29. New masterpieces for the new extension
Did you know that every Valley Metro light rail station is a canvas for public art? In this episode of Storylines, hosts Brittany and Juliana talk with three artists for Northwest Extension Phase II about the inspiration for their artwork.
Transcript
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your daily commute?
Juliana:Or how transportation impacts the community you call home?
Brittany:Maybe you want to explore outside your community and don't know where to start.
Juliana:Well, you're in luck because this is where you hop on.
Brittany:I'm Brittany Hoffman.
Juliana:And I'm Juliana Vazquez-Keating,
Brittany:We work in Communications for Valley Metro. And together, we'll discover all the ways that public transit enhances lives across the cities we serve.
Juliana:And we might even make some new friends along the way.
Brittany:Welcome to Storylines. Juliana, have you ever heard the phrase, art is all around us?
Juliana:I have actually.
Brittany:Well, in this episode, it's definitely coming true. Before I worked at a transit agency, I didn't realize how much public art is truly in our community, in our valley. And our transit system is adding to that in a big way.
Juliana:Absolutely. A lot of big changes are coming in 2024. That includes the opening of our Northwest Extension Phase II and all the art that comes along with it.
Brittany:And Juliana I know that we usually think our extensions are for riders and people wanting to, you know, test out the trains and everything, but the public art we have at our stations truly is for everyone, the drivers passing by. So it's amazing to hear from the artists how their art is inspired not only by those riding, but those that are going to be passing by in any form.
Juliana:Absolutely. And today we're hearing from some of the artists involved in the Northwest Extension Phase II/ project and their vision behind it.
Brittany:So let's get to it.
Mary L:My name is Mary Lucking, and the title of the piece is Up in the Sky, Down in the Grass.
Juliana:So for our listeners who haven't seen it yet, could you briefly describe the art you created for the 25th Avenue Mountain View Station?
Mary L:So the piece is actually kind of two parts. There are two giant sculptures that are supposed to look either like bouncing balls or like dandelions. And they're about 25 feet high with green, grassy tail things, and then five-foot diameter balls made out of dichroic glass, which means that if you kind of turn or move around them, they change color depending on the angle. And then on the station screens there are mounted on the screens, these medallions and four of them have medallions of bird's eye views of the area. And four of them have bug's eye views, meaning down in the grass, of dogs playing with balls.
Brittany:Mary, that art sounds amazing and I know I've been lucky enough to get a preview of it on the station. But where did this inspiration come from?
Mary L:Oh, well, the park! We started this project in, I think, 2017, and in 2018 I went down to the park, to look around and talk to people, and it was one of those miserably hot July days, it was probably about 115, and I went there in the evening, and that park was more alive than any outdoor space I had seen in, in months. There were people playing tennis and racquetball and tossing frisbees around and dog park people. It was just this wonderful space with all this energy and play and I love the opportunity to be able to make something that celebrated movement and play and color and fun. We just tried to pack as much of that as we could into the design.
Juliana:I've been there a couple different times and I swear every time I go I'm like, these are amazing.
Brittany:Well, and that's something that's great about a lot of our public art, Mary, is that you don't have to be directly on the station. You can see it back from afar. And I know these dandelion bouncing balls are definitely a sight to be seen from far away. And then you just want to get closer and it gets more interesting as you enter the station.
Mary L:Every project I do that's a transit station, I love to make things that reward people who are moving by, you know, in cars, at a fast pace, and also a different sort of experience for people who are on the station. And this is definitely one that does both of those things.
When I first got the project, I've spent a lot of my life in Phoenix and remember going to Castles and Coasters as a teenager and being able to see that, the roller coaster from far away always just kind of makes my brain happy. And so to be able to put more loop de loop green things in the world up there, I thought this was pretty fun.
Juliana:You said you've done art for other transit projects. Could you tell us what other art you have done for Valley Metro?
Mary L:I did the station at Indian School/Central Avenue, and then I did a station at Mesa Drive in Mesa. And then I did a collection of three of the Tempe Streetcar stations.
