Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Public Art in Langley City Parks: 5’ Xylophone and Interurban/SkyTrain Mural

Langley City’s Arts and Culture Task Group recommended two new public art installations in our community.

The first piece of public art recommended was an upright 12-note pipe xylophone to be installed near the picnic shelters at City Park.

Front view of Xylophone. Select image to enlarge.

According to the artist Laara Cerman, the xylophone “can be played by people of any age or culture, as music is a language that often crosses these boundaries, and it can be played from either side of the sculpture so two participants can make music together.” This fits in with the City’s Nexus Vision.

Top-down view of Xylophone. Select image to enlarge.

The xylophone will be 5 feet tall, 3 feet wide, and 1.5 feet deep. It will be built with sturdy exterior construction materials. A mallet will be embedded into each pipe on the xylophone.

Mallet emedded into xylophone. Select image to enlage.

The second piece of public art recommended was a mural by artist Judy Pohl to be installed on the exterior of the washroom building at Linwood Park.

Linwood Park is located along Michaud Crescent which was the old Interurban rail corridor that provided passenger and freight service several times a day between Vancouver and Chilliwack up until 1950.

Interurban/SkyTrain Mural. Select image to view.

Judy Pohl, in her description of the mural, notes that the “wraparound mural features Langley City’s flag on two opposite corners joining together the past and future of Langley’s rail travel. On the east side where the washroom doors are located shows the picturesque Langley Prairie with the Michaud farmhouse. The north wall features Langley's old light rail car on the prairie farmlands of the era. On the south and west walls you have our future [SkyTrain] amidst a floral bouquet representing Langley's vibrancy.”

These two public art recommendations were approved by Langley City council on July 27th. The total cost of the Xylophone is $19,544. The total cost of the mural will be no more than $3,000. Both projects are funded from Langley City’s Public Art Fund.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Should we not be cutting back on all expenses..... Maybe tax payer money should be excluded from frill spending, and private groups raising their own money to move forward with their projects, much to the appreciation of the citizens. And hopefully prompting other projects of passion. (Yes, ma a dreamer. Lol )