About the Project

Permanent Installation

Shadow Screens, a commission from The Chicago Transit Authority and the Office of Public Art Chicago, includes two sets of windows in facing walls at the Western Avenue Station in Chicago. This station has windows on all sides of the building and the daily activities of commuters are silhouetted against a background of shifting natural light. These activities, enacted in the bustle and flow of the station, are the 'cinematic moments' highlighted by Shadow Screens. The windows' subtle pattern is rendered in different opacities of white: 90%, 60%, 30%, and clear glass. The scale of the pattern leaves many areas open to views of the surrounding streets and plaza, which provides a visual focus from inside and outside the station. The pattern changes in different light conditions and is a visible presence both during the day and at night as Shadow Screens frames daily life in the station and the surrounding areas.

project history

Camouflage Screens, permanent installation Wester Avenue Brown Line station, Chicago, IL, Commissioned by the Chicago Transit Authority and the Office of Public Art Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, City of Chicago, 2007