Art in the Brussels Metro
In 1969 the Belgian Minister of Transport decided to set up a committee to advise him in selecting and commissioning graphic artists to beautify Brussels' metro stations. The so-called ‘Metro Committee’ was and is composed of people who are considered to be familiar with the Belgian artistic landscape, and thus qualified to choose between the best artists in the country. They also have to be able to link architecture and graphic art with the concept of ‘public art’.
The great challenge was to present underground graphic art not as in a museum of modern art but rather as a humanising element in cold, anonymous metro stations. An important limitation was that the committee had no influence on the architectural design of the stations. These were determined by the technical requirements of the engineers, and the architects' involvement was restricted to the internal appearance of the stations. The ideal solution - a proper integration of art and architecture - therefore remained a purely theoretical and frustrating concept. However, as the projects spread to more and more locations, attempts were made to arrange consultations between the various authorities concerned in order to move towards an integrated concept. However, due to the lack of a creative dialogue a completely satisfactory solution has never been found.
Nevertheless, by 1993 the Brussels metro could still boast fifty-five stations which had been ‘humanised’ by artists, some of whom can be counted among the foremost representatives of Belgian art, such as Vic Gentils, Paul Delvaux, Christian Dotremont, Pierre Alechinsky, Roel D'Haese, Octave Landuyt, Pol Bury, Jean-Michel Folon, and comic-strip artist Hergé, the spiritual father of Tintin and others. Although most of them had rarely or never had any opportunity to design monumental works on this scale, many still met the challenge splendidly and produced some of their very best works. The fact that others did not entirely succeed in their intentions was due more to the technical limitations inherent in the assignment than to lack of talent.
In broad terms we can say that the assignments have been a success overall. They certainly improve the atmosphere of stations which are otherwise neutral, so that travellers are less likely to get the impression that they are waiting for a train in a purely functional tube. They are given an opportunity to become acquainted with an artistic project which they did not know existed.
Let us say it straight out: these works of art cost less than 0.2% of the total investment, and they do contribute to the positive image of underground transport in the Belgian capital, both in Belgium and abroad. Many foreign specialist journals have devoted articles