Brittany
What do you like about working with Valley Metro when you're creating these public art projects?
Mary L:I love the people I get to work with. That's how I've been. I think I started the first project on Indian School in 2003, so I've known several of these people for lot of years. And then I also, I love public art projects where I get to make things that people get to spend some time with. I mean, if you think about different places that you see public art in town, a lot of them, you're zooming by, it's on a freeway, for instance, or a traffic circle, and I really love to make pieces that have a lot of detail, that reward coming back and seeing it again, maybe a different time of day, or just a different mood, and transit stations, kind of by their nature, you zoom by them, but also spend some time there when you're waiting for the train or the bus, and like the opportunity to make something that makes that experience of waiting for a transit a little bit more interesting.
Juliana:When did you first get involved in public art? I know you've done a lot of pieces, not just for Valley Metro, but just for around the Valley area.
Mary L:A lot of artists come to public art kind of later in their careers. I actually had a different experience. I was an architecture major in college and decided that I was more interested in doing art than in architecture. And I ended up interning for an artist who did public art right after college, and I worked with him for a couple of years. And he taught me all the ins and outs of how to write a proposal, and how to work with fabricators, and how you put together designs, and all these things. So I've been doing it since 1994. It's been a long time.
Brittany:Well, Mary, we're really glad that obviously our stations and our transit system is covered in your artwork. I think it's just a testament of your art. You're being a native Phoenician, really bringing in that locality of what we have here. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Mary L:I'm just thrilled with the variety of pieces that are in the Valley Metro collection. For me, it's really fun to see all the different kind of styles and moods and materials that are part of the collection. I can't think of another situation that's quite like this. it's been a blast working on this one. To do something that's about fun has been extraordinarily fun, and I can't wait to see the rest of them and to see it open.
Brittany:Julianna, it's great to hear how Mary's art has evolved from one station to another, incorporating the components of that community. It's just awesome to hear that some of our favorite artists are back again.
Juliana:I think Mary Lucking did such a great job on the station art for the 25th Ave/Mountain View station. Now let's hear from an artist who's created several pieces for this alignment.
Mary S:My name is Mary Shindel and I'm an artist. I do both studio and public art.
Juliana:So Mary, you created several art pieces for different areas of the Northwest Extension Phase II project. For our listeners who haven't seen it yet, could you briefly describe the art you created and where it's located?
Mary S:Sure. I created a piece called Ocotillo Rise of cast concrete which includes the ramp on the east side of I-17 at Mountain View Drive. It lifts the train onto the bridge over the freeway. I also designed the artwork on the piers that support the bridge. And the new elevated station on the other side of the freeway. And also the screen for the TPSS, which is number 26, is also part of the piece which is titled Ocotillo Rise. It's about lifting the train over the freeway.
Brittany:And so when you say, Ocotillo Rise, what should people be expecting when they walk up to that bridge or any of those locations?
Mary S:What they should be expecting is to see plants from the desert that are normally considered very fragile plants with very thin little stems and not the most popular flowers and not the most reproduced flowers in art in Arizona. So those two are the Ocotillo plant and the Creosote plant. Both of those plants are used to sort of intertwine and tall Ocotillo stems support the piers. And the flowers on top of them are painted a very bright red.
Juliana:
Would you consider it one art piece but just several sections?
Mary S:Yes, I consider it one art piece. It's the largest total art piece I've ever done, involving the most different kinds of mediums. So, I needed a way to connect it in my mind, and when I was working on both sides of the freeway, and I was talking to the people that live around the freeway and what they were interested in seeing on the station and I thought I have to connect the piece and the best way for me to do that is use the two flowers, the creosote and the ocotillo and their stems and their leaves to carry the theme across the freeway, I wanted to connect both sides of the street to each other. And the best way to do that was to make it as one piece.
Brittany:I know they had to use what, big form liners to be able to create those cement pieces. Can you walk us through the kind of process that it takes to get your art onto that ramp?
