***Update: The CTA responded to Miller's question about the cost of the Belmont art. The response is after the jump.
Danny Miller wrote to "Going Public" with a complaint about the new Belmont "L" station.
"This station is currently in the process of remodeling and expansion, which is a nice change. However, they have decorated the station with multiple tile cartoon-ish mosaics.
Each mosaic depicts three faces (Red, Purple, and Brown). My issue with these mosaics is the cost.
As many of us know, the CTA proposed budget has a fare increase to $3 a ride and $110 for a monthly pass, easily the highest in the country.
How dare the CTA spend their finances so frivolously on a tacky, unnecessary tile mosaic that does not benefit a single rider. I have no idea the price tag on the art, but even one cent of my tax dollars is too much.
The CTA needs to learn how to spend its money more effectively before they propose additional increases to the end-user."
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CTA rider: Belmont art not worth the cost
The CTA responded: "Part of the requirement for Federal Transit Administration funding for major infrastructure improvement projects, such as the Brown Line Capacity Expansion project, includes allocating funding for public art.
The total budget for art at the Belmont station is $197,000. This includes both commission and installation costs. The Arts in Transit Program is funded by the Federal Transit Administration, and creates opportunities to develop original artwork for station reconstruction projects along the CTA Red and Brown Lines.
To date, CTA has spent nearly $2 million for Brown Line artwork and its installation. This figure includes artwork at all 18 newly-renovated stations, including the Belmont and Fullerton stations where the pieces will be installed later this year."
The total budget for art at the Belmont station is $197,000. This includes both commission and installation costs. The Arts in Transit Program is funded by the Federal Transit Administration, and creates opportunities to develop original artwork for station reconstruction projects along the CTA Red and Brown Lines.
To date, CTA has spent nearly $2 million for Brown Line artwork and its installation. This figure includes artwork at all 18 newly-renovated stations, including the Belmont and Fullerton stations where the pieces will be installed later this year."
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3 Comments
ScottChicago said:
Well, now that the artwork is there, I think it's upbeat and fun. And it continues the motif of the faces that were (are they still?) on the sides of the bridge. Better to spend the money cleaning other stations? Maybe, but too late in this case!
rhoticity said:
Oh dear god, I am so so so SICK of uninformed people complaining about this. SALARIES come from a different budget than CAPITAL EXPENSES come from a different budget than OPERATING EXPENSES. It is NOT all the same pot. This is also a chance to support local art, something that has had an awful lot of support in the past and yes, it does cost money. Tax money. Your taxes also pay for the holiday decorations on State Street and Michigan Avenue that you may hate to see and books in the library you may never read and scrubbing graffiti off an underpass you may never have to walk under, but they ultimately make SOMEONE'S life better and make our city a more attractive place to visit and live. Cry me a river, build a bridge--and you can make it as plain jane practical as you want with no mosaics or murals--and get over it.
jimsey said:
I'm not a lawyer but, City of Chicago Ordinance:
292090 Appropriation of funds required.
Every budget for the construction of or renovation affecting 50 percent or more of the square footage of a public building to which there is or will be public access built for or by the City of Chicago [...] that has been designated an eligible Public Art Program project by the Department of Cultural Affairs shall provide that 1.33 percent of the original budgeted cost of construction or renovation of the structure or the project itself, excluding land [...], shall be appropriated and deposited in the Public Art Program fund as specified in Section 292120, to commission or purchase artwork to be located in a public area in or at such building or project; provided, however, this provision shall not apply to any building or project constructed with funds which exclude public art as an eligible cost.
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