Claremont, Calif. (April 20, 2012) — Pitzer College Assistant Professor of Art Jessica McCoy’s 16 new mosaic murals will be on permanent public display at the Expo/Vermont Station of the new Metro Expo light-rail line which opens on April 28, 2012.
McCoy was selected to design artwork for the Expo/Vermont Station after a rigorous, peer-reviewed competition in 2007. McCoy’s murals capture fragments of the lives of the people who live in the neighborhood—their gardens, homes and families. McCoy composed collages using hundreds of photographs, then made watercolor paintings based on those images, creating a “compilation of moments.”
This is McCoy’s first public art installation. She believes public artwork “becomes part of the local landscape in a way that allows residents to have a relationship with the work.”
“My work is very intimate and detailed for a public space,” she said. “I am excited to bring that unique viewpoint.”
After winning the commission, McCoy had about one year to design the murals and have them transformed into mosaics by the Montreal-based fabrication firm Mosaika Art and Design. All artwork at Metro train stations have to be made out of materials that are fade-resistant, low-maintenance and tough to vandalize.
The portion of the Expo Line that is opening on April 28 will run 7.6 miles from the 7th/Metro Center in downtown Los Angeles to the La Cienega station. The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is offering free rides on the Expo Line during the opening weekend celebration that includes live music, karaoke and food-truck fare on April 28-29.
