Montserrat College of Art Works Unveil At Link 480 Event

BEVERLY – An unveiling was held recently at Link 480, Beverly Crossing’s newest apartment community at 48 Rantoul Street where a metal train ticket sculpture on a backdrop of train tracks will remind commuters that transit-oriented housing has arrived in downtown Beverly. Link 480, developed by Beverly Crossing, is almost 70% leased and includes amenities such as first-floor retail, private gym, bike room, and resident courtyard with fire pit (www.Link480.com). Beverly Crossing is a locally focused real estate development group with a singular purpose: create communities that will attract new residents, businesses, and services to Beverly, spurring economic growth and contributing to the city’s revitalization and transformation.

Beverly Crossing President Chris Koeplin, a Trustee at Montserrat College of Art said, "Through my service on the board, I was made aware of the ticket sculpture created by a Montserrat student, now alumnus, and that it was purchased at one of the college's auctions by a Trustee, Alex Lamb, who had always hoped the sculpture would find a home to be enjoyed by many. It became the perfect connection for us to permanently install the sculpture in the lobby of Link 480 to remind our residents of how great Beverly is with its connection to Montserrat, the arts, its wonderful culture, as well as the train that runs behind it. We hope to provide more Montserrat artwork in future developments”

To further showcase the 26”x72” ticket sculpture, Koeplin commissioned White Light Digital, a local Beverly company, to print and install the 14ftx10ft black and white historic photo of Boston’s elevated subway tracks at North Station.

Burroughs was pleased that his sculpture will be able to be enjoyed by so many as Beverly Crossing contains 90 one- and two-bedroom apartments. He talked about his inspiration for the sculpture. "My final assignment for my Sculpture 2 course was to create a personal sculpture, something relating to ourselves,” he said. "The first thing I thought of was my commute to school, I was taking the train between Beverly and Gloucester every day. The time spent on the train took up a large chunk of my days and made a huge impact on managing schoolwork and even normal tasks in my day to day life. The MBTA tickets were showing up in my pockets often times all shoved in my wallet, they were different colors and had different punch-outs. I was drawn to them. I would see them everywhere outside around the train station folded or crumbled in different patterns. The large ticket sculpture does not contain any of the information normally seen on train tickets, instead, it has empty boxes and lines where the writing should go. My goal is for viewers to relate to the commute. Anyone who takes the train can almost instantly recognize this form and I hope that the piece will remind them of their own journeys and commutes they make every day."

Montserrat President Kurt T. Steinberg commended the collaboration, "Art and design play such a vital role in people's day to day lives, be it the color or design of a tie, the screen on their cell phone or tablet, the advertising we see daily around us or the architecture of a building," he said. "Jason's interpretive train ticket was the perfect way to add a design element to one of the downtown's newest buildings and we are pleased that our trustees worked together with our alum to make this collaboration come to life. We are also grateful to trustee Alex Lamb for his generous donation that made this all possible. We look forward to more projects like this in the future."

Montserrat College of Art is a private, residential college of visual art and design supporting the creative life by educating artists and entrepreneurs for a rapidly changing world. At the intersection of art, design and technology, the college offers three international programs, 12 concentrations and a required internship program.

Montserrat alumni are employed by some of the country's biggest brands including Disney, Puma, Hasbro and more. Students earn the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and develop their skills for success in today's growing creative economy. The college also offers year-round classes for youth, teens and adults through its Continuing Education Division, and has four public galleries offering year-round programs, exhibitions and lectures. www.montserrat.edu

Group Photo: From left, Montserrat College of Art President Kurt T. Steinberg, artist Jason Burroughs (Montserrat class of 2017), Montserrat Trustees Alex Lamb and Chris Koeplin, standing in the lobby of Beverly Crossing's new Link 480 luxury apartment complex on Rantoul Street after the unveiling of "Large Train Ticket" by the Montserrat alum.

Train Ticket Artwork: Jason Burroughs, Artist, Montserrat College of Art '17