A three week journey that began in early September in New York and ended last weekend in San Francisco happened to be a roving cross-country art show created by the Los Angeles artist Doug Aitken, known for his multimedia work. All ten stops on Station to Station were sold out, where every nuance of the avant-garde project had been documented in all social media platforms. A social gathering for the local art world, this series of fleeting encounters encompassing artists, musicians, writers, photographers, designers and other creative types was financed by Levi’s as a public-art project, where proceeds from the $25 tickets and donations went to a nonprofit cultural fund that benefits partner institutions, such as New York’s MOMA and others.
Aitken is an artist who loves to encourage the work of others, and is one of the people defining what art can do right now. By creating site-specific pop up performances and art exhibitions, Aitken’s caravan of nine retro train cars- which transported musicians such as Beck, Giorgio Moroder and Patti Smith, including a who’s who of contemporary cool artists like Urs Fischer and Olafur Eliasson- was able to cross-pollinate artists and communities with selective works shown in train stations and parking lots. Having broadcasted unique content as well as experiences- a professional whip-cracker for example- the project changed as it traveled through different cities that included Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, and Los Angeles. The success of Aitken’s experiment is important not only for him and other artists, but also for the sponsors who have invested millions. Maybe the fashionistas will get on board next time if this train makes it to another station… www.stationtostation.com
