Politics & Government

South Norwalk Train Station Unveils Art in Parking Places Project

The project, a two-part installation throughout the SoNo Train Station, will bring fiber board fashion statements and cast aluminum sculptures to the commuters of Norwalk.

The South Norwalk Train Station officially unveiled it's new face-lift Thursday night when the Norwalk Parking Authority invited the public and government officials on the local and state level to the station to check out the new display.

A project combining the efforts of the Norwalk Parking Authority's "Art in Parking Places," the Norwalk Advisory Commission on the Arts and Culture's "Norwalk Art Walk,' and the South Norwalk Train Station, a two-part project is adorning various nooks and crannies throughout the station.

In the tunnel connecting the east and westbound sides of the station, artist Duvian Montoya's Silhouetted Faces and Period Pieces,” decorates the walls in the fashions of Norwalk from the 1800's to present time.

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He created the cutouts featuring various styles of clothing throughout time as an homage to Norwalk's history of fashion and the Fashion Institute, Montoya said.

"I just put the final touches on this past week. It's taken about 12 months from concept to all the work to fine-tuning," Montoya said. "I left the faces blank so people could really focus on the intricacy of the clothing."

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Montoya's high-density fiber board displays are only one half of the installations around the SoNo Train Station. The other half of the exhibit comes from architect Vincent Appel and artists Matt Rink and David Boyajian.

The trio came up with a design to place cast aluminum sculptures around the station, perched atop walkway posts throughout.

"We asked ourselves how can this project be introduced to live in this existing space," said Appel. "We wanted it to be representative of the history of New England. And we wanted to come up with a way to make the project interwoven throughout the building."

Appel said the posts were the perfect way to highlight the sculptures on existing structures, keep them out of the way and have a lot of real estate with which to work.

"People walk through here everyday, walking the same path they might walk for years," he said. "We wanted something that would unfold. One day they'll go a new way and discover more of the whole picture. We saw the post caps and immediately knew it was our distribution method."

Some high-quality entertainment for the evening was provided by the Talent Education Suzuki School, a number of children trained in classical instruments. Between the wonderful symphonic sounds filling the station and all the new art to take in, Mayor Richard Moccia was beaming with the accomplishments of his city.

"Commuters are a focused group. They're rushing around a lot. We rush so much in our lives," Moccia said. "This gives people a moment of quiet. It gives them a reason to stop. A breather. It's the small things. The small things in life are important. This is a big city. Sometimes you can get lost in it all, lose your identity. This reminds us of who we are as individuals."


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