The subway system in Stockholm, Sweden, is the world's longest art exhibition at around 110 km (about 70 miles long). You can spend an entire day going from station to station to view the art, traveling from T-Centralen in the center of the city outwards to the other boroughs. This journey is not just a physical way to cover the city; it is also an open history book! You can watch Swedish culture and politics evolve through 5 decades of European art history, from the pioneers of the 1950s to the modern experimentalists of today.
This article in The Guardian delves deeper into the meaning of Stockholm's metro. I highly recommend reading it if you're interested! Some key points/sentences include:
These comments reminded me of the 20th century Proletariat movement in Russia (I took a Russian art course my senior year of college)- the proletariats also wanted art to be more for the people rather than for the elite. For example, opera and ballet were commissioned by the Imperial family and were not really open to the public, which made them symbols of the cultural elite. The proletariat vision (in terms of culture) included bringing opera and ballet into the homes of the 'ordinary people'.
Anyway, let's take a photographic journey through the Stockholm metro with The Guardian. All photos are by Luis Rodriguez, descriptions by David Cox.
This article in The Guardian delves deeper into the meaning of Stockholm's metro. I highly recommend reading it if you're interested! Some key points/sentences include:
- In the late 1950's, a new political ideology known as Folkhemmet or "The People's Home" emerged that instigated a cultural boom
- They introduced a nationalized health service and a vision of building a subway system that would connect the growing city and bring art to every man and woman
- The people felt that art needed to be more accessible to the wider community rather than be a culture enjoyed solely by Sweden's elite
These comments reminded me of the 20th century Proletariat movement in Russia (I took a Russian art course my senior year of college)- the proletariats also wanted art to be more for the people rather than for the elite. For example, opera and ballet were commissioned by the Imperial family and were not really open to the public, which made them symbols of the cultural elite. The proletariat vision (in terms of culture) included bringing opera and ballet into the homes of the 'ordinary people'.
Anyway, let's take a photographic journey through the Stockholm metro with The Guardian. All photos are by Luis Rodriguez, descriptions by David Cox.
Wow! 90 out of the 100 subways stations in Stockholm have been decorated by over 150 artists, so above are just some of the more famous artworks. The art is not static, which is part of why this metro is so unique; it is constantly evolving, and each new generation can add its own ideas to the mix. I love this quote that is included at the end of the article:
"As the decades unfold, you get these new layers of thought and expression. New and younger artists are emerging and what they're doing is very different to my generation. The beauty of the subway is that you can start at T-Centralen, the beginning, which reminds us of where we have been, and then you journey outwards and experience how it evolves into different things."
Looks like it's time to go to Stockholm! :) Which station do you like the best?
And by the way, on the topic of subway art, the Daily Mail pulled together some photos of recently redone subways that are absolutely gooooorgeous:
And by the way, on the topic of subway art, the Daily Mail pulled together some photos of recently redone subways that are absolutely gooooorgeous:
~burn bright~
Jess
Jess