Artist // George Trakas

by Ayaka Ono & Tyler Yee

George Trakas, the creator of the Bay View Station, was born in 1944 in Quebec City before moving to New York City in 1963, remaining there since. Trakas considers himself an environmental sculptor, focusing his work in the form of site-based sculptures and structures. Trakas’s sculptures are primarily placed outdoors, he carefully examines relationships between nature, environment, and how people could interact in that space. George started sculpting while attending Yale University and would eventually work as a professor there for thirteen years before moving around between schools before graduating from Sir George Williams University in Montreal and eventually earning a bachelor’s degree in art history at New York University in 1969. George would go on to obtain fellowships with both Guggenheim in 1982 and the National Endowment of the Arts in 1989. He would also earn several rewards and accommodations like a Medal in sculpting from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1996, a honorary doctorate from Emory University in 2011, and an award from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists in 2017.

Trakas’ works spans from the 1970s to the 2000s and the Bay View Station was created in 1987. Trakas utilized the existing landscape and placed the Bay View Station on the steep grassy hill that is located in between the Western campus and Bellingham Bay. The Bay View’s resemblance to a dock was intentional to give the feel of being by the water with the view of the bay taking the place of water. Its relatively secluded location allows students to have time to themselves in a relaxing, quiet location overlooking quite the view of the bay to enhance its atmosphere. The Bay View Station continues to assist in forming bonds with humans and nature itself.

Refuge

by Mario Catani

Trakas wanted this piece to be both interactive and introspective– a place where people could reflect upon the space and reconnect with the natural world. Since 1987, this environmentally inspired sculpture has been used by both faculty and students as a place of refuge.

As you walk down the stairs onto the Bay View Station sculpture, the initial view of Bellingham Bay is obscured by industrial buildings and Western Hemlock trees. The juxtaposition between the natural and the built environment is both emotionally and intellectually provoking. These are the thoughts and feelings that Trakas wanted to imbue in our minds as he noticed the rapid spread of urbanization throughout the world. Trakas created this sculpture so that visitors would meditate on this dichotomy. He, above anything, wants us to think about our impact as humans on the natural environment. Furthermore, he wants us to imagine solutions to better integrate the natural and built environment together. In this sculpture, he uses recycled materials like wood, steel and railroad ties from the original Bay View Train station to transform something as industrial and unnatural as railroad material into an artistic refuge within nature. This sculpture captures the natural environment in a unique way by reimagining something that was once destructive into something inspiring.

Credit

Photography: Tyler Yee, Ayaka Ono, Mario Catani

Research & writing: Tyler Yee & Ayaka Ono & Mario Catani

Blog Design and Admin: Mario Catani 

References

George Trakas. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2018, from https://www.foundationforcontemporaryarts.org/recipients/george-trakas

Mays, J. B. (n.d.). MERCER. Retrieved from http://www.mercerunion.org/exhibitions/wall-drawings/

Omnibus, U. (2009, December 09). George Trakas at the Water’s Edge: Newtown Creek. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aHy4SpkQuQ

Dia Art Foundation. (n.d.). Dia Art Foundation. Retrieved October 28, 2018, from