MBTA GLX Ball Square Station
MBTA Ball Square Station
Ball Square Station is part of the multi-year Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Green Line Extension (GLX) project completed in December 2022. The GLX Integral Art Program selected different artists to create a unique design for each of the seven new stations. The intent of the public art displays was to humanize the environment and to create a unique experience at each station to be enjoyed by the riders and the various communities. Well-known for its Alice® direct-to-glass printing, GGI was chosen by the artist, Christine Vaillancourt, to recreate this colorful abstract in large decorative glass panels for the elevator tower.
Vaillancourt's paintings were incorporated into 10 large glass panels approximately 36" x 126" using GGI's Alice® direct-to-glass printing technology. The safety glazing configuration consist of 6MM (1/4") Low Iron Tempered - .060 PVB Interlayer - 6MM (1/4") Low Iron Tempered, for a 12 MM (1/2") OA thickness.
The "Tour Jeté" series was Christine Vaillancourt's first large-scale public artwork. As a local resident, Vaillancourt was inspired by the "cranes and rooftops of buildings and their mechanicals, which look like abstracted sculptural forms". She then set out to create multiple abstract paintings 90"x 45" incorporating colors of shingled houses in the surrounding environment. The paintings are the source of the elevator glass motifs.
The process of matching the blues, yellows, greens, orange, gray and black which were the basis of the elevator’s design was a time consuming yet worthwhile collaboration between Vaillancourt and the design team at GGI. According to Vaillancourt, the installation process was seamless.
Each unique work of art spans multiple panes of glass making it a bit like putting a puzzle together. GGI places a permanent identification on each panel of glass to make easy for the glazing contractor to layout and for the design elements to align with precision.
Christine Vaillancourt drew upon her family's experience and history in the transportation and design industry to create artwork that would resonate with the riders and community served.
