. And then, the very last poster had been ripped out of its frame, and in its place was a tiny sticker with plain black text (Helvetica of course!) that said “We want your soul”. Such a bitter comment on the advertising that’s shoved into our faces every day, but I like bitter :D
Ms Unreliables last blog post: It’s the Little Things…
January 27th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Holly,
Thanks for this interesting post. I graduated from Watkins College of Art and Design here in Nashville, TN a few years ago and it was there that I first heard of this interesting dilemma in art–Art from private to public spheres. I took a class entitled Art in Public Spaces taught by New York based artist, Barbara Yontz (www.barbarayontz.com). It was fascinating to see how artists for the last 30 years have been breaking into the public sphere and thinking outside of the gallery context. We visited the work of Maya Lin, who has created amazing pieces for public spaces (Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Penn Station, etc..), as well as Alice Aycock, Mel Chin (who visited our class for a guest lecture)–all artists who are working to bridge this gap between public and private art and address the problems with American tendencies toward commodification of art. Unfortunately, what I have noticed in the fine art world – there can sometimes be a disconnect from everyday viewer to the viewings of critics. And the average person gets lost in the mix of contemporary art. So maybe there is a large scale sculpture or Earth art which goes unnoticed by the everyday viewer due to this disconnect. In our class at Watkins, we were encouraged to create public art projects for the people,so our class ended up creating a project to tie in with the local Red Cross chapter on disaster preparedness awareness. It was great to work with a non profit organization where we had to interpret their ideas into visual form. And they then offered us feedback to make the work accessible to their clients.
So with this ideas in mind, I have been trying to seek ways to create an online business that bridges this gap. On that note, I want to thank you for your Creativity series and the Mind Mapping post. It proved helpful for me in a very low time where I was close to giving up. It was great to hear you say that these things take time.
I appreciate the way you think and the way you offer yourself to your blogging audience.
Heather S Thompsons last blog post: Valentine’s Day Theme Photo Competition
January 27th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
What is not to love? Couldn’t be a more universal, accessible way to experience art . . . it is so important that everyone is able to be exposed to fine art . . . hoorah for art in train stations!
sara hughes hathcoats last blog post: winter color . . .
January 27th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
I want one of these on my WALL!! Just so cool! Camilla’s images look amazing in that space!
victorias last blog post: Cool World.
January 27th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Our studio/shop is located in a redevoloping town. We had a terrible plywood boarded up building across from our Shop(www.theredthreadstudio.com). We offered promotion and a gallery show for a couple of artist who in turn did a beautiful mural painting on the faded wood. It has totally changed to look of our block.
Angelias last blog post: Surface Design
January 27th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Where I live, Napier New Zealand there is quite alot of art around town but there could always be more…
I love these images you have posted about, they are so impressive on a large scale.
katherine quinns last blog post: There’s a dream still in my heart 2 ART PRINT by Katherine Quinn
January 27th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
hey holly, i walk through a very dull, central london train station most days and long to see such art like you have just blogged about, however i would also like very much to see something like this happen as it would brighten up any dull day… watch this and smile…
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mUZrrbgCdYc
i now going to make myself a cup of tea..xx
stevens last blog post: i took these pics
January 27th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
How beautiful Camilla’s artwork is! Would love to see more of that around :)
In Brisbane where I live, the City Council has set up a project where residents can paint the traffic signal boxes located on the intersections – normally a boring, grey box, these now make for interesting displays! Although not all to my personal taste, they certainly make the city a lot more colourful. You can view some of the work online if you are interested: http://svc189.bne146v.server-web.com/artforce/default.asp
Kim Wallaces last blog post: Featured Artist: Tsk Tsk
January 27th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
But do most people recognize art when they see it?
Here is an extremely interesting article about violin virtuoso Joshua Bell playing incognito in a busy subway station in Washington DC during morning rush hour.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
January 27th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I love public art displays! I’m noticing it more in the Washington D.C. Metro subway stations. It’s a nice diversion from the hustle and bustle of commuting!
Kellys last blog post: Purple and Red
January 27th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Lynnetta – I’m glad you linked to that article, I read that a few years ago and found it FASCINATING to say the least.
January 27th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Really interesting article–and I loved that Washington Post article.
Funny to me that of all of the train stations in all of the world, this is the one featured. I have a clear memory of waiting for a very early morning train in this station a few years ago and being pleasantly shocked by the candles lit in one of the coffee shops–all along the bar, in the windows, at every table. It was such a little touch–yet so Swedish–and made me re-appreciate the focus on the little things there. Something I try to replicate in my own life…
Emilys last blog post: No more Bull
January 27th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
I have been known to say that If I Ran the World, every billboard would be converted to art display and every parking lot converted to a garden.
