Poetry Spirals is composed of two brass spirals embedded in the plaza of the Hampton-Gravois Transit Center and was created by artists Con Christeson and Phil Robinson. A poem is inscribed on the spirals, beginning on one and ending on the other.

Poetry Spirals

Con Christeson and Phil Robinson | 2002

Hampton-Gravois Transit Center
Brass
Eastern spiral: 15′ 9″ w. x 13′ 10″ d.
Western spiral: 16′ w. x 14′ 8″ d.

As members of the design team, artists Con Christenson and Phil Robinson worked with architects and engineers on the overall design of the Hampton-Gravois Transit Center.  In addition, Christeson and Robinson created two brass spirals inscribed with poems evoking themes of travel, memory, and sense of place.  These spirals are embedded in the plaza of the transit center.

The eastern spiral reads, “Shall we ride with Sky in Hand/Rushing past my window seat?/We travel daily dreaming of where and when, riding here and now, over and under the edge of light ‘Red Birdlanes’ echoes of seats, down and around, again and again.”  The western spiral continues, in part, “A mapmaker’s compass inscribes our journey, offering chances and choices…this town, this bus, that place, my neighbor.”

Commissioned by Arts in Transit for Metro Transit St. Louis.