TriMet TV Episode 29 · May 6, 2009 · 3:42 · Download (36.5MB M4V)

Public Art on TriMet

As any rider will tell you, artwork abounds on TriMet's MAX Light Rail and WES Commuter Rail lines.

Text transcript of this episode

As any rider will tell you, artwork abounds on TriMet's MAX Light Rail and WES Commuter Rail lines.

You can find art at stations, on shelters and on bridges. Some pieces are impossible to miss, while others are a little harder to spot. Quite often, the art is built right into the station itself!

This is the handiwork of local and regional artists who are helping to enhance the transit experience through public art.

Before construction begins, they meet with TriMet architects and engineers to integrate their artwork into the design of the transit system.

The result is kind of like a city-wide art gallery. Only these masterpieces aren't for sale... they're for everyone to enjoy.

Public art gives each MAX and WES station a unique identity, reflecting the people and the history of the nearby community.

For example, at Hillsboro Central MAX Station, the artwork honors the lives of everyday people. Bronze objects, such as this Native American burden basket and Mexican lasso, celebrate the local heritage.

260 feet below the surface at the Washington Park Station, you'll find a "Core Sample Timeline." Portraying 16 million years of history, it corresponds with the age of the rock between the tunnel and the surface.

At the Rose Quarter, two groves of illuminated trees more than 20 feet tall provide a futuristic landmark for the MAX station. The "Virtual Trees" generate their own electricity through solar panels that branch out of the upper boughs.

En route to the airport, spanning I-205, the "Fishbird" pedestrian bridge links the light rail station to the Parkrose/Sumner Transit Center. The artist references the Columbia River and the airport destination, with his abstracted fishbird form.

The Expo Center Station features traditional Japanese timber gates, marking the site where Japanese-Americans were interned during the summer of 1942. Metal tags strung from the gates represent the nearly 3,000 people incarcerated at the center.

At the five stations along TriMet's WES Commuter Rail, it's hard to resist playing with the "Interactivators." These moveable cast-bronze heads and vehicles run on a track mounted on a stainless-steel table. The heads express the full range of human emotions and personalities, like the cross-section of the community that can be found onboard any train. The vehicles each carry a sculpted scene of an animal, representing the station area where they are located.

The Green Line station at Southeast Division Street features "Sky to Earth," a 400-foot sculptural fence that waves and loops alongside the station. It replaces standard chain-link fencing with colorful and dynamic artwork.

And downtown at the historic Union Station, a series of sculptures called "Cairns" was inspired by the man-made stacks of stones that traditionally mark trails as landmarks for navigation and as memorials.

These are just a few of the dozens of art installations along TriMet's MAX and WES lines. Not only do they entertain and inspire us, each one is a celebration of the diversity and rich history of our community.

For a self-guided public art tour, visit trimet.org/art.

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