The Subway is not (only) an Art Gallery: A Critical Analysis of Union Station's Zones of Immersion Main Menu

Analysis: The Role Of Public Art

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Of course, art is not required to make the public feel good. Artists may be inspired by a variety of elements and experiences; although artists may have a hand in the reaction a piece receives they are (to a certain extent) not responsible for how people interpret their work. In her journal article “A Platform for Art,” Theresa Enright defines “infrastructural monumentality” as art and architecture which upholds traditional power structures, projecting “an image of power, authority, and collective unity.” Enright illustrates that infrastructural monumentality uses aesthetic decisions to uphold state power while leveraging against minority or oppressed classes as a form of population control. Conversely, “infrastructural citizenship” can be understood as art and architecture which “illuminates contradictions” as it encourages viewers to analyze and critique the systems of power in which they exist. In regard to transit art specifically, Enright argues that art that features infrastructural citizenship can compel “reflection on the dialectics of presence and absence, domination and freedom, and benefit and harm.” Historically, transit art in Toronto has favoured infrastructural monumentality as “largely mirrored the conservative pretensions of Toronto’s cultural policy at the time” (Enright). Zones of Immersion is instead an example of transit art that highlights infrastructural citizenship "inviting riders to confront the drudgery of daily commuting” (Enright). Thus, the negative public reaction to Zones of Immersion could be argued to be part of the art itself. As transit users are met with Reid’s depiction of his subway experience, the piece forces a reflection on their own experiences. Such a reflection then amplifies the potentially isolating and discomforting feeling of separateness and listlessness within a collective public space. 
Beyond the cultural critiques highlighted by Zones of Immersion as an example of infrastructural citizenship, Ong et al. asks whether public art has additional responsibilities as a factor that impacts human wellbeing. Defined as “the overall emotional, psychological, and social health of individuals and communities,” wellbeing is an essential ingredient in the strength of a community (Ong et al.). In healthcare settings it is known that art can promote healing and wellbeing. Similar principles can be applied to public art in transit spaces as demonstrated in Ong et al.’s study of Singapore’s Art in Transit program. With principles of “accessibility, inclusivity and interactivity,” public art has the potential to connect with a diverse community, which includes individuals who do not typically interact with art, in order to “play a significant role in shaping urban character and fostering cultural resonance within transit environments” (Ong et al.). With the potential to improve community and individual wellbeing, art placement in public spaces must be thoughtful to the users of the space a piece inhabits so that it may be accessible, inclusive and interactive. Thus, art in public spaces can be regarded as a strategic investment in local wellbeing. The negative reaction received by Zones of Immersion consequently implies that the piece has failed in achieving the principles identified by Ong et al.. If Reid’s piece is to be understood as mentioned previously: a documentation and amplification of separateness in a public space, Zones of Immersion has been unsuccessful in creating an accessible cathartic experience in which one can identify oneself. Rather than making people feel seen and connected to one another, the inaccessibility of the public art piece seems to be isolating and punishing to the viewer as a projection of the negative qualities of the public transit environment. On his website, Reid notes Henry Moore’s wartime subway drawings as influential in the creation of Zones of Immersion. Pictured on the right of the page, these drawings depict the struggling London population, sheltering in subway tunnels during the Second World War (Henry Moore Foundation). Whereas the drawings are a striking depiction of the suffering incurred by citizens during times of war, a permanent installation in a high traffic public transit space could serve as a constant reminder of hardship, creating the effect that the subjects are permanently encapsulated in wartime. Also on his website, Reid describes Zones of Immersion as an “intimate contemplation of our contemporary urban human condition . . . which speaks of our collective separateness.” The permanence of Zones of Immersion while located in Union Station implicitly tells viewers that Reid’s “realist” (Goodden) perspective of disconnectedness is here to stay.  
 

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