Le Temps Des Gares 1978

Curator: Welcome. Before us is Dominique Appia's 1978 mixed-media work, "Le Temps Des Gares," which translates to "The Time of the Stations." The term "mixed-media" always catches my interest... Curator: Immediately, it's overwhelming! There’s something about the architectural imposition on what feels like very transient activity that gives me anxiety. Is this a celebration or a critique? Curator: Good question! Knowing it is a mixed-media artwork, we should consider Appia’s hands-on methods, and labor investment to better understand what is at work here. The layering of paints with collage perhaps creates a contrast between the permanent and impermanent. The image displays the Tower of Babel-like structure interwoven with railways and trains...what about the train suggests something to you? Curator: The Tower, obviously alluding to the biblical story, seems to mirror themes of unattainable ambition and perhaps even human arrogance, themes frequently present within modernism as related to constructions and expansion. Juxtaposed with active trains and transient populations it reads to me as if progress comes at the cost of stability, perhaps social stability. Curator: That tension is very present here. The inclusion of rail infrastructure also makes me think of its manufacturing processes, and of course, the human labor required to build, maintain, and operate. Think of the specific conditions of the workers in the industrial era! These elements could have significantly influenced Appia's selection and portrayal of such components. What do you think about Appia himself, and the choices available to him at the time he made this artwork? Curator: I find myself wondering if, as a Swiss artist creating this in the late '70s, Appia was influenced by broader cultural anxieties surrounding globalization and increasing urbanization and what impact this all had on local communities and identities. What stories do these travelers carry with them, where are they going? Are they moving because they want to or because they must? I wonder how that would speak to contemporary migrant experiences, when seeing it today. Curator: Exactly, and when thinking of the artist, and the era when this was created we are inherently viewing this mixed media artwork in a very different cultural era, one in which perhaps global supply chains are even more readily apparent. But I also think this highlights how critical investigation into methods and means can uncover complex historical ties that impact social dynamics, race, and gender inequities. Curator: Agreed! Appia's "Le Temps des Gares" really does challenge us to reconsider how we view progress, and I also find it very interesting how the more time we spend unpacking those means, the more meanings we can unearth as well.