The Assignment

“Each station is a celebration of community: expressing our area’s rich diversity of cultures and our architectural history. Art and design elements both acknowledge our human differences and affirm our shared humanity…The DART Station Art & Design Program…creates…public art that engages us in the present, reminds us of our past and beckons us to consider our collective future.”

These words from DART’s Station Art brochure aren’t just marketing copy. When combined with the initial input we’ve received from the Carrollton community, they also seem to define particularly appropriate goals for any art to be installed at Downtown Carrollton Station.

Art that “…ENGAGES US IN THE PRESENT” – it is UNIQUE

(In the midst of the day-to-day, it captures our imagination and makes us think.)

In DART’s Art & Design Program, each Artist is asked to employ his own language, using a vocabulary of materials and techniques that brings a unique interpretation to the project.

Art that “…REMINDS US OF OUR PAST” – it is HISTORICAL

(It recognizes how we got here in the first place.)

In previous meetings, the Carrollton community said that the historical character of the Downtown Carrollton site is of undeniable significance.

Art that “…BECKONS US TO CONSIDER OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURE” – it is RELEVANT

(And with history as a reference point, it identifies where we’re going from here.)

However, the Carrollton community also said that, as foundational as this historical nature is, Carrollton’s status as a vital, growing city must also be reflected.

Our Solutions

After carefully considering input from the community, we present what we think are effective solutions for the Downtown Carrollton Station. We believe they reflect a UNIQUE interpretation of the site’s HISTORICAL character, rendered in a RELEVANT, contemporary style.

These solutions are unique, not only in that they are unique works of art, but also in that each and every concept relates to a unique characteristic of this site and the Carrollton story. We believe these solutions demonstrate that historical elements need not be represented in a dry, hackneyed way. Even the most didactic, instructional of these concepts would be executed in a clean, contemporary manner. We also think there is no danger that the rustic quality of some small art components would overwhelm such a modern station, and, quite to the contrary, the station’s sleek lines should provide the most complementary backdrop for the artwork.

Your Input

We valued your reactions to the concepts we considered. For the purposes of our discussion, we present them as treatments to the Station’s three key architectural components, Columns, Windscreens and Platform. In addition to relating them to these three major components, we also organized the treatments in loose categories – not to "pigeon-hole" or rigidly define them as separate and distinct concepts, but merely to help identify the individual characteristics that helped us to compare and contrast them as options. For example, certain treatments can be mixed and matched successfully with those in another category, while others may not be so compatible and tend to be strongest when left to stand on their own. Our three categories help clarify that.

The categories are:

Beginnings – Treatments in this category relate to the idea that what we now call Downtown is where everything began. It would include features that describe historic sites near the station and relate interesting facts about the history of Carrollton. It is the most purely historical category.

Fast Forward – Treatments in this category are essentially historic visual elements rendered in a very contemporary way. It is more of a visual style than a conceptual theme. Also, while some of the treatments in the other two may not be completely compatible with each other, treatments in this category will likely be compatible with all.

Then & Now – Treatments in this category relate to the idea that this site, soon to be restored to it’s original status as a hub of activity, will repeat history, as almost a century-and-a-half ago these same tracks brought heroic settlers from all over the country to begin new lives in Carrollton.

Column Treatments

Beginnings: “Inscribed” text, listing names of early settlers, words of the town charter, etc.

Fast Forward: Unadorned, but with treatments and/or colors that complement other surfaces.

Then & Now: “Heroic Portrait” collage art mounted in illuminated windows.

Windscreen Treatments

Beginnings: Historical sites highlighted as they’re seen through the clear windscreens.

Fast Forward: Dramatically enlarged photos rendered in bright, contemporary colors.

Then & Now: “Heroic Portrait” collage art framed in panels.

Platform Treatments

Beginnings: “Inscribed” text and graphics illustrating facts and figures from Carrollton’s past.

Fast Forward: Handwriting from archival documents sandblasted in a bold, graphic pattern.

Then & Now: Small artifacts uncovered on the site (the same as those found in the “Heroic Portrait” collages) embedded in random fashion into the surface of the platform. Inscription at the base of the column interprets the “heroic portrait” theme.