Bus Wrap #8: Outward

Nick Goettling’s design is the eighth (8th) commission by the Public Art Foundation for the DART (Des Moines Area Regional Transport Authority) bus travels approximately 27,000 miles per year or 2,250 miles per month into communities throughout Greater Des Moines. These routes include Ankeny, Altoona, Pleasant Hill, Des Moines, Grimes, Windsor Heights, West Des Moines, Clive, Urbandale and Johnston.

 

The design uses shape and motion of the bus to emphasize movement, narrative, and a playful theme. Most viewer will first see the floating medal on the front of the bus, and then the kid reaching forward as the bus passes. This will be a striking, positive image to se moving through the streets, and will engage young people and audiences who don't always feel included in the public art conversation.

Through sinuous line work, dynamic figures, and evocative patterns, I use public art to tell stories.  As a public space evolves, the stories we tell about it, and the futures we imagine for it, change too. I use public art to activate those spaces by challenging viewers to consider their roles within the local story.

Nick Goettling