Santa Monica Tears (2021) 

Walter J. Hood

 DESCRIPTION:  approx. 15-foot high by 70-foot long, four-section, sandstone and glass sculptural installation of stacked 10,000-pound trapezoidal sandstone blocks pierced with six approx. 12-inch long hand-formed glass "teardrops"

This large Metro station art installation, begun in 2017, was originally named "The Crying Rock and Santa Monica."  It includes a backdrop of white rose bushes against a gold-toned retaining wall.  Landscape architect Walter J. Hood based his work on the following two cultural narratives he saw embedded in the geology of Santa Monica's eroding sandstone coastline:  
  • the Catholic missionary story of Father Juan Crispi recalling the legend of a tearful Saint Monica (distressed by her son's hedonistic ways) as he viewed the beauty of a pair of local springs, Kuruvungna, held sacred by the Tongva, that seemed to symbolize Saint Monica's eyes; and
  • the Tongva story of The Crying Rock, representing the grief (for the lost lives during Spanish colonization), the mercy, and the resilience of the Tongva.
LOCATION:  terminus of Metro E Line (Expo Line), Downtown Santa Monica Station, 1601 4th Street, Santa Monica, California, USA 

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