Posts about Public Art

Still a streaming barrage of flashes, dashes, and splashes of colors and messages, the state of the Red Line's graffiti in 2012 is a shadow of its former self. The line has been a railroad, originally the Baltimore and Ohio, since the mid-19th century, and thus has long been an industrial corridor.

Graffiti-strewn buildings neighbor the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station. Photo by the author.

In recent years, the Metropolitan Branch Trail and development between Fort Totten and New York Avenue have brought new attention to the corridor's aesthetic appeal. Large-scale service projects have painted murals, as part of Murals DC, within sight of the Red Line. With Rhode Island Row's opening imminent, it is only a matter of time before the graffiti-strewn warehouses on the opposite side of Rhode Island Avenue NE are cleaned up.

Ownership of public spaces that enclose the Red Line is scattered between CSX (which owns the outer tracks used by MARC, Amtrak, and freight trains), WMATA, and mostly private businesses. The DC Department of Public Works' jurisdiction is limited to graffiti visible from the street.

"In FY 11 we spent approximately $500,000 on graffiti abatement, which is consistent with what we have spent in the past," said Nancee Lyons, spokesperson for DPW. "Last year, we completed 6,155 abatements on public and private space. Just to give you some perspective, we have five dedicated folks dealing with graffiti, one fewer than in the past."

Barnard, who has owned the business for 23 years, doesn't expect the wall's bareness to endure. "The building is so popular that the police have done midnight surveillance." However, the inevitability that another name will the grab the imagination of Red Line riders doesn't interest Barnard. "It's nothing but vandalism. They might as well come here and smash our windows. It costs us money all the time. It ruins the community. What's the message?"

The incandescent home is located at 513 Newcomb Street in Southeast Washington, a quiet residential street.

Thomas' yard, which lights up from 5:15 pm to 6:45 am, houses many decorations. There's Santa riding in a NASCAR, Santa flying in a hot air balloon, Santa leaning back in a recliner reading a book, a six foot inflated Tigger wearing Santa's ubiquitous red stocking cap. Thomas estimates more than 30 pieces of Christmas-themed ornaments adorn her front lawn.

"I would love to keep it up all year," Thomas says, laughing. "But I haven't got my electric bill yet."

Appreciation has come from both neighbors and local police, who have recognized Thomas with an award. "The police say they like it because it lights up the block," said Thomas, retired from the DC government.

Thomas says people in the neighborhood begin asking her, "Is it time for the yard to go up?" as early as September.

The display that includes a five foot inflatable snow globe, a fleet of reindeer, multiple Frosty the Snowmans, and Disney characters takes about three days to put up according to Thomas' daughter, Terry.

Throughout the years hundreds of children and their families have asked to take pictures posing by the decorations. Thomas always welcomes them. Anytime you're in the neighborhood, you'll be welcomed, too.

A version of this story appeared in the December East of the River.

In its earliest days, the theatre hosted vaudeville, musicals, road shows, stock company productions, and even a circus or two. For a short time during the Great Depression the building hosted a church, but by 1931 the theatre was restored to a lively performance space. Over the decades the theatre hosted stars of jazz, rock-n-roll, rhythm and blues, and some early front-runners of go-go.

Unable to survive the economic troubles of the era, the Howard Theatre closed shortly after the 1968 riots that decimated so much of central Washington. It re-opened in the mid-1970s, but closed again by the early 1980s. It has been shuttered for the past 3 decades.

Immortalized in song and verse by Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Jean Toomer and others, the theatre's pending reopening, along with the adjacent development of Progression Place on 7th Street, is already triggering memories of Washington's "Black Broadway."

"The Howard was the first major theatre built for and by black folks," said Timothy A. Jones, ANC 4C08, as he gripped a binder filled with photocopies of old photos, show programs, and newspaper clippings.

"The Howard seems to have been a place where local kids who thought they might be able to be musicians could come hang out back stage. Several discovered that they did want to be musicians," says Blair A. Rube, author of Washington's U Street.

The ground breaking for the renovations was held in early September, 2010, just weeks after the theatre's centennial anniversary.

Unfortunately, not much from the building's interior could be saved. According to construction project manager Ryan Colombo, water damage caused by leaks in the roof had destroyed most of the interior.

