Metro Art
Art, like most things in life, is a matter of taste. I like the surrealism movement which is probably why I fit in well in Brussels. I also appreciate the art put up for us in the metro stations.
It is not always to my taste, I have to admit. There are some items which I feel are ugly or unremarkable and seem to be nothing more than space fillers:
Pointless
There are some others which are incredibly detailed and beautiful like this tapestry in the “Louise” metro stop:
Detailed
You can hunt them down in the metro and pre-metro stations in the capital here and while I do not appreciate everything, they do add some colour and they are a welcome change from advertising and posters reminding us not to touch the electric cables.
Whenever I notice something new, I can’t help but wonder who the artist is and why s/he felt that this painting or sculpture made sense to him or her. Why do they find this beautiful, I ask myself? Why don’t I? Is it a matter of beauty being in the eye of the beholder? Or is it a matter of appreciating that which one creates?
I ponder these almost philosophical questions but when faced with the most recent exhibit in the Gare Du Midi, I couldn’t really answer them:
Yes, but is it art?
Odd Signs everywhere you look? Leave us a comment and tell us about them!
Related Unexpected Traveller Posts:
- We Spell “Belgium” “S-U-R-R-E-A-L”
- It’s Colder Than You Think
- Down Under Down Under
- Music on The Move
- Jumping to (Belgian) Conclusions
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I agree that the metro art is not always to my taste, but I’m glad it’s there. Belgium does seem to have a high regard for artists and I’d rather wonder about art I don’t really like than stare at blank walls
Alison – I agree that having something there is a good idea. It’s nice that artists are held in high regard; where would we be without them?
The U T
This website provides some information about the art in all the stations, although sadly it doesn’t explain the choice of music. http://www.stib.be/kunst-metro-art.html?l=fr
I find the pieces at Porte de Namur quite scary but I like going to new stations to see what they have on display. It certainly makes for a more interesting commute.
The choice of music is rather eclectic, isn’t it Laura? I like having the music there though – you don’t find that in many metro stations.
Porte De Namur is one of the scariest set I’ve seen. I’m very confused by the art installation in Thierry Metro but I am in awe of the tapestry in Louise (above) and the very beautiful Saint-Catherine.
The Unexpected Traveller
Interesting point raised indeed. One also has to include/highlight the pavement artists. I have just been to Paris for a short break and marvelled at the scale/size of chalk artists work’s on certain pavements, some of which can be of a rather large size – 2 * 3 mtrs.
The weirdest art piece I have ever seen was the strange fat-legged-woman-man-with-child thing that sits in Hermann Debroux station. I found a photo of it online, have a look at this link:
http://blogsimages.skynet.be/images_v2/000/031/965/20070509/dyn005_original_425_567_pjpeg_31965_e32d13d814654d12b246cfa2ce2209b3.jpg
Hey there Charlie’s Tribe!
That is rather, erm, confusing. I don’t have the pleasure of passing through Hermann Debroux too often and I don’t believe I’ve seen this before in fact.
The U T
Hahaha… confusing is right!