Ads over T Tiles

[thedonk.livejournal.com]

Is anyone else annoyed by the billboard-type ads stuck over the tiles in Davis Square Station? I realize the ads are stickers that will eventually be removed, but 1) I worry about damage to the tiles if this is done often, and 2) it just seems disrespectful to paste something over them, especially as they're so representative of the neighborhood's history.

EDITED: to clarify thoughts.

Comments

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Ads on top of station artwork? That's just plain wrong.

You should complain to the T. I'm sure if a manager heard about this, they'd fix it. If they don't, a newspaper would be all over it really quickly.

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

I felt the same way, thanks for mentioning it.

[kelkyag]

Tile is pretty sturdy stuff, but ads still shouldn't go up over station artwork.

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

What they all said. It's been bugging me, too.

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

Is there another place the ads can go so the T can generate an equal amount of revenue?

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Seventhed.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

I see your point and certainly wouldn't object to seeing the ads moved.

I sometimes get concerned, though, about "permanent sacred" status blessed on this type of things - especially named squares ("the James Milwinkle Memorial Square"), which eventually become 1. sacred you-can't-ever-paint-over-this space for three people who remember, 2. extra noise* for thousands who've never heard of James Milwinkle, and 3. a small but permanent upkeep cost to everyone.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of public art, and I'm sure I'd appreciate whatever James Milwinkle did, and I _particularly_ like the Davis Station tiles since I know some of those people. And I'm no fan of advertising, yech. But I can't deny that even as a fan of the tiles, I've walked by them hundreds of times without even noticing them, and covering the tiles temporarily makes me curious about them again, which is _good_ for public art.



*"noise" as in "signal-to-noise-ratio"

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

Covering them temporarily for one billboard probably means designating that area as a billboard from here on out, so they could be covered temporarily with billboard after billboard, treated as if they are "wall" rather than "art'. I'm sure the billboard could have been hung a bit higher over the wall than the student art.

I disagree with you about named square and signal vs. noise - it's additional signal even if I didn't know who James Milkwinkle was before stumbling across his sign; now I can go look him up. And for "bigger" folks in local history who are the names that grace our parks and schools, it is interesting to be able to learn a bit about them. Usually those signs with the full name of the person the park is named after have a bit of history about them as well. Though I admit to not remembering what I've read, I *have* read them.

[antimony.livejournal.com]

It's been bugging me, too -- especially since there's enough room to just move the billboards up and have them above the tiles.

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Dabney House at Caltech let students draw and paint on the walls, back in the day. At the end of the year interested students would walk through the halls and vote on which pieces to keep another year, and which to paint over to make room for next year's students. Granted, we could saturate our public canvasses a lot faster than most cities do, but I think a similar principle of not being bound forever by past generations applies.

[thedonk.livejournal.com]

Thanks to all for comments - I've written to the T, suggesting that future ads should be pasted on brick only.

[enhf94.livejournal.com]

sensible on all points.

[spatch]

But then the ads wouldn't be at juuuuust the right height to catch the most eyes! Such shoddy placement would make an art-not-caring-about marketer livid to the point of aneurysm!

I say let's move them up.

[smammy]

This type of adhesive poster is easily removable by peeling. Does anyone have a safety vest, some dickies, and a pair of work boots?

[ron_newman]

I suggest contacting the Davis Square Tiles Project too.

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Maybe I'd agree with you if someone suggested removing (or moving) some station artwork as part of a project to make a station more useful for passengers, and there was a proper procedure for making this decision.

But this is badly placed advertising.

[thedonk.livejournal.com]

A reply I received from the T today:

Thank you for contacting the MBTA. We appreciate your business and value your feedback. Your complaint regarding the Amtrak ad decals covering tile artwork at Davis Square has been received. We would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. This matter will be forwarded to our Marketing department so that the posters/decals will be removed. Please accept our apology for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Should you have additional questions or concerns regarding this issue, please contact the MBTA’s Customer Communications Department at 617-222-3200 or 800-392-6100, Monday through Friday, 6:30 AM to 8:00 PM and Sat/Sun from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM or visit our website at www.mbta.com.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Marcos

Customer Communications

[sandrylene.livejournal.com]

Looked like moving them off the tiles has been done already, as far as I could tell this morning. I was gratified to see how quickly that happened. Score one for the MBTA.