The renovated interior will have a standing room capacity of around 1,000, and seating capacity of between 400 and 500. There will be fewer than 100 permanent seats, all of which will be located on the 2nd floor balcony. The first floor will be flexible for either standing or banquet seating. The renovated stage will include DJ booths set to either side.

A new basement has been built which will have bathrooms, dressing rooms, a green room, and a large kitchen.

On the exterior, the façade's original 17 windows have been restored. Additionally, a new free standing statue will be added to the building's front. The statue will consist of stainless steel rods in the shape of a trumpet player, and will be called "Jazz Man".

In 2002, the DC Preservation League named the Howard one of its Most Endangered Places. According to Executive Director Rebecca Mller, "The Howard is a cultural as well as an architectural landmark." It is gratifying to see it restored and put to good use.

With the re-opening of the Howard Theatre, the revitalization of the U Street district continues to creep eastward, bringing neighborhoods back to life and returning a piece of the city's past glory.

A version of this story appeared in The Washington Informer.

Top of the McMillan Fountain today (left) and in 1912 (right).

Though the top of the McMillan Fountain had been restored to the reservoir grounds, a Bloomingdale ANC commissioner told me the base of the fountain was in the woods in Fort Washington along with the remains of the fountain that stood at the center of the now-razed Truxton Circle.

I went to Fort Washington in search of these discarded works of art. I asked a park ranger where the fountain was and she drew me a map, saying that it stood in the park's "dump" and partly behind a fence.

I went to the picnic area nearest the site and walked into the woods a short distance where I found a fence. Behind it stood piles of bricks and other discarded building materials.

Beside the site is a dugout that serves as the back court to Battery Emory, a concrete gun battery built in 1898 to protect the capital city from enemy ships.

As I passed through the unfenced dugout, I immediately spotted few granite blocks that served as the cornerstones of the base bowl. Though they are strewn about the ground, a 1912 photograph can help us identify what pieces went where.

A cornerstone sitting on the ground (left) formed part of the fountain's bottom basin (right).

The elements of the fountain were stacked like totem pole. The bottom element features carved classical allegorical heads from whose mouths water gushed into the carved bowls below.

Fence material and tree debris cover the carved granite (left) that stood as the fountain base (right).

The next element of the stack is the fluted base to the top bowl.

Upside down on the ground (left) is the fluted base for the top bowl (right).

Several other large granite stones are stacked and marked with numbers, presumably to help in reassembly.

The site also contains the rusting remains of the fountain that stood at Truxton Circle, which formed the intersection of North Capitol Street, Florida Avenue, Lincoln Road, and Q Street. The circle was built around 1901 and the fountain installed there originally stood at the triangle park at Pennsylvania Avenue and M Street in Georgetown.

Truxton Circle stood at Florida Avenue, North Capitol Street, Q Street, and Lincoln Road from 1901 to 1940, when it was demolished to aid commuter traffic.

A newspaper at the time described it as one of the largest fountains in the city. The circle was removed in 1940 to ease the flow of commuter traffic. At that time, the fountain, which may date to as early as the 1880s, made its way to Fort Washington to rust in the woods.

The metal pedestal (left) held up the fountain bowl whose rim rusts in pieces on the ground (right). Notice the classical egg-and-dart pattern.

The fountain was also noted for the metal grates that stood near its base. Now these grates sit rusting in the woods.

If you want to see the fountain remains for yourself at Fort Washington National Park, go to picnic area C. Beyond the end of the parking lot is a restroom building and behind that is the fountain "graveyard." A fence encloses part of the site, but you can enter through the large gap down the hillside.

Rather than tossing aside our city's artistic patrimony, we should aim to restore these treasures to the neighborhoods from which they came. Public art is part of what differentiates cherished neighborhoods from unmemorable places.

These works remind us of the accomplishments and civic-mindedness of generations past and urge us to carry on the tradition of civic improvement for generations to come.

Cross-posted at Left for LeDroit.

Though the sculpture is named for the white quartz that White Flint gets its name from, it doesn't feel like a product of its place. Alluvium's narrative about the power of nature says nothing about the history or culture of White Flint as a community, nor does it provide an opportunity to create a new history or culture in White Flint.

Alluvium sculpture in North Bethesda Market. Photo by the author.

