ARE SWEDES LOONIER THAN CANADIANS?

ARE SWEDES LOONIER THAN CANADIANS?

Recently, Gothenburg Sweden held a competition to develop a public art project to decorate two new railroad stations that are being built. In recent years, Calgary has been blessed with a number of public art projects that have raised storms of protest and public ridicule. A large blue 17 meter wide blue metal ring called Travelling Light and costing $471,000 is located at 96 Ave NE and has drawn unrelenting criticism. Another project, The Bowfort Road Blackfoot Project consists of numerous sets of metal columns which support layers of rundle rock stones along the TransCanada Highway, that costs another $500,000. Well, these two highly criticized local art projects can’t hold a candle to the two winners in the Swedish competition. 

The winner at the Haga Station is called the Rainbow Snake. The proposal consists of a 318-meters-long snake skeleton whose curved shape meanders through the whole station traversing the layers of the earth, over- and underground, at a park above the ground, across the entrances, through the halls and the platforms. The skeleton’s vertebrae connect the station’s underground platforms with the ground level, where the skull of the snake emerges at the station’s entrance. While some parts of the gigantic body can be seen on the park outdoors, most of it lies underground, suspended over the train platforms. In the subterranean sections, the surfaces of the bone formations create an iridescent effect and reflect the light in rainbow colours. How would you like to share your travels with a snake skeleton every day? 

The winning entry at the second station is even more mind boggling. Entitled “Eternal Employment” this artistic project is not really an art project in the usual sense at all. It will pay someone about $2,280 a month to do whatever their heart desires.The successful candidate will be required to clock in and out every day at the new Korsvägen train station in Gothenburg, Sweden. Other than that, the position has no set responsibilities or duties. The employee will have free rein to move around -- and they won't even need to stay in the station once they've checked in for work, as long as they return at the end of the day. Of course this explanation of an “art project” made no sense to me whatsoever.

The winning artist explained the project thus: The train station will offer a changing room for its new employee, and a clock used to check in and out of work. The clock will be connected to fluorescent lights above the platform. These "working lights," which will be designed to resemble archetypical office lights, will signal whenever the employee is "at work," according to the artists' proposal. "Although almost invisible at first, over time 'Eternal Employment' has the potential to amass a rich history of rumours, jokes, news stories and other secondary mediation, making its way into the oral history of Gothenburg.” If that makes any sense to any of you, please explain it to me!

So, the next time you drive by the Big Blue Circle or the Rocks on a Stick art projects in Calgary, count your blessings. You could have to share your train station with a snake skeleton or try to figure out why the government is paying someone to do nothing besides turn on the lights in the train station! And then have the nerve to call it art!