East of the River: Connections (2006)

Title

East of the River: Connections (2006)

Artist

Anne Allardyce

Artist’s website

http://anneallardyce.com/

Details

Stainless Steel

Location

Congress Heights Metro Station (13th St & Alabama Ave SE)

Artist’s Statement

In 2003, local artist Anne Allardyce-Tully designed and created a sculpture for the Congress Heights Metro Station titled “East of the River: Connections.” In the past, Congress Heights had been described as one of the poorest areas in the District and was notoriously plagued by the phrase: “You cross the river, the doors close.” However, the residents who live there beg to differ, claiming that the community is interconnected “with a tradition of civic activism that brings people together over education, crime, transportation, economic development and other issues,” according to the Washington Post. Anne Allardyce captures the spirit of this community in her sculpture. The sculpture represents “connection” by depicting the interconnected world of the natural (represented by the river element) and the built world (the elements that bridge the river and create a gateway- from road systems to bus routes to metro lines). Allardyce stated that “coming across the river you are entering a real neighborhood-it is home…the station is a gateway across the river; the area is a gateway to the past and the future.” The doors are, in fact, open.

Prompts for Close Looking:

1. Which sculptural elements evoke the waves of river water? Which suggests a human-constructed landscape, including bridges and buildings?

2. How does the design of this sculpture evoke the artist’s insistence that across the river, “the doors are, in fact, open”?  In what ways does the work resemble a “gateway”?

3. How is this work like and unlike other East of the River artistic representations of the Anacostia River, such as the long mosaic frieze “River Spirits of the Anacostia” by Martha Jackson-Jarvis, completed around the same time as Allardyce’s sculpture?