The MetroLink station off St. Charles Rock Road in Pagedale has a new look. Or at least something new to look at. A sculpture that grabs your attention and perhaps your imagination.
It's a giant set of keys, a lip balm, coins and a crumpled receipt. What is this odd compilation? It's what you might find in your pockets or purse while looking for your Metro pass. The sculpture made of bronze, aluminum and steel is called, "Honey, Where's My Metro Pass."
The artists are Nick Lang and Thad Duhigg.
So at a time when county voters just passed a tax increase to restore and create new routes, we had to ask Metro about the money for this $50,000 piece of art. Most of it was paid for by a federal grant. Metro did have to shell out $7,000 from its capital budget... not its operating budget. That means none of the money used for the art came from funds that pay for buses, trains and stations.
Metro has 37 stations in our region. Almost all of them have some kind of sculpture and the goal is to make sure they all do one day.
The thinking is the art makes the stations more welcoming to riders and they generate some pride and ownership and perhaps people will take care of the place and not vandalize property.
Let's hope you don't see us doing any more stories on this piece of art... because if we do it will likely be because it was indeed vandalized.
Mark Schnyder is a reporter at KMOV-TV. He can be reached at mschnyder@kmov.com.
Do you think this is a good use of Metro funds? Vote in the poll to the right and let us know what you think in the comments below.
