Local art added to your commute

By George P. Hassett

With the roar of passing trains in the background, officials from the city and Tufts University came together inside the Davis Square T station on Tuesday morning to celebrate the unveiling of nine original works of art on the train platform.

The previously displayed art pieces were generic and gloomy with no connection to the community surrounding the station, said Ward 6 Alderman Rebekah Gewirtz who led the replacement efforts.

“In my view this is a historic day for Davis Square and Somerville,” she said in between the rumbling sounds of arriving and departing trains. “We now have a new gateway to our city that 10,00 people will see everyday.”

The idea to replace the old artwork came from David Dennis, a Tufts student who approached Gewirtz and told her, “We can do better,” according to Gewirtz. Gewirtz then organized a call for artists and, along with a jury made up of arts council members and local artists, selected nine winners from 200 submissions.

The winners were: David Aucoin, Laurinda Bedingfield, Ryan Klemek, Gregory Yantz, Simi Rabinowitz, Charles Marchany, Alice Grossman and Julie Furbush. Their work included portraits of the familiar in Somerville: streets lined with triple-decker homes, the statues of Statue Park and front yard Madonna's.

“I want to thank the artists,” said Tufts University President Lawrence Bacow.

“You have contributed to our community by enriching the visual experience of everyone who passes by.”

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said the arts are an essential part of the city overall. “We love the fact that we have the most artists per capita -- only second to New York City -- in this country. There are so many creative minds living and working here [and the installation] is a great way to say that we are proud of this asset,” he said.

Ryan Klemek, who lives in Somerville, worked from a photograph of his girlfriend, Vanessa Cheung, standing with two statues in Davis Square to paint his winning piece. “I always liked those statues. I tried to paint it as though she was one of them or they were like her and seeing what she sees,” he said.

Cheung said she was excited to have her likeness represented in the train station she takes every day. “I'm waiting for my first graffiti moustache,” she said.

Comments

[PersonDavis]

This remark from the Alderman is weird,
"The previously displayed art pieces were generic and gloomy with no connection to the community surrounding the station". What previously displayed artwork is she talking about? The tiles? Those were made by Somerville school kids back in the early 80's. One of them was my kids.

[Ron Newman]

No, she means what was on those nine panels before they were replaced with these new artworks. They were generic pictures of train tracks and the like.

The tiles are still on the station wall, where they always have been.

[Congrats]

Congratulations to Laurinda Bedingfield on being one of the artists chosesn. Laurinda was born and raised in Somerville, so it's good to see that they chose art by at least one truly local artist! Congrats, Laurinda!

[PersonDavis]

Thank you Newman, at first I thought it meant they were replacing the tiles and that would be wrong since it was kids that did those and they all have their names on them. I know the things your talking about down at the lower level and they were kind of out of place there. I shouldnt've jumped to conclusions.

[Ron Newman]

There are still nine or ten generic or blank panels at the platform level, so perhaps this contest can be repeated in a year or two.

(And bravo, Laurinda!)