Transformed in transit

On Saturday, large ham bones made of pink and red felt swung from the ceiling of one car; the fluorescent lights shone through blue cellophane; and excerpts from Craigslist “missed encounters” that took place on the CTA were posted on the walls.

“I want them to feel kind of transformed,” said 27-year-old Allison Glenn, who curated the “Meet Meat Train” installation, created students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, or SAIC. 

Works of art and religious rituals both offer people the chance to be transformed, one professor told me.  In each experience, the ultimate impact comes from the return to normalcy and what lasting effect the work or the ritual has on someone once it’s over.

In the case of the Art on Track, the nearly 70 artists showcasing their work in the train looping around the Loop wanted to change the way CTA passengers think of public transit and public space.

Being involved in the event made Allison approach the el’s “awkward social setting” with a renewed awareness to notions of inclusion, irritation, reaction and acceptance.

The mobile exhibit, the largest of its kind, also can transform the way people experience art.  Tristan Hummel, one of the founders of Art on Track, designed the event to show the public art outside of a standard museum setting.

“Maybe they want to get excited in the way a sports fan does when they see a homerun,” said Tristan, a 23-year-old SAIC alumni.  “Maybe they want to scream.”