It all begAN INNOCENTLY ENOUGH…
I was sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast one morning. I had just returned from an intensive apprenticeship with internationally acclaimed artist Cal Lane in New York City, needless to say, I was inspired and prolifically creating new works based on this experience. I was plasma torch cutting aerosol cans by the dozen, creating my iteration of object-based interventions, as Cal had prompted me to begin. Many things about her work had brought me to some revelations about my studio endeavours, but one thing stuck out: scale.
When artists create large, architecturally sized works, it shows commitment to an idea; I wanted to show my pledge to the work. As I sat at that kitchen table, contemplating what this responsibility could look like, I overheard on CBC radio, in that moment, that the Calgary Transit was giving away decommissioned C-Trains for $1. That was it! It hit me like a tonne of bricks: this is my object! This C-Train could be a symbolic stand-in for the New York Subway, the birthplace of Graffiti Art. This could be the ultimate homage artwork to the roots of my art practice.
A little more than $1 later, the artwork was completed at the nvrlnd. Arts Foundation. From there, the artwork became part of the Future of Stephen Avenue projects and was moved downtown west to the corner of 8th Avenue and 10 Street SW. This is where I put this C-Train back in service to Calgarians through various free public engagement activities. I had 21 months at this location to build ‘proof of concept,’ and this is what took place out of YYC/LRT:
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