Transit Art Can Move Everyone

Public art is an extremely complex undertaking. As a field it is still quite young and is of necessity defining itself as it grows. Los Angeles is investing in numerous public art programs. This combination creates a desperate need for a broad critical discourse that examines both the subject and the assumptions.

In his recent article on the art for the Metro Red Line subway (“Glossy Journey to the Center of the Earth,” Calendar, Feb. 13), Christopher Knight proposes a standard by which to judge all public art: that to be great it must “articulate what it means to be a citizen in the public world.” This is one way of looking at it, and an important one, but it is time to also take a look at the public process and the discourse and the role of the artist. The implication of Knight’s article is that it is not desirable for art to be socially responsible or to serve a purpose, and yet this might well be the most valid criteria to use in evaluating public art.

Public art programs can make a substantive contribution to our cities. However, to do so, they must neither be applied as a Band-Aid nor isolated to the realm of decoration. To be successful, public art programs must be part of an overall integrated approach to design, which places the user first.

This is the case in the Los Angeles Metro Rail system. The public art program is simply one expression of the many ways in which the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission has worked to maximize the benefit of every dollar invested in rail. This underlying premise is reflected in a genuine concern for all aspects of the “big picture,” from land-use planning for undeveloped transit corridors to the joint use of station sites as community housing and retail centers.

The agency is equally committed to providing opportunities for artists to make a unique contribution to the entire rail system. Through the Art for Rail Transit program (A-R-T), artists are being commissioned to work on a range of public art projects. In some cases, where the stations were designed prior to the existence of the art program, the art is an adjunct. More often, artists are collaborating on the entire station design or even developing an aesthetic philosophy for a specific rail corridor.

Defining the parameters of successful public art is a difficult task. In his article, Knight wrote somewhat disparagingly about “a little moment of art before the commute.” From the response we’ve received, an overwhelming number of people feel that this moment is both a positive and unusual experience. Since Knight was also able to find several works of art that interested him, these experiences might well be considered the parameters of a successful public art program.

If people find in the A-R-T program something that they both like and dislike, something to talk about, something new that allows them a moment of individual insight, then the program could be deemed to have fulfilled its purpose. If it also serves as the vehicle for the articulation of community pride; if the process fosters dialogue between the users of any particular public building and the people designing it; if the artist’s impossible role on the design team, acting as both lay person and creative genius, results in original solutions for public space, then the public art program has made a very real and important contribution to the people of L.A. County.

However, it is also true that no work of art, no matter how good, can function successfully as a palliative to poor design, nor is the development of a public art program an adequate substitute for a lack of vision or concern on the part of the countless people who are responsible for the “big picture” of any major public project. Yet this country has seen a proliferation of public art programs that are expected to do those very things. Artists are brought in at the last minute to solve a problem, to soften a sterile environment, to distract or appease a disgruntled community, to address issues of history and neighborhood character that have so long been discounted in most of our cities that they have almost disappeared from the public consciousness. The fact that in many cases artists and art programs can successfully tackle these kinds of problems is no substitute for the kind of responsible dialogue that needs to take place at the inception of every public project.

I have the greatest admiration for Knight’s opinions, and a firm belief that everyone can and should make up his or her own mind. We are offering guided tours of the Metro Red Line art on Fridays and Saturdays in February and March. Please call (213) 244-6810 for reservations. In addition, a large selection of designs for the entire system will be on display in the Metro Art exhibit opening today at the Eatz Gallery at Santa Monica Place.