Exhibition Open Oct 1st – Oct 28th

I currently live and work in the Midway area of St. Paul and I lived in the area through most of the construction of the Green Line. Throughout the line’s construction there was an enormous amount of businesses and people that were negatively impacted by the construction – when the line finally opened last summer, I felt that the spell of decay and uncertainty that had befallen the St. Paul Midway area had finally dissipated. Despite its initial opposition and arguments against the line’s success, once opened, you could feel the excitement – no one could argue against it. They loved it-   For this reason I have chosen the Green Line as the subject for the installation.

This proposal installation has as its main focus a recreation of the 1896 silent film “L’Arrivee d’un train en gare de La Ciotat” by Auguste and Louis Lumiere. The Lumiere brother’s film has been said to have caused panic when it was originally shown. The scene portraying a locomotive which was filmed head on had never been seen before, and therefore people in the audience thought a train was barreling down on them. Taking cue from the original economic fear instilled when the line was proposed, I want to show the Green Line in the same light as the Lumiere brothers did – uncertain but ultimately beneficial. Using the micro museum as a window, the recreated film with the Green Line Train as its protagonist will be displayed on a miniature screen inside a miniature movie theater. In order to maximize perspective effects, the rows of seats will decrease in size as they get closer to the screen.

My hope is for the audience to draw a connection between the Green Line and its place in St. Paul’s history in relation to how it will be viewed 100 years from now, the same way we now view the Lumiere brother’s film. The tiny screen’s glow is certain o draw viewers off the street and off the train as they arrive.

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