Soto Station (Los Angeles Metro) axial language

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wall preverbs

for “Landings” by Nobuho Nagasawa

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art installation: Nobuho Nagasawa

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wall preverbs: George Quasha

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The recently completed Soto Station on the Los Angeles Metro Goldline is located in the heart of Boyle Heights. (The station, designed by architect Aziz Kohan and artist Nobuho Nagasawa, opened on November 15, 2009.) Nagasawa’s goal was to create a focal communal space for the multi-generational communities of the area. Images of birds, alluding to migration and travel, is the central theme throughout portions of the plaza, escalator walls and mezzanine. Inside the mezzanine bird silhouettes cross a map of Boyle Heights.  A huge nestlike metal wire sculpture with a glowing cast fiberglass egg is suspended from a vaulted ceiling in the center of the mezzanine. Nagasawa comments: “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.”

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As the project developed, Nagasawa invited language artist George Quasha to collaborate on texts for the walls. Four preverbs were selected for installation on walls, punctuated by large bird silhouettes. Nagasawa’s original theme of migration/immigration and travel expanded by way of the preverbs to include states of awareness and aspirations of mind possible in the “between state” or liminality of travel. The four wall preverbs are:

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waking walking

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sky inside

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eyes fly high to nest

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mind awake area

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Further imaging:

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Images of Nagasawa during the installation construction. Click name for more information on Nobuho Nagasawa

For other installation images click here.

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