Soto Station
Landings, 2009
Nobuho Nagasawa, artist
Emphasizing the rich history of the Boyle Heights area, the multiple artworks throughout the station's interior express universal dreams for higher aspirations. Metal sculptures of birds applied to the entry portal walls initiate a journey alluding to migration and travel, a historically significant thematic for the community. Poetic text, developed in collaboration with poet George Quasha, is applied to the mezzanine walls and furthers the journey toward a large scale, artist designed, neighborhood map populated with flying birds. The map is composed of glass panels that span across the entire mezzanine and are best viewed when descending via stair or escalator to the boarding platform.
At the core of the art concept, and the core of the station interior, a hand sculpted stainless steel nest floats over the main mezzanine to platform elevator and stairs. Within the spiral, sculptural web composing the nest lies a cast acrylic egg. Lighting within the egg pulsates mysteriously and is timed to the exact rhythm of the artist's heart. While waiting to board trains, passengers can observe large scale, metal letters directly on the train walls across from the platform with the text "WORDS BIRDS HOME BETWEEN US" completing the migration, travel and destination thematic.
“With this design we would like to acknowledge the historical importance of Boyle Heights as a landing place for people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.”
NOBUHO NAGASAWA was born in Japan, and studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts in the Netherlands and the Hochschule de Kunste Berlin, where she received her Master of Fine Arts. She also attended the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. A conceptual artist, Nagasawa has had her work exhibited in galleries throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Japan. In addition to public art projects in Germany, Japan and Southern California, including one at the Koll Anaheim Center, she was commissioned by the Metro to be part of the design team for the LAX Gateway Station, Metro Green Line, and she has completed a work at the Vermont Square Branch Library for the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles. Other commissions include sculptural pieces for the Culver City Downtown Streetscape Project; Community Redevelopment Agency, City of Los Angeles Downtown Revitalization Project; San Francisco Municipal Metro East Light Rail Maintenance and Operations Facility; Seattle City Hall and the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.