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

Closing

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It would be difficult to deny that Stuart Reid’s Zones of Immersion has artistic merit. Reid’s rejection of infrastructural monumentality and his depiction of infrastructural citizenship offers a subversive and candid perspective of Reid’s experience and study of contemporary urban environments. However, the close ties between art and wellbeing call into question both the location and the permanence of the piece.  Zones of Immersion does not meet the criteria for art that positively impacts wellbeing as demonstrated in the previous section, thus validating and providing interpretation of the negative public reaction toward the piece. Drawing inspiration from Henry Moore’s shelter drawings, the permanence of Zones of Immersion situates onlookers in the depicted state of struggle and hardship. Thus, the permanent location of Zones of Immersion in Toronto's busy Union Station draws viewers to create a personal interpretation of a piece that is best understood and appreciated through the impersonal lens of the collective.


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  1. The Subway is not (only) an Art Gallery: A Critical Analysis of Union Station's Zones of Immersion Madeleine Korn