Not only does it resemble the artist's other works, but Sanborn admitted that the piece was largely inspired by the geography of Montana. If anything, Alluvium is an expression of JBG's ability to lavish money on the public spaces in its developments, which is important if they want to draw tenants to apartments renting for nearly $5,000 a month.

Other urban centers in Montgomery County use public art to commemorate tragic events. In downtown Silver Spring, friends and family of fourteen-year-old resident Tai Lam created a memorial to him after he was murdered on a Ride-On bus.

The impromptu assemblage of photos, notes and flowers sat at the base of a streetlight on Ellsworth Drive for several months before the Peterson Companies, which manages the public street on behalf of the county, laid a brick with Tai Lam's name on the sidewalk, smaller, more permanent tribute to the teenager.

Tai Lam brick. Photo by the author.

Meanwhile, in Bethesda, yoga-wear store Lululemon Athletica turned their storefront into a tribute to employee Jayna Murray, who was murdered by a coworker three months ago. In place of the store's name, the façade bears a stained-glass window with Lululemon's logo and the word "LOVE."

Stained glass window tribute to Jayna Murray, Bethesda Avenue. Photo by the author.

Neither Tai Lam's brick or Jayna Murray's window were commissioned by the Planning Department. Both of them were relatively cheap to make and didn't involve renowned artists. You could argue that neither of them were public art, as Tai Lam's brick is part of an existing sidewalk and Jayna Murray's window was paid for by a store to be used in that store.

Yet both pieces can be seen and interacted with by everyone who passes through the streets they're located on, making it a public intervention. And as tributes to members of the Silver Spring and Bethesda communities, both pieces are already more significant to that community than a commissioned artwork.

Meaningful public art doesn't have to come out of tragedy. Those who commission, pay for and create an artwork should look at the place where the piece will be located and find some reference to draw inspiration from within that community, whether it's a significant event, person, or cultural oddity. Grand statements are nice, but they don't make a unique place. Public art that can celebrate the little things is the way to create local character.

Taylor, 24, was in his fourth year with the Redskins. In the twelfth week of the 2007 season he had 5 interceptions—third in the league, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. His reputation as one of the hardest hitting players in the league and his all-out style of play had endeared him to fans.

News of his death during a home invasion on November 27, 2007 quickly spread across the region, leaving his teammates and fans in a state of disbelief and grief. While the Redskins organization honored Taylor's memory on the field, an established DC graffiti artist took to the red line in a public display of deference.

"The Red Line has been a hot spot since the mid-80's, but became the spot in the early 90's," according to Roger Gastman, a Bethesda native and author of Free Agents: A History of DC Graffiti and the forthcoming The History of American Graffiti. "If you wanted to be someone in the DC graffiti scene, you had to hit the Red Line."

"The Brookland station, you can walk right up to it. It is a very good location, if you can pull it off," says Gastman.

"The best writers interact with their environment," asserts Gastman, citing graffiti as the fastest growing art movement of the past forty years.

CERT

Beginning his graffiti career with the tag of "CERT" in 1992 at the age of 14, the well-known writer of the Sean Taylor mural declined an interview request for this article.

"The Red Line was CERT's backyard. He basically lived there and owned it. CERT could disappear, but, to this day he holds enough respect that his spots will remain untouched for years to come," reads CERT's profile in Free Agents that describes his graffiti as "hardcore and illegal" and "always in highly visible spots."

"Graffiti to me is my childhood, my teen years. That's what I was about 100 percent. But I'm still representing. Don't count me out. Don't forget me. I can come back at any moment and in a month I'll take king of the Red Line again," contends CERT in the 2001 book.

"Whatever his reasons for slowing down, CERT is a true D.C. king. It's time for him to sit back and let the mark he left on the city soak in. And like he said, don't count him out. With a closet full of paint and heart that's true to the game, CERT will be back," Gastman foretold in the conclusion of CERT's profile.

The mural has remained untouched since its appearance more than 3 years ago. Gastman says there is a code among writers that is being followed.

"Brookland station can be considered a museum for DC graffiti, because of the pieces that have endured over the years," says Saaret Yoseph, a graduate student at Georgetown University. "Brookland is unique in that the art is eye level. The graffiti is looking right at you as you wait for your train."

