Fifteen Metro Transit bus shelters, four of them in Northeast, will double as art exhibits for the next two months. A good part of the inspiration came from a 2018 book.
Ellen Thomson, a Metro Transit Web/UX designer, had read “Joyful: The surprising power of ordinary things to create extraordinary happiness,” by Ingrid Fetell Lee, and was intrigued by her theories and research around the feeling of joy. She said, “I recalled a chapter on surprise and how something colorful could be integrated into otherwise dull public infrastructure.”
Lee writes: “Surprise has a vital purpose: to quickly redirect our attention … not all surprises are threats – often they signal opportunity, and the arousal of the surprise response can prepare us to take advantage of joys that can come out of the blue.”
Thomson researched Pinterest for examples of art in bus stop shelters, and looked at filling plexiglass boxes with colorful objects, replacing advertising shelter frames. “It wasn’t feasible to fill the entire panel, so we limited it to what could fit in a 36” x 36” acrylic box. I thought it would be cool to have a ‘porthole’ that viewers could see from both sides.” Vinyl stickers hide the infrastructure holding up the box. The ideas became “Project Joy.”
After consulting Mark Granlund, Metro Transit’s public arts administrator, the work was split between the Metro Transit design staff and one local artist to create the bulk of the “art boxes.” Metro Transit spokeswoman Laura Baenen said, “We were aware of Jan Elftmann’s tube art that contained colorful objects, and thought it would be a perfect fit for the project.” Granlund suggested Amanda Lovelee, an employee at the Metropolitan Council and a public artist, might be interested in proposing ideas. Market development supervisor Kelci Stones said, “The goal is to spread joy, wonder, and to bring an element of surprise to our system and community.”
Once they had the “Joy” theme, Granlund and Lovelee each submitted up to 20 ideas for consideration. The ideas were voted on, based on several criteria, including: Does it tie in with the “joy” theme? Will the idea make people smile or be curious? Is the idea fleshed out enough that it can easily envisoned? Does it have strong visual appeal? Is it within the team’s “skill set?” Are the supplies available? And can the art boxes be permanently displayed in a Metro Transit facility and contain objects that will not deteriorate over time?
Elftman named her eight pieces of art “The Iridium Line.” Each piece is a series of imagined core samples, inspired by a Science Museum lecture about dinosaurs and a four-foot iridium line, discovered by a father-son team who took core samples around the world. Below the iridium line, they found dinosaur bones. Above the iridium line, there were no non-avian dinosaur bones.
Three of the selected concepts were outsourced to Etsy vendors: a rainbow grid of resin gummy bears, felt balls spelling XOXO and a green plexiglass custom labyrinth surrounded by moss that staff members built. The remaining boxes were also built in-house. Others were made by Lovelee and Creative Services staffers Elissa Erickson, Ellen Thomson, Missy Dodge, Leah Janz and Christina McHenry. Dodge is a longtime Northeast resident who lives on Nicollet Island.
McHenry is also a textile artist and she created a string art piece. Erickson ordered acrylic tubes on Amazon, hand cut them and laid them out with the help of fellow designers. Dodge selected paper, and folded, glued and arranged triangles for her box. Janz came up with artwork for the labyrinth and Thomson sourced moss and other materials and built around the neon design, custom-made by an Etsy vendor. She and the designers glued materials on foam boards, and Thomson added tiny model railroad figures to the “greenery.”
The project began in late fall of 2022, and the boxes were completed in mid- April; the cost of the project was around $25,000, drawn from Metro Transit’s 2022 Marketing and Creative Services budget. Installations are scheduled for two month’s duration, after which the boxes will be removed and installed at various to-be-determined Metro Transit facilities. The Northeast art box bus shelter locations are on Central Avenue at 19th, 26th and 35th avenues, and at Stinson Boulevard and Kennedy Street.
The bus shelters at 19th and Central by Ellissa Erickson, Kerry Kwierko at 35th and Central, and Northeast artist Missy Dodge at Stinson Boulevard and Kennedy Street NE. (Photos by Mark Peterson)
