Local Odysseys – 1994

  • Local Odysseys MTA Metro Station

  • Local Odysseys MTA Metro Station detail

  • Local Odysseys MTA Metro Station detail

Local Odysseys ©1994
Metro Blue Line, Los Angeles, Anaheim Street Station
40″ diameter porcelain enamel panels in pre-existing pylons
Fabricator: Enameltec, Canada

Anaheim Street Metro Station, Local Odysseys, is about voyage — the trip to Los Angeles from Long Beach becomes a metaphor for the larger journey one takes through life. The work honors each of the dominant communities in the city — Latino, African American, Asian and South Pacific, and Caucasian, and contains photographs of 51 stellar volunteers representing each of these groups. The people pictured were chosen by community leaders from more than 100 volunteers who head neighborhood associations, clean grafitti from their schools, tutor students, bring meals to seniors, and work in churches, schools and community centers. City elements were chosen because they are recognizable to all of those living in Long Beach, such as the Queen Mary and Villa Riviera; the large art historical figures were used to symbolize the different major communities of the city and contain qualities to which we all could aspire. The resulting artwork is fourteen, 40″ diameter, 4-color collages made of porcelain enamel, and was fabricated by Enameltec in Toronto, Canada and installed by Carlson & Company of Sun Valley, California in 1994. The piece has become a popular neighborhood focal point, and was pictured in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s “Art in Transit” publication, as well as El Pais (the main Spanish newspaper); Environmental Art (a French magazine); and the Press Telegram, the Long Beach newspaper.