Allisons last blog post: Yarn, lovely yarn
January 27th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Nice post, Holly! I would also love to see more art in public spaces. Have you read anything about “Yarnbombing”? Knitters have been going around covering things like parking meters, tree trunks, and door knobs in cute little cozies. One group even covered an entire bus:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4305406/Knitters-turn-to-graffiti-artists-with-yarnbombing.html
Lauras last blog post: DIY Indoor Swing
January 27th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
A reader just emailed me and I loved what she shared so I’m posting it here, ”
Name: Janne
Website: http://whatsbloggingmyview.blogspot.com/
At Nationaltheatret train station in Oslo, Norway there is this 500 meter long art installation by Norwegian artist Anne-Karin Furunes. I find it fascinating. Not sure the 360 degree picture does it justice, but it\’s the best I could find at the moment:
http://oslo360.com/java/pages/modern2.html
Here\’s a bit more info, in case you should be interested:
http://www.artnet.com/artist/6622/anne-karin-furunes.html
Thanks for a great blog!
Janne
January 27th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
One of the most surprising adventures I had while living in Moscow Russia was viewing all the wonderful underground Metro stations. Everyone is different but each one holds a different sort of beauty. Just do a Google image search for Moscow Metro photo’s and you’ll see what I mean. The station with the stained glass is my absolute favorite. Photos do not do it justice though. I actually spent an entire Saturday just riding the metro to stop at the different stations.
LeeAnns last blog post: Photos part 3
January 28th, 2009 at 12:31 am
Interesting post! It reminded me about a citywide project in Singapore (where I am from) that celebrates the city, city-life and, the city-dweller. 40 city post-boxes were selected for makeovers. See some of the pictures here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7373633@N03/sets/72157600038160416/
January 28th, 2009 at 3:17 am
I was going to link to the same Washington Post article (Pearls Before Breakfast) as Lynetta.
No one even paused to glance at a genius artist playing the best music ever written with the best violin ever made.
Every piece of art is valuable and I would not want to see it wasted in a place that no one would appreciate it’s beauty.
aliss last blog post: A Wabi-Sabi Accessory
January 28th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I went to college in a small town in Louisiana, but it had a huge art community (from college students to working artists). Public art became a huge deal when i was there, and it was mostly people doing it for fun. (graffiti, decorating trash cans, posters, etc.) it was really neat and a lot of people got into it. It was all over the city and I really enjoyed seeing it everyday.
January 28th, 2009 at 9:52 am
I would love to see the art in that train station! I love it when you stumble on something so fabulous. I have not noticed much public art besides outdoor sculptures, such as in Grand Junction, which has beautiful sculptures in their downtown. I think it would be a great movement here in Madison where I am discovering there is a bigger art community than I realized. I think exposing more people to art in everyday life would brighten things up a bit.
January 28th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Thank you Holly! I’m proud and you are making me even prouder :)
January 29th, 2009 at 2:08 am
New York City is incredible when it comes to art in public spaces. Starting with the entire city that is decked with broken mosaic pieces throughout the subway tunnels, to the installations that pop up in the most unexpected places, including bold graffiti art that makes you think outside the proverbial box for a change – there is really something magical about it all.
The largest and most spectacular public art event I have seen was The Gates that was displayed in Central Park in 2005. It lives on in my memory as one of the best times in my life. In the short time the display was up the weather went from one extreme of cold and snow to unseasonable heat and sun. It was amazing seeing The Gates in all the different backdrops and lighting. Aye, New York.
This is one of the perks to living in cities that put a great value on creativity, with a public that really notices and enjoys it. The short-lived nature of public art really tests your ability to stop and enjoy a moment when your eye catches something but you’re running to catch a train to get somewhere else.
January 29th, 2009 at 4:10 am
Growing up in Denmark and France I was used to (and took for granted) free art, free or very low cost museums and (important to me) being able to get right up to an image to see it. I was surprised when I first went to the SFMOMA and had a guard tell me to step back from a Matisse.
But Europe’s elite (queens, kings, rulers) believed that owning and sharing their art proved wealth and was generally for the people. America has had the opposite view – that art is for the elite only.
It’s getting better in America, I think, but museums and public spaces still have a long, long way to go.
alexs last blog post: Where To?
January 29th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Alex your experience at the SFMOMA was like mine in NY, same exact thing. I didn’t grow up in Europe but I went to the Louve before going to the museums in NY and remember
everyone getting REALLY close to the Mona Lisa. While I don’t think TOUCHING art is good, I loved that I could photograph it and get REALLY close to see the details. And that was
the MONA LISA! On the flipside, I went to a few museums in Amsterdam last Fall and they would not allow cameras. I felt really upset, in fact so upset I left. I love
taking interior shots of museums (the architecture mainly not so much the art unless I see something I’ve not seen a thousand times before). It was a major let down.
January 29th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I love Camilla Engman’s work, and I’ve been documenting some interesting public art projects on my own blog:
http://visualingual.wordpress.com/tag/public-art/
Thank you so much for posting photos of this project!
visualinguals last blog post: Snow Emergency