Yoseph is directing, "The Red Line D.C Project," a documentary exploring the "communal experience" of graffiti on the Red Line as a public art space. It will be released later this year.

Rider Reactions

"What struck me about that one was here was a memorial to someone we actually knew—or knew of. So much graffiti is inscrutable. Who are the people named there? What's the purpose of it? But this was one we could grasp immediately," said John Kelly, a writer for The Washington Post and Red Line rider since 1983. "And then a few years later, just across the platform was another one that fell into that category: some memorial paint for Michael Jackson."

On a recent morning at the Brookland Station, riders' reactions to the graffiti suggested a sense of pride in the station's distinction as the home of the Sean Taylor mural.

"If they cleaned it up we would be really hurt behind that one," said Milford Obendorf, a Brookland resident waiting with his wife on the northbound train to Silver Spring.

"It's been here since he passed away. People come here to look at it," said Marquette Obendorf.

"It's real creative," said LaWanda Swain, a custodian with Metro for 6 years. "He played here so they have respect for him."

"It spices things up. If they cleaned it up then you'd be staring at a wall for 15 minutes," said Mike Young, 20, a cell phone sales rep downtown. "People remember Sean Taylor because he shouldn't have died. He hit the hardest like when he cracked yungin' in the Pro Bowl."

Numerous videos on YouTube have compiled Taylor's highlights as a Redskin, including a tackle of punter Brian Moorman in the Pro Bowl that lifted Moorman off his feet to a point where he was parallel to the field.

However, some riders expressed frustration with the station's illegal art.

"It grows and grows until they clean it up," said Joe, an older man in a white dress shirt, a Brookland resident for more than two decades. "The kids that do it are talented, but they can put their talents to better use."

As a regular rider of the red line for more than a decade, I can remember the walls at Brookland being cleaned, "buffed" in the language of graffiti, about five years ago.

"The graffiti is on CSX property, not Metro property. Typically, when we become aware of graffiti, our goal is to remove it within 24 hours," said Angela Gates, a Media Relations officer with Metro.

CSX did not respond to email and phone call requests for comment.

"There have been no graffiti-related arrests or citations in the last year at Brookland-CUA," said Gates who emphasized that the property is outside of Metro's jurisdiction.

With no apparent plans to clean the walls and a lack of enforcement around graffiti, the Sean Taylor mural will continue to be a distinctive cultural landmark for the Brookland Metro station.

A print version of this article will appear in the forthcoming spring edition of The Brookland Heartbeat.

There is no need for any such project to be expensive or logistically challenging. Every high school in America is filled with art students who would love a chance to show off their skills publicly. Metro could work out a deal with a local school: Give each art student one concrete panel and let them go wild, as part of a class project. Coordinate with teachers to make sure murals turn out appropriate to the public (and if one doesn't, 10 minutes and a bucket of white paint solve that problem). For practically no cost, Metro would dramatically improve the user experience at this station. If it leads to even a modest rider increase, the project would pay for itself.

How many other places around the region would benefit from a similar project? Any city resident can probably think of 10 blank walls somewhere in their neighborhood. It seems the only reason they can't be improved is that nobody bothers to do so.

Of course it is true that Metro and the city at large have bigger problems than a few blank walls, but this is low-hanging fruit. It will take long, hard work to solve Metro's systemic maintenance and safety problems, but this is something that would positively influence the system and could be accomplished with nothing but a few hours of coordination and the cost of paint.

Let's do it.

Cross-posted at BeyondDC.

The piece is free to Metro, funded by the Chinatown Community Cultural Center, Target, the DC Arts Commission and Pepco. It will be placed near the 7th and F entrance, the one to the arena.

Try passes on SmarTrip: Metro is looking for volunteers to try loading unlimited-use passes on a SmarTrip card. They're offering a free week if you buy three.

The program asks riders to provide a credit card number and a registered SmarTrip card number. When you sign up, the pass you select will be purchased and loaded automatically for the month of August. Passes will be activated when they're first used, and after five days the next pass will be purchased, ready to be activated when the previous one expires.

If you receive a transit subsidy as farecards or SmartBenefits, you won't be able to pay for your passes right now. If you have a pass on rail or bus, you'll need to use stored value to ride the other system. There will not be a transfer discount when using the pass.