Long Island Railroad Station Transformed by Artist

Anita Thacher's Illuminated Station, a site-specific light-work, opens at the Greenport, New York Long Island Train Station.

(PRWEB) May 22, 2005 -- Anita Thacher's Illuminated Station, a site-specific light-work, opens at the Greenport, New York Long Island Train Station.

Opening Ceremonies 7- 9 pm, Saturday, June 4th, 2005 East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation 3rd Street at Ferry Dock, Long Island Rail Road Station, Greenport, NY

Illuminated Station, a light-work by New York-based multimedia-artist Anita Thacher, has been created at the historic Greenport train station to evoke an earlier era of the Long Island Rail Road -- a time when, in storybook fashion, the soft glow of gaslight from the Victorian station house contrasted with the deep blue night surrounding it.

To allude to this image and bygone era, the rooftop of the Greenport station house is outlined with blue LED illumination, and the ground surrounding the building is set off with deep blue light. The windows are shaded to blur the yellow glow that emanates from the interior, furthering the suggestion of that earlier time.

An early American Indian pictograph of a man and a canoe is projected in green light on the front and back roofs of the station house to honor the first residents of Long Island, and to remind us of their important contributions. The pictograph also serves to identify the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation, a long-term resident of the station house. The pictograph itself was discovered on Long Island and is on display in the Suffolk County Historical Society Museum in Riverhead, New York.

From every vantage point, the illumination highlights the classic simplicity of the Victorian railroad station house. The installation can be seen from the streets of Greenport and the harbor, and most notably aboard the Shelter Island Ferry on its regular runs to and from the Greenport dock.

Illuminated Station has the appearance of a two-dimensional historic illustration in the three-dimensional reality of Greenport: a floating image drawn" on the page" of the night. The seaside site of the building enhances the storybook quality of the work.

Illuminated Station is a special public-art project created with the support and cooperation of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Arts for Transit Program and the Long Island Rail Road. The opening celebration is presented and supported by the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation.

Note on the artist:
Anita Thacher is a New York-based artist known for her site-specific, multi-media installations, films, videos, public art, and photographic works. Her art explores issues of perception often centered on childhood themes. Her work has been shown here and abroad, notably at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, P.S. 1, Jeu de Paume in France, the New York Film Festival, The Sculpture Center, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Collections include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Getty Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Berlin Arsenal and the French Film Archives. Ms. Thacher's film work was included in the American Century 1950-1999 exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.

East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation PO Box 624, Greenport, NY, 11944 631 477 2100

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