Courtney Stanford

50112302
Art 497
Is this where I get off?

When navigating the Tube or the Metro it is very important to be able to determine where
you are. You want to be able to look around and immediately know you are or are not in the right
place. There is a limited time to get on and off the train car. You do not want to miss your stop
and have to go back, nor do you want to get off too soon and then wait for another train to cram
yourself on. Speaking of cramped, during busy times you might not be able to see a sign for the
station stop through the windows of the train car. While both London and Paris keep consistent
signage at every stop it is the unique art and design that truly helps to locate yourself in the blink
of an eye. Londons Underground Tube and Pariss Metro do this with some similarity yet also
with many differences.

Pariss Metro standard signage consists of tile work to display the station location.
Londons Tube does not use tiles for every stations name. In London there are signs placed on
the walls and running along the wall that display the station name. In London there are a few
stops that integrate the name of the stop, or the closest landmark to the stop, into the tile work.
Examples of stops with the tile work; Belsize Park, Hampstead, Chalk Farm(Fig. 1a), Arsenal,
Camden Town, Euston, Regents Park, Covent Garden, and Hyde Park Corner(Fig. 2a).

Fig. 1a. Hyde Park Corner Station. Photograph, 2016. Stanford, Courtney.
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Fig. 2a. Chalk Farm Station. https://londonunderworld.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/chalk_farm_stn_tiling.jpg

London consistently likes to utilize the tile work to create designs that make the stop
recognizable upon first glance. The Underground also incorporates the colors of the line into the
tiles to help confirm or deny that you are on the right line as well as station. Russell Square,
Arsenal, Tufnell Park, and Lambeth North stations (Fig. 3a) are another example of the
Undergrounds thoughtful tile work of line colors on the walls.
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Fig. 3a Tufnell Park, Lambeth North, Arsenal, Russell Square.

https://affectiveimage.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/tube-stations.jpg

Pariss Metro does not utilize as much tile work to display the name of the stop or close
landmarks. There is one notable stop that does; Concorde station (Fig. 1-2b). Concordes tile
work is definitely an eye catcher. The letters are not just a chaotic mass. These tiles consist of the
words from Author of Artwork by Francoise Schein.
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Fig. 1b. Concorde Station. Photograph, 2016. Fig. 2b. Concorde Station. Photograph, 2016. Stanford,
Stanford, Courtney. Courtney.

Paris and London both know how to inform their travelers that they have arrived when it
comes to museums. Londons South Kensington Station sits as the closest stop to get to the
Natural History Museum and Science Museum. To advertise the museums the stop has tile work
consisting of dinosaurs on the walls and various animals along the floor (Fig. 4-6a).
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Fig. 4a. South Kensington Station. Photograph, 2016. Stanford, Courtney.

Fig. 5a. South Kensington Station. Photograph, 2016. Stanford, Courtney.

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Fig. 6a. South Kensington Station. Photograph, 2016.

Stanford, Courtney.

Paris took their museum stops to a different level. The Metro brought some of the
museum to the station stops. Varenne station (Fig. 3b) sits rather close to the Rodin Museum.
What makes you think Rodin Museum, The Thinker. Inside the Varenne station stop sits
replicas of Le Penseur (The Thinker) as well as a Honore de Balzac. Also the Pont Neuf
station (Fig. 4b) displays large coins along the walls to advertise the Monnaise de Paris(Museum
of Money) that is nearby. Along with the large fake coins there are also real coins of
considerable age on exhibit within the station.

Fig. 3b. Varenne Station. http://whygo-eur.s3.amazonaws.com/www.parislogue.com/files/2009/02/varenne1.jpg

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Fig. 4b. Pont Neuf Station. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TMxkf7Thj5Q/UQGGT6Kb7qI/AAAAAAAAGSM/sC-

yLKPqey4/s1600/02+Pont+Neuf+.jpg

Most noteworthy of the museum station stops would be for the Louvre. The Louvre-
Rivoli like the other museum station stops is very easy to recognize. The artwork seen from the
train car windows lets you know exactly where you are. The Louvre-Rivoli station stop contains
many stunning artwork replicas. One such artwork is the replica of Artmeis-Diana of Gabii
(Fig. 5b) , a marble statue carved by the Greek sculptor Praxiteles. Another artwork replica is
Captive- The Dying Slave (Fig. 6b) a marble sculpture by Michelangelo.
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Fig. 5b. Louvre-Rivoli Station. Photograph, 2016. Stanford, Courtney.

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Fig. 6b. Louvre-Rivoli Station. Photograph, 2016. Stanford, Courtney.

There are a few stations are also designed with history in mind. In Paris there are two
stops that pay homage to events that shaped history. Liege station(Fig. 7b) , named after a city in
Belgium, is dedicated to all the men from Belgium who fought during World War I. Ceramic
artworks gifted from Belgium decorate the walls with scenes from the city of Liege. Another
historical station is Place de Bastille station(Fig. 8b), where the walls are lined with artwork
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depicting French history. The tiles leading through history were done in 1989 by Liliane
Belembert and Odile Jacquot.

Fig. 7b. Liege Station. http://metro.paris/uploads/media/place_poster/0001/01/thumb_62_place_poster_article.jpeg

Fig. 8b. Bastille Station. http://www.parislogue.com/featured-articles/the-most-beautiful-metro-stations-in-paris.html

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Both London and Paris also used novels as inspiration for station designs. In Paris is the
Arts et Metiers station(Fig. 9-10b), or otherwise known as the Jules Verne station due to its
whimsical design inspired by Jules Vernes science fiction works. Francois Schuiten redesigned
the station in 1994 to celebrate the bicentenary of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers,
the National Conservatory of Art and Crafts. Similar to the Arts et Metiers station is the Baker
Street Station (Fig. 7-8a) in London. A street made famous by the Sherlock Holmes novels. To
celebrate such recognition the station is lined with Sherlock Holmes silhouettes both large and
small.

Fig. 9b. Arts et Metiers. http://www.parisyearabroad.com/art-beauty-paris-metro/

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Fig. 10b. Arts et Metiers. http://www.parisyearabroad.com/art-beauty-paris-metro/

Fig. 7a. Baker Street. Photograph, 2016. Stanford, Courtney.

Fig. 8a. Baker Street. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f0/3b/de/f03bde3173716d451db1349ad8c0d149.jpg

London does one thing that Paris does not on their public transport designs, they make
designs that play on the name of the station. A memorable station is Brixton with tile work in the
image of a bricks (Fig. 9a), a lot of bricks; you could say a ton of bricks, a brickton. Another
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station is Warren Street station (Fig. 10a) that has a maze displayed in the tile work. A maze is
also known as a warren, so the name of the station is both displayed as a simple sign as well as a
piece of art.

Fig. 9a Brixton Station. http://cdn1.uk.mentalfloss.com/sites/mentalflossuk/files/9/10//9540453190_ad2cb595f5_k.jpg

Fig. 10a. Warren Street Station. https://150greatthingsabouttheunderground.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/img_7080.jpg

After reviewing the many stations and their unique designs it is easy to say a lot of time
and effort went into these stations. All effort I truly appreciate now after having to navigate a
foreign city. Paris and London both had their own take on station art. Londons is witty and
displayed the grand old age of its Underground. While Pariss Metro paid homage to their history
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and to their artists. Both Paris and London let their commuters know that they were kept in mind
in all the details both large and small.