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If You Lived Here You'd be Home 2007
A public artwork for the Maplewood-Manchester station of the St. Louis Light Rail. Commissioned by Metro Arts in Transit.
Two 28 foot long words constructed from parts of two houses that were demolished in Maplewood in 2006.
"We drive into the future using only our rear view mirror." - Marshall McLuhan, 1967
Maplewood is known for its “characters,” its unique individuals. Some people have fondly called it "quirky." Many have spent their entire lives in Maplewood, but young people are moving in. There's nostalgia for the past alongside new development and renovation. People are looking forward and looking back -- the two impulses are compatible in Maplewood.
The artwork consists of two 28 foot long 3-dimensional sculptures that spell out the word “MAPLEWOOD,” installed on either side of the overpass bridge: one forwards, and one backwards.The letterforms were constructed of materials taken from two houses in Maplewood that were demolished in the fall of 2006. The houses were transformed into two words.
The artwork on the south of the overpass is the word “MAPLEWOOD” written backwards: the memory of what Maplewood once was.
The artwork on the other side of the overpass is the word “MAPLEWOOD” written forwards: the materials from the demolished houses were cleaned and renovated for the future.
People driving into Maplewood see the forward facing word. They can read the word on the other side of the overpass in their rear-view mirrors, as if seeing an illusionistic image of Maplewood’s past. As Marshall McLuhan said in 1967, "We look at the present through a rear-view mirror."
At night, the letter are lit from behind, dramatically silhouetting them against the bridge.
The typography was derived from an old Maplewood theater marquee, still in the memories of many residents.
Fabrication: AFX Sign Effectz, Milwaukee, Adam Brown
Project Engineer: Franklyn Berry
Design assistant: Natalia Porter
Project manager: Shelly Willis
Metro Arts in Transit project manager: Hoang Nguyen
Metro Arts in Transit Director: David Allen
Photographs: Cathy Carver
Thanks to John Openlander and Tim Dunn in Maplewood, MO.
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