Mary S:Sure, it takes, actually, surprisingly, it takes a lot of drawing. I would draw the actual plants, like the ocotillo and the flower, the stems and everything. And then I had to map it out almost like a map maker would, like a topographical map. So, the drawing had to say where I wanted it to be a quarter of an inch deep, where I wanted it to be an eighth of an inch deep, up to a half an inch. And it was different for the piers than it was for the ramp because the piers were cast in place and the ramp was cast off site. So basically it involved a lot of learning on my part to figure out how, you know, to create what I wanted it looked like, the stems of the ocotillos that are on the piers, that was probably the most challenging because I was trying to create a rhythm so that when you’re walking through the space, you would see, you know, the stems, but they wouldn't just be straight up and down and they wouldn't be boring. So basically, that was difficult because I had a very narrow, long narrow space to work with. But I'm very happy to say that when I looked at it painted and with the flowers painted it does exactly what I wanted it to do.
Brittany:What gave you the inspiration for the Ocotillo and the creosote?
Mary S:Actually, it was the people in the community, We met with the people that lived near Metro Center, the old Metro Center. And would be in close contact to the station and to the bridge. So, I basically asked the question to them, what is it that you like about living in this location? And the thing that they mentioned to me over and over was their love of the desert and close proximity to it. They also mentioned though that they like being near the freeway. Because they could go north, or they could go south. They had, felt like they had really great mobility in the area. But the desert kept coming up over and over again. So that's why I chose the desert flowers and the plants.
Juliana:I love that you got community input before, you know, even starting your art piece and that's what it's all about.
Mary S:For me as an artist, it's very helpful because I can look at a community and think that I understand, basically what people there like, but I need to talk to people to actually get involved in their ideas of why they like living there. And if they give me a visual idea, like a clue, like the desert or something, or pecan trees or whatever, then I can understand it better and I can work with that.
Juliana:So you've worked with Valley Metro before. What other art have you done for us?
Mary S:I have done two other TPSS stations, and I didn't realize what they were when I first started working with Valley Metro, but they're traction power substations. They take the power from the main power grid and convert it into the kind of power that a train can use. So, they're like housing large transformers. They have to be placed periodically along the line. And they're, need to be attractive. So, basically the first one that I did was the one in Mesa, which is about the pecan trees. It's called, The Memory of a Tree is Strong, and it's about the pecan trees that used to grow as a grove on Main Street in Mesa. The other one is a large Bougainvillea branch, and it's located at Las Palmeritas on the earlier part of the Northwest extension. It depicts a Bougainvillea branch, and that's an iconic plant in that neighborhood. That was something that you can't miss if you drive through that part of town, is that people have so many beautiful Bougainvilleas. People have a huge interest in, planting beautiful gardens. So, I just chose that as sort of an icon for the neighborhood.
Brittany:So you, for all of our Valley Metro art, have incorporated flora and fauna in different ways, but obviously we're not the only public art you have in the Valley. What are some other locations or artwork you've done?
Mary S:I did the Westside Senior Center for the City of Phoenix. And I also just finished a project for them it was for the Department of Water. And basically, it was a large wall made out of colored block and also a cast concrete wall that are part of the drought pipeline that actually had to insert infrastructure into several neighborhoods and near parks and things like that. And I've worked in Tempe. I did a park in Tempe. And in Scottsdale I did sports field, the entrance to Bell 94.
Brittany:What made you want to get involved in public art and start this kind of path of your career?
Mary S:Well, I have been seeing a lot of public art around Phoenix. And I kept thinking, this looks like a lot of fun, and I really respected it, so I thought, I would really like to try it. And I was, at the time, I was drawing on paper, and my drawings kept getting larger and larger and then I wanted to extend them into larger spaces, so I started making them into three dimensional objects and into installation. At that point, I thought, this really would fit well with public art. So I started applying for things and the city of Phoenix had a, an application for artists who had not done public art, but who did two dimensional art. And it called for printmakers, painters, drawers, quilters, anybody who worked two dimensionally. And I thought, this could be, like, the perfect way to start out. And I didn't realize at the time how important two dimensional art was going to become in public art as integrated into infrastructure is a very, very important part. Floors, walls, piers, ramps. It's fantastic.
Juliana:Now you're like a public art celebrity around here.
Mary S:Ha, ha, ha. In my little small space. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
Juliana:So we are happy to have you on board for our art projects. What do you enjoy about working with Valley Metro?
Mary S:When I work with Valley Metro, I always feel like I'm part of a team with a strong commitment to the art. The art managers themselves are excellent, but also the support from the project at the top of Valley Metro. The people who are in engineering and construction, they support it also. And that's very important to the quality of the art and to the continuing care of the art after it's installed. Because if you have that commitment from the top of the organization, it's going to remain a strong part of the line.
Brittany:Well, and you bring up a great point, Mary. I mean, you think, okay, we're going to build a station. We're going to put this public art here, but that maintenance I think is a key component. So having that commitment is huge because, you know, we expect this transit system to last 50 plus years. And so being out in the sun, that art can just, fade or, you know, monsoons come through. So, that's a huge component I didn't even think about.
Mary S:Right, and you really see that from Valley Metro, because if you're in even some of the older stations from the very first line on Central, you'll notice that they're kept up very well, and it's really important as an artist to know that they're going to continue to do that, which they do, and it's a big consideration when we're designing the artwork also, is to design something that can be taken care of over time and will last.
Juliana:Is there anything else you would like to add?
Mary S:I just would like to add that I'm really happy to have the opportunity to help create something beautiful that becomes a really unique transit experience for all the users in the Valley. I think it's important and I'm really happy to be part of it.
Juliana:We're happy to have you, especially because since this is our first bridge and ramp wall, you got to design our first ever ramp wall art, so that's exciting.
Mary S:It was very exciting. At times it was incredibly exciting. I watched the bridge go in. I took a video of them installing the bridge across 17. And it's so interesting to be part of something that large.
Brittany:
Julianna, both Mary’s showed us how different ways of art can be incorporated into our transit station and create a wonderful experience for anyone who's riding transit or just passing by. But they're both veterans. Do we have any other artists to talk to?
Juliana:Yeah, After the break, we'll hear from an artist who's working with Valley Metro for the very first time and on a very unique art piece.
Peter:
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Brittany:Juliana I'm excited to hear from this next artist because not only is the Northwest Extension Phase II exciting because it's our first bridge, but it's an elevated station, which includes some components that we haven't had before when building our transit system.
Juliana:And this artist was a big part of that project in creating some unique artwork for the elevated station.
Oliverio:My name is Oliverio Balcells and I'm an artist.
Juliana:So for our listeners who haven't seen it yet, could you briefly describe the art you created for the Metro Parkway Station?
Oliverio:This piece that I created for this station is called On a Journey with You, which is an inspiration from the coastal hummingbird who likes to live in this sandy desert habitat coming from the coast of California and spend a lot of time here in Arizona. Everybody loves it around here in the desert and make sure to integrate in a, in an art form that will be powerful because this is huge piece. So I integrate two hummingbirds to symbolize, you know, community relationships. And a couple of flowers around that and also in the middle, I create like a design that represents a river, a wire running or flowing around, which is also an integration or symbolizing metaphoric way of the light rail, that you can go on so On a Journey With You is you with somebody else that it can be your friend or your neighbor or a family member that is traveling with you on the light rail. So, that's the meaning behind it. This piece was created in a technique called Trencadís. Trencadís is a ceramic technique created in Catalonia, Spain by the Gaudí.There's many techniques in the ceramic style, mosaic art. But I like this one because, and it means to encourage me, broken piece. That's literally what it means. So, you break the piece, and when the piece that is broke, you create the image. It’s an experimental technique, I love that, you know, that's the art that I do. It's always experimenting, but this is very specific, because it's like a puzzle you want to create this image because your mind tend to make lines here and there moving around the image. In this case, when you have the broken piece, you have to figure out a way to follow, the image that you have, but in this technique, which is very interesting, any change, it depends the position where you're looking at it changed. So it's an organic image move with the viewer with the spectator in different horizons where you see the piece.
Brittany:Oliverio. I think you missed the biggest component, which is this is all on a staircase. You're not looking at a flat piece of artwork. all of this detailing and mosaic tiles are on a stairwell.
Oliverio:That was the hardest part that I have to figure out a way to how can I interpret that this project? Because I knew there were a separation between each riser. So there's 66 risers. So 8 feet wide. So the panel had to be two panels because there's no 8 feet hardy backers. So I have to figure out a way to separate each riser. So it was really a technique that I have to develop and figure out a way how I'm going to see it because it's impossible to see it complete, when I was doing it. So what I did, because my background also is a graphic artist, I'm a graphic designer, I printed out a huge banner of the image on a real size. So I can have exactly the image on the sides that I needed to, so I can follow these broken piece technique. So what I did, I printed out this huge banner and then I cut every single riser. And then I had to figure out when I separate to simulate the space between the risers. That was, a little tricky, very difficult at the beginning, since I got like the first three, four, five, six risers, I was like, okay, now I know. This is the way it's going to be. And it was just trusting the process, trusting the process. As an artist, you want to feel comfortable when you're creating something as much as you can, but there's a part of the other part that everybody knows that it's a saying that it says throughout the process because in this case, it was impossible for me to see the whole piece. So, I was looking always like four, five, six, maybe 12 risers at the same time. But that was it because there was no space in my studio. There's no space anywhere see it. That was an adventure. It was fun and it was tricky, but at the same time it was challenging me all the time and figure it out solving problems and that's the way of the artist. I will say, you have to figure out how to develop and create it because the goal is to finish. That was, that was the goal, you have to finish, no matter what.
Juliana:After all that hard work, how did it feel to finally see that artwork finished?
Oliverio:Yeah, that was the part that I was like, oh my gosh, you know, almost fell to the back, because it was incredible because I haven't seen it. I haven't seen it complete.
Brittany:What has been your experience or what did you like about working with Valley Metro on this project?
Oliverio:On this project they’ve been so helpful to me, you know, and supported me all the time because there's questions here, questions there, and the trust process that they gave me. because they came and see the samples at the beginning, the first, three, four risers, and then in the middle, and I'm showing them photographs of the process and telling them that we're doing this and that and we're on track of time. So I will say the trust that they gave me and the support, it was, it's amazing, because you need that and you don't want to be lost in the middle of the process, you know, creation, fabrication you want to feel that you're in the right, you're in the path. That was such a great support from Valley Metro, yeah.
Juliana:We've learned a lot about your vision and how it all came together. Is there anything else you would like to add?
Oliverio:I will say that, when I create a piece, especially this one, I always want to inspire people, even if you're not an artist, it's inspiration to pass it to somebody else that say, if he can do this, I can do this, you know what I mean? When I finish it, I said, I wish somebody will say that I can do whatever it is something different is there. And want to inspire anybody else to say, I want to do something big or something like this that I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I can do it. That's the inspiration that I want to pass on to any other person or artist or whoever have the experience of challenge yourself.
Brittany:Juliana, I've gotten the opportunity to see both the Mary's artwork in person, and it is amazing, but I am excited for the future to go check out that staircase. It sounds just beautiful.
Juliana:Brittany, I know it's hard to talk about art without actually seeing it. So to our listeners who haven't seen the art, but want to learn more, you can head to valleymetro.org/NWE2art or you can see it in person when the extension opens in 2024.
Brittany:Juliana, listening to this art episode, these artists getting excited for the extension opening. I know we love talking about all the things coming up for Valley Metro on every episode of Storylines. So make sure to catch up wherever you listen to episodes and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode of Storylines. For Valley Metro, I'm Brittany.
Juliana:I'm Juliana.
Brittany:Thanks for riding with us.
Juliana:We'll meet you at the next stop.
Brittany:
Storylines is produced by Alex Tsotsos and Dane Ryals. Peter Corkery is the executive producer. For Juliana Vasquez-Keating, I'm Brittany Hoffman. Thanks